Spring of 2007 brought Staples Players’ production of “The Mystery of Edwin Drood.”
The Tony Award-winning musical by Rupert Holmes — based on Charles Dickens’ unfinished novel — is notable for its interactive, “solve-it-yourself” format.
Notable too was that Holmes himself came to the high school, and met with the cast and crew during rehearsals.
Click here or below for highlights of that show. Thanks, as always, to Jim Honeycutt. As Staples media teacher, he filmed the production.
Now, in retirement, he’s producing these weekly nutshells.
Several “Drood” actors went on to careers in entertainment, including:
Hannah Dubne (Ms. Rosa Bud): “Hamlet,” “The Big Gay Italian Wedding”)
Zoe Apoian (Helena Landless)
Britt Hennemuth (Reverand Chrisparkle): Senior vice president of production development and special projects, Universal Pictures
Drew Angus (Horace): recording artist
Brittany Uomoleale (now Baron): “Glow,” “Final Fantasy VII Remake.”
ENCORE!To promote the show, Players filmed a series of videos.
This one features Mia Gentile, who played Princess Puffer. She went on to a Broadway career, including “Kinky Boots.”
Here’s another, with Tyler Paul (who went on to make his mark in children’s theater), and the late Joe Ziegahn, Players’ longtime and much-loved technical director.
Steve Turner — a 1970 Staples High School graduate and talented photographer, whose work has been showcased on “06880”Jill — died suddenly in Thailand, where he lived since 2017, a couple of weeks ago.
Since then his sister Jill Odice — also a Staples grad — has endured a legal and logistical nightmare.
Hospital, funeral home and legal bills must be settled before Jill can bring her brother’s remains home. She does not have those funds, and because she does not speak Thai, making arrangements has been very difficult.
Jill has set up a GoFundMe page to help with expenses. Click here for more information.
Steve Turner’s aerial photographs of Westport have been featured in “06880.” This shows Winslow Park, downtown Westport and the Saugatuck River.
“Voice for Volunteers of Fairfield County — An Appreciation Performance” — an evening of song honoring people who volunteer their time in support of Westport-area organizations — is set for Wednesday, January 24 (7:30 p.m., Westport Country Playhouse).
Among the Broadway headliners: Staples graduates Adam Kaplan, Mia Gentile, Jacob Heimer and Remy Leifer.
Joining them are cantors Julia Cadrain and Becky Mann from Temple Israel.
Coleytown Company director Ben Frimmer — who produced last fall’s “Evening With Justin Paul, Kelli O’Hara and James Naughton” at the Westport Country Playhouse, what can Ben Frimmer do for an encore?
Click here for tickets ($50 each), and more information (including how to underwrite tickets for volunteers). Organizations can purchase tickets for their volunteers too. Bundles of 10 tickets ($400) are available through the box office: 203-227-4177.
The Elayne and James Schoke Jewish Family Service of Fairfield County is co-sponsoring the event, with the Playhouse.
MoCA Westport’s first exhibition of 2024 goes back to the 1960s.
That decade of social, political and cultural upheaval continues to resonate today.
MoCA says: “Artists, many of whom became increasingly socially engaged, pushed the boundaries of form, subject matter, medium and genre. The exhibition ‘Sixties MOD’ honors an important period in Westport’s artistic history, and investigates our community’s ties to broader national and international currents during this era.”
The exhibition is a collaboration with Westport Public Art Collections, which had its roots in that decade.
Burt Chernow began building the “Westport Art Collection” in 1965. The artist and educator gathered original art, most donated by the artists themselves, to be used as “an everyday part of school life.”
With donations by collectors and artists ever since, WestPAC’s holdings have expanded from 100 objects to nearly 2,000 artworks by local, American and international artists, on display in Westport schools and municipal buildings.
