Meet The Leaders Comes To Smithtown

By Pat Biancaniello

Meet The Leaders with Patrick Halpin came to Smithtown Wednesday, May 27,2015. The Cablevision/Optimum Community program was filmed at the Eugene Cannataro Senior Center in front of an audience filled with Smithtown residents, many of them regulars at the center.  The focus of the program was Smithtown’s 350th Anniversary.  

Host Patrick Halpin interviewed Town Supervisor Patrick Vecchio and Town Historian Bradley Harris.  The two guests were questioned by the host about Smithtown’s history. Questions ranged from Smithtown’s early history including: how did Richard Smith get the patent to the land, the legend of Smithtown and more recent history including the dedication of the John V.Klein  Industrial Park and Town Hall honoring Patrick Vecchio.

Prior to the filming the audience chatted about their memories of Smithtown and how so much has changed. Audience participation followed the interview. The taped show can be seen at www.meettheleaders.com.

Cablevision/Optimum Community is a big part of Smithtown’s 350 celebration. “The Spirit of Smithtown,” an original play created by historical writer Sal St. George, is being sponsored by Optimum Community.  The play is a one-act vaudevillian musical about the history of Smithtown and its communities.  The play has been in the works for several months. There will be six performances two Fridays May 29 and June 5 @7:30pm, Saturdays are May 30 and June 6 @7:30pm and Sunday May 31 and June 7 @ 3pm. at the Smithtown Center for Performing Arts.

Tickets to the six performances are offered to the public complimentary due to the generous support of Optimum and a grant from the Gardiner Foundation. While most tickets have been distributed, there are a number of tickets at the box office for walk-ins on the day of the performances. The Smithtown Center for the Performing Arts is located at 2 East Main Street, Smithtown. 

Writing For Peace - Hannah Rosenthal's Essay Wins In International Contest

Smithtown West Student a Recognized Writer for Peace

Smithtown High School West’s Hannah Rosenthal won second place in the nonfiction division of the Writing for Peace essay contest. 

Hannah’s essay, ”Jews and the Black Death,” will be featured in the 2016 issue of DoveTales, an international journal of the arts. Students were encouraged to write an essay about a social, political, environmental or familial challenge faced by individuals within a cultural group, or a personal experience with another culture.  

Writing for Peace is a global nonprofit organization dedicated to cultivating empathy through education and creative writing in order to develop a foundation of compassion on which to build a more peaceful world. Their goal is to inspire and guide young writers to refine their craft and to consider the many ways their writing focus can bring us closer to nonviolent conflict resolution, a society that values human rights, as well as environmental and economic sustainability.  

Photo Caption: Smithtown HSW student Hannah Rosenthal won second place in the nonfiction division of the Writing for Peace essay contest. She is congratulated by her social studies teacher Christina Cone.

Photo courtesy of the Smithtown Central School District

Theater Review - "Oliver!"

THEATER REVIEW

“Oliver!”

Produced by: Theatre Three, Port Jefferson, thru June 27.

Reviewed by: Jeb Ladouceur

Kiernan Urso (left) as Oliver- Jeffrey Sanzel plays FaginOne of the unique rewards associated with reviewing Port Jefferson’s Theatre Three productions is presented even before the curtain goes up on Production Designer Randall Parsons’ invariably functional sets: The press packet always includes a 40 to 50-page, single spaced, liberally illustrated treatise on every aspect of the play at hand. The Director includes in this valuable amenity, the show’s history along with an overview of the story itself.

That synopsis alone would be worth the price of admission for theater aficionados generally…and for students and working reporters in particular.

But Director Jeffrey Sanzel always goes the extra mile in preparing these abstracts. In the case of the current Theatre Three offering, Oliver!, for instance, not only are we treated to a written précis spotlighting the mores in mid-eighteenth century England, but the common colloquialisms, politics, and laws of the day are also clearly defined… and in the case of dress and legal tender, examples are actually shown. One need not possess the imagination of Charles Dickens to recognize the value of such background material when one is called upon to interpret Dickensian activity on stage.

But to the current production:

I have long ago stopped assuming that a given tragic play (The Diary of Anne Frank), contemporary musical (The Boy from Oz), farce (Don’t Dress for Dinner) or classic adaptation (A Christmas Carol) – cannot be topped. One no sooner makes such a judgement than along comes another boffo Theatre Three offering in the genre in question … and the bar of excellence is raised even higher. Such a play is Oliver! The Lionel Bart musical that runs on Main Street in Port Jeff is not to be missed.

Why?

Well, for one thing, if you overlook this gem, you will be depriving yourself of an entertainment treat the likes of which this critic has seldom seen matched on a Long Island stage. If you thought, for instance, that indefatigable actor/director Jeffrey Sanzel was outstanding as Scrooge in A Christmas Carol (and he was), Long Island’s reigning king of theater is even better as the dancing, singing, sly (but charmingly vulnerable) Fagin in Oliver!

This is not Fagin’s production exclusively, however.

In 2013, Encore Award-winning Jennifer Collester Tully stole the show with her interpretation of Madam Thernardier in Les Miz. In Theatre Three’s current staging, Collester Tully demonstrates even more convincingly that she can play on our heartstrings as if they were her personal harp. With her big, sweet, versatile voice this veteran showman renders the score’s most memorable ballad, “As Long as He Needs Me,” with fantastic range and simpatico. In both the number’s introduction and reprise, Ms. Collester Tully evoked tears from even veteran theatergoers, and won the most fervent audience reaction in an opening night filled with them. Hopefully her young son James, himself an actor, was in the audience to hear his mother cheered.

This is a large troupe (some 25 named characters) and there wasn’t one player who seemed miscast. Robert W. Henderson Jr.’s lighting, Peter Casdia’s sound design, and in particular, Chakira Doherty’s wonderfully appropriate costumes, left nothing to be desired. Nor did Jackson Kohl’s musical direction. Indeed, violinist Marni Harris made me wonder if Fiddler on the Roof might not be a logical future candidate built around Sanzel and the obvious virtuoso.

But that’s a question for another day. For now, it seems enough to speculate on how the producers plan to accommodate the throngs likely to emulate Saturday’s sold-out crowd, and fill comfortable old Theatre Three between now and June 27^th.

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Award-winning writer, Jeb Ladouceur is the author of ten novels, and his theater and book reviews appear in several major L.I. publications. Ladouceur’s newest thriller THE QUANTUM SYNDROME is patterned on the Atlanta child murders of the 80s. His eleventh book, SEQUEL, explores the odd relationship between Harper Lee and Truman Capote.

Animal Shelter Director George Beatty To Retire June 30, 2015

May 21, 2015 Town Board meeting.  During the audience participation portion of tonight’s Town Board meeting Supervisor Patrick Vecchio announced that George Beatty, director of the Smithtown Animal Shelter is retiring. According to Supervisor Vecchio Mr. Beatty sent a letter to the Town Board earlier in the day announcing his retirement effective June 30, 2015.

Mr. Beatty has served as the director of the Smithtown Animal Shelter for over thirty years. He oversaw the creation of the cat room for homeless cats in 2007. Recently, he has come under fire for conditions at the animal shelter. Some animal activists have complained about lack of medical care for the animals and unsanitary conditions