MoCA’s exhibition of nearly 60 works includes artists Alexander Calder, Ann Chernow, Burt Chernow, Lisa Daugherty, Naiad Einsel, Alfred Eisenstaedt, Richard Frank, Bernard Fuchs, Roe Halper, Philippe Halsman, Robert Indiana, Roy Lichtenstein, Susan Malloy, Robert Motherwell, Ben Shahn and Tracy Sugarman.
A high school student art exhibit will accompany “Sixties MOD.” Both run through March 3. Click here for more details.
The design for the Compo Beach playground renovation is underway, but not yet finalized.
A charrette will be held Saturday, January 20 (time and location TBD). Residents can share thoughts directly with designer Lisa Deshano.
The plan will be presented to Westport’s Parks & Recreation Commission on February 21, for approval.
Announcement of a logo contest for elementary school students will be made soon.
Compo Beach playground (Photo/Katherine Bruan)
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Ted Gangi graduated from Staples High School in 1983. Starting in junior high, he did statistics for the football team.
Ted is in his 19th year as owner of CollegePressBox.com, the official media website of Division I football and the College Football Playoff.
On Monday, as the 2024 champion Michigan Wolverines left the field, he posed with Westport’s newest football hero: Staples Class of 2020’s Jake Thaw. (Hat tip: Ned Batlin)
In addition, Tony “Pizza” Napolitano will be at the WTF brick oven every Tuesday from 4-7 p.m., for pickups. To order a pizza, check out his Facebook page on Mondays.
Congratulations to Staples High School’s January Students of the Month: seniors Brendan Dellorusso, juniors Logan Noorily and Jada Shelley, sophomores Daniel Arava and Catherine Cirasuolo, and freshmen Katherine Mannino and Thomas Scott.
Students of the Month “help make Staples High School a welcoming place for their peers and teachers alike. They are the ‘glue”’of the Staples community — the type of kind, cheerful, hard-working, trustworthy students that keep the high school together, making it the special place that it is.”
“Students of the month are nominated by their teachers, who are asked to think of those students who come to school regularly, are friendly to the staff and to fellow students, and make positive contributions in class as well as the Staples community. In short, these students are all-around good citizens of our school.’
Students of the Month (from left): Thomas Scott, Jordan Noorilly, Jada Shelley, Katherine Mennino, Catherine Ciraduolo, Brendan Dellorusso. Absent: Daniel Arava.
In November, 18 Rotary travelers and their guests spent 2 weeks on a Westport Rotary Club “Back Roads Service Trip” to Uganda.
At this week’s meeting Lyla Steenbergen, chair of the International Giving Committee, reported on the trip — and shared great photos.
The group covered over 1,650 miles in 2 weeks in off-road vehicles and small planes. They went to national parks, tracked chimpanzees and gorillas, and trekked through a swamp at night.
They also visited 5 projects that Westport Rotary has supported with grants, including schools, hospitals and a water project, and engaged in hands-on service projects at those facilities.
Westport Rotary Club, in Uganda.
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From Stanley Steemer to Marian the Librarian: that’s Mia Gentile for you.
The 2007 Staples graduate — whose various impressions of the Stanley ad became an internet sensation — plays a more demure role in the Norwalk Symphony Orchestra’s performance of “The Music Man – Concert Version” (February 10, 7:30 p.m., Norwalk Concert Hall).
Mia also played Carrie Pipperidge in NSO’ production of “Carousel” last year.
Three Mia Gentiles: She played an all-girls group in one of her Stanley Steemer “ads.”
And finally … Scott McKenzie was born on this date in 1939. He had a long career as a singer/songwriter, but will always be known for this era-defining classic:
He died in 2012, age 73, from complications of Guillain-Barré Syndrome.
(In 1967, all the cool people wore flowers in their hair. In 2024, they’re donating to “06880.” Please click here to join the crowd. Thank you!)
The list of names associated with Westport’s local theater company is impressive:
Rock star songwriter Justin Paul (“Dear Evan Hansen,” “La La Land,” “The Greatest Showman”)
Playwright/screenwriter (“Braking Upwards,” “Dogfight”) Peter Duchan
Broadway veterans Mia Gentile and Jacob Heimer
Composer/performer/teacher/choir director Chris Coogan
Former Broadway performer Amiee Turner
Professional set designer Jordan Janota
Wesleyan University theater professor Robin Mazzola
Former off-Broadway and film actor Ben Frimmer
New York Theatre Company’s “New, Emerging, Outstanding Composer” Clay Zambo
Professional actress Haley Bond,
What is even more impressive is that the local theater company is Coleytown Company.
All those talented, experienced men and women have worked on — or are currently involved with — the middle school’s theater program.
As Coleytown Company celebrates its 25th anniversary, it’s time to shine the spotlight on this impressive institution in our midst.
As with any theatrical project, Coleytown Company has had its ups and downs.
In the 1990s, then-principal Jim Welsch asked 5th grade teacher Frimmer to reimagine the middle school theater program. Up to that point, it was a club with a parent helping out once a year.
Staging shows ranging from “Fiddler on the Roof” to “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat,” Frimmer created an environment in which young actors, singers, dancers, artists and tech kids can learn and grow.
Drew Andrade dances, accompanied by (from left) Eliza Walmark, Rima Ferrer, Emma Schorr. Cece Dioyka, Drew Andrade, Ava Chun, Kathryn Asiel, Keelagh Breslin in the 2019 production of “42nd Street.”
Recently, Coleytown Company has weathered a tough few years. Mold shut the school in 2017. CMS students headed to Bedford Middle School, losing their auditorium. Shows continued, but with a lessened sense of community.
Then came COVID. Like theaters everywhere, the middle schools’ stages went dark.
Last October, Coleytown Company returned with “All Together Now!,” a 15-song musical revue.
Now it’s all the way back. “The SpongeBob Musical” — the Company’s first full-scale musical in 3 years — debuts Friday, April 8 (7 p.m.). Shows continued Saturday, April 9 (7 p.m.) and Sunday, April 9 (1 p.m.).
The community’s help has been impressive. Middle school art teacher Linda Kangro, for example, leads a tech crew whose students actually design and build sets themselves.
Janota — the professional scenic designer working on an upcoming Netflix feature film — and her 18 students have used recycled materials donated by the community to create a coral proscenium, and platforms to build a “volcano.”
Remy Laifer and Jacob Leaf in the 2013 production of “Peter Pan.” The set was typically professional.
Coogan has spent over a decade directing the Coleytown Company pit orchestra. He loves this age group, because “they’re just discovering their voices, capabilities, bodies and acting abilities.”
This is Turner’s 4th show with Frimmer. Her focus is on getting students comfortable with their bodies after lockdown, and “helping them get used to being brave, loud and big with their physical movement.”
Zambo serves as vocal coach, when he is not writing or directing shows and ballets. Because “SpongeBob” was written for adults, he has done “some judicious editing.” But, he says, he works with middle schoolers the same as with professionals: “Keep it light and fun, take the work seriously, and try to bring out the best in everyone.”
Coleytown Company’s “Addams Family” brought out the best in everyone. The 2015 cast includesd (clockwise from left): Anella Lefebvre (Morticia), Georgia Wright (Gomez), Maggie Foley (Wednesday) and Oscar Hechter (Pugsley).
Wesleyan professor Mazzola — a costume-maker for 25 years, who met Frimmer 4 years ago — describes the upcoming show’s costumes as embodying “friendship, individuality and joy.”
That joy has been a hallmark of the experiences of former Coleytown Company actors, many of whom went on to success with Staples Players in high school, then beyond.
Duchan was in Frimmer’s first production: “Peter Pan.” He calls Frimmer’s accomplishments “extraordinary.”
Ben Frimmer (left) directs Emily Desser, Imogen Medoff, Shanti Wimmer and Nina Driscoll in the 2018 production of “James and the Giant Peach.” (Photo/Colleen Coffey)
Over the years, Paul, Gentile and Heimer have all returned from the Broadway stage to help Frimmer and their alma mater. In 2018, Company staged Paul’s “James and the Giant Peach.”
Bond calls CMS “a breeding ground for budding creatives. As a professional in the entertainment industry, I constantly cross paths with my middle schoolmates. They’ve grown up to be writers, actors, directors, filmmakers, technical engineers and designers.”
Current student performers echo the praise.
Haley Forman — Sandy in “SpongeBob” — says, “the theme of the play is working together. The students and staff are bringing that to life.”
Eli Abrams, who plays Perch Perkins, agrees: “I really like that you get to meet all these new people that are doing the same thing as you. If you need help with something, you can always just call them.”
Haley and Eli may or may not follow fellow CMS actors Justin Paul, Peter Duchan, Mia Gentile and Jacob Heimer to Broadway.
But they’re sure in good Company.
(For tickets to “The SpongeBob Musical” and more information, click here. Hat tip: Jordan Razza)
Broadway was not the only theatrical casualty of COVID.
Student stages were also darkened by the pandemic. For Coleytown Middle School — which was simultaneously shuttered by mold — 2 entire grades lost opportunities to learn how to audition for, rehearse, light, costume and stage a show.
Not to mention all the lost revenue, which pays for the next Coleytown Company production.
Music Theater International wants to help schools like CMS get back on their feet.
The licensing agency — which usually charges hefty right fees — created a 15-number musical revue they’re offering free. (They hope, of course, that directors who like the songs may do an MTI show in the future.)
Coleytown Company director Ben Frimmer loved the idea. But — in typical directorial fashion — he wondered: How can we make it different from all the other schools that are doing it too?
MTI is licensing “All Together Now!” for one weekend only. Several area groups are also producing it then — along with 5,500 schools and theaters, in all 50 states and over 40 countries.
Frimmer realized it would be difficult to get middle schoolers to learn 15 songs in just 2 months. He also realized he has plenty of Broadway friends who could help.
His first call was to Coleytown Company choreographer Amiee Turner. A veteran of Broadway’s “Will Rogers Follies” and “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum,” she said she’d love to perform.
Broadway veterans Mia Gentile and Jacob Heimer — both CMS alums — were happy to come back too.
More than a decade ago, Jacob Heimer and Mia Gentile starred in Staples Players’ “Urinetown.” Both have gone on to professional success.
Company producer Stacie Lewis — the mother of a CMS grad, and a current student — said she’d sing. She reached out to others.
Quickly, Frimmer had a cast: 10 Broadway performers. Six songs featuring Coleytown 7th and 8th graders. And speaking roles for First Selectman Jim Marpe and Superintendent of Schools Thomas Scarice.
“All Together Now!” is set for Saturday, November 13 (7 p.m.). There’s a livestream option, for anyone unable to be at CMS’ new auditorium in person. (All audience members eligible must be vaccinated.)
As with any show, there are challenges. COVID is one. “If someone has a sniffle, they can’t come to rehearsal,” Frimmer notes. “At any moment, we might have to switch out a performer.”
And because Coleytown had not hosted a performance in 3 years, there was no wood to build sets, or tools to build them with. Lights and props had been removed during the school’s renovation.
On top of which, the current 7th and 8th graders had no Company experience . Frimmer started fresh with everyone, teaching everything from how to audition to how to perform. (Plus: The date MTI chose is earlier than usual for a CMS show.)
But, he says, “they’re all really excited. They’re working together to create live theater. Amiee, Eli Newsom (our musical director) and I are challenging them with high expectations. They’re rising up to meet them.”
Click here for tickets. Revenue helps pay for sound, lights and other Coleytown Company costs — including this spring’s show, “SpongeBob Musical.”
Oh, yeah. They have to pay for licensing rights then too.
Westport may not be the center of the musical universe.
But last night, it sure came close.
Darlene Love’s first live performance in 2 years thrilled a sold-out Levitt Pavilion crowd.
The Levitt Pavilion was packed, on a beautiful evening. (Photo/JC Martin)
The singer — who turns 80 this month — gave one of the most memorable performances in the outdoor venue’s 47-year history.
Mixing her Phil Spector hits with gospel and more recent Stevie Van Zandt songs, she owned the stage with a powerful, wide-ranging voice and engaging banter.
Darlene Love in action. (Photo/JC Martin)
As befitting a former backup singer — if you haven’t seen “20 Feet From Stardom,” why not?! — she gave extended solos to a pair of future stars.
Darlene Love’s backup singers got their own star turns. (Photo/JC Martin)
Darlene Love was clearly delighted to be back on stage. And — because there are always Westport connections beyond the obvious — one of the key members of her rock-the-house band was our neighbor, saxophonist Crispin Cioe.
Saxophonist Crispin Cioe (left) is a huge Darlene Love fan. (Photo/Dan Woog)
He once called Darlene Love his “soul and inspiration.” He’s played with her for over 30 years.
And yes, they both gave a rousing rendition of that Righteous Brothers/Phil Spector song of the same name last night.
A pre-show announcement warned concert-goers that, because of COVID, there would be no dancing in front of the stage. So these fans — all probably born years after Darlene Love sang with the Crystals — danced in their own pod. (Photo/JC Martin)
Meanwhile, an hour or so earlier and a couple of miles away, Soundview Drive was the stage for a concert of a different kind.
More than half a dozen Broadway stars sang from the front lawn of Karen Elizaga and her husband, Jay Ptashek.
Broadway stars on Soundview Drive. (Photo/Lauri Weiser)
Mixing familiar show tunes with humor — it’s not every day that cars and trucks pass between singers and audience — the singers wowed a crowd arranged in beach chairs, across the street on Compo Beach.
6-year old Chloe Silverstein, and a small part of the large crowd on Compo Beach. (Photo/Dan Woog)
Among the performers: Staples High School graduate Mia Gentile (“Kinky Boots”) and Karen and Jay’s own daughter, Sloane Ptashek.
Mia Gentile, a proud Staples Players alum. (Photo/Lauri Weiser)
Admission was free. But anyone could make (and still can!) donations to Broadway for Arts Education. The non-profit provides arts education to underserved youth in New York, Haiti and India.
Host Karen Elizaga and her husband, Jay Ptashek. (Photo/Lauri Weiser)
The last time “06880” caught up with Mia Gentile, the former Staples Players and “Kinky Boots” Broadway star had just released a stunning, Black Lives Matter-inspired version of “Have You Ever Seen the Rain?”
She and collaborator musician/video producer Roger Klug called themselves MISSYFIT.
“06880” loves Mia. Previous stories covered the 2007 Staples/2011 Cincinnati Conservatory of Music grad’s clever, multi-genre interpretations of the Stanley Steemer jingle, and her many stage roles back in the days when live theater was a thing.
Which brings us to her latest project.
Once again, Mia and Roger have worked together — though hundreds of miles apart — on a new take of an old classic.
Or in this case, 2 classics.
“It was cathartic for us to ring out 2020 with some punk rock angst,” she says.
They mashed up the Ramones’ “Glad to See You Go” and “I Wanna Be Sedated.” The latter song is particularly apt — you know, “20, 20, 20, 4 hours to go…”
It’s a quick leap to 2020 — the year we can’t wait to bid adieu.
So, with just about 9 hours to go … take it away, Mia and Roger!
Take Creedence Clearwater Revival’s haunting “Have You Ever Seen the Rain.” Add a ’60’s girl group vibe, with Phil Spector’s Wall of Sound. Mix in Mia Gentile, the multi-talented 2007 Staples High School graduate.
What do you get?
A song that — in the days following the killing of George Floyd — manages to be both poignant and uplifting.
Mia Gentile, pitching Stanley Steemer.
That’s the genius of Mia — a former Staples Players superstar who went on to Broadway in “Kinky Boots” — and musician/video producer Roger Klug.
In 2012 they collaborated on a “Stanley Steemer” mashup video, with Mia performing that ubiquitous jingle in every genre from jazz, opera, country and Latin to torch song, punk rock, gospel and Lady Gaga. It wracked up 2 million views, and landed Mia an appearance on ABC’s Good Morning America.
Mia and Roger are back together, this time in a project called MISSYFIT.
After their first single, they recorded a few covers. One was CCR’s tune, which they decuded to take back in time.
Mia and Roger worked long distance, via FaceTime. She was on the computer in her Manhattan bedroom, listening on headphone to the backing track he’d created. He was in his Cincinnati studio, hearing Mia’s a cappella voice. During post-production he cut out the sounds of sirens (and an ice cream truck) that leaked through her window.
For reasons he can’t explain, Roger felt the need to work on “Have You Ever Seen the Rain” before other projects that were further along.
Mia Gentile, today.
Then the unarmed Black man was killed in Minneapolis. News of protests and an explosion of awareness of systemic racism in America felt like an echo of the past.
Roger and his family joined demonstrations in Cincinnati. As he described those events to Mia, they realized they had to release the song. They started to envision how a video could underline the lyrics, speaking to the civil rights movement of the 1960s as well as the resurgent demand for racial equality today.
The 2nd recording session — which included a toy xylophone — took place a few days later. Then Roger went to work mixing the vocals and producing the video. Its images of protests from the ’60s — and now the ’20 — are raw, and thought-provoking.
In retrospect, MISSYFIT’s decision to use a girl group/Phil Spector sound seems compelling. There’s a poignant juxtaposition of a bright, peppy, more innocent time, and the dark lyrics.
“Hearing about war, violence and systemic racism from the mouth of babes (so to speak) is powerful,” Mia says. “Youth continue to be at the forefront of progressive American culture.” (Click the link below to listen.)
The single has been released on MISSYFIT’s YouTube page. Reaction has been very positive.
“This song that came to us on a whim now shines a light on how music and art can hold a mirror up to society,” Mia notes.
The Staples High School-to-Broadway pipeline is well-established, and longer running than any hit show.
So it was no surprise to see 2007 graduate Mia Gentile on stage yesterday at Bryant Park. The “Kinky Boots” star was part of the weekly free outdoor concert series, in the heart of Manhattan.
What made her performance special was the photographer shooting it. Jack Bowman — a Staples Players star 8 years after Mia — was on assignment for TheaterMania.
Mia Gentile performs songs from “Kinky Boots.” (Photo/Jack Bowman for TheaterMania)
I’m sure there were other Westporters in the audience — perhaps even onstage.
And I know there are many other Mias and Jacks, waiting in the middle and elementary school wings.
(For all of Jack Bowman’s Broadway in Bryant Park photos, click here.)
If the interminable weather has got you down — and played havoc with your trips to, say, Broadway, for entertainment — here’s an “06880” special.
Last week, nearly a dozen Broadway stars came to Staples. They performed a benefit concert, helping Orphenians — the elite singing group — who head to San Francisco later this month. (They’re one of only 10 high school choirs invited to perform at a 4-day workshop with Chanticleer.)
The concert was organized by Adam Kaplan. He’s a 2008 Staples (and Orphs) alum, and already a Broadway veteran (“Newsies”).
Adam rounded up some of his most talented buddies, from the biggest New York shows. They performed spectacularly — and, in between numbers, added insights about the importance of high school theater and music. Adam and fellow Staples grad Mia Gentile were particularly compelling.
Here’s the entire show. It’s exactly the warmth we need, in this long, cold winter. (NOTE: You’ll have to click the underlined “Watch this video on YouTube” once it loads.)
If your browser does not take you directly to YouTube, click here.
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All those talented, experienced men and women have worked on — or are currently involved with — the middle school’s theater program.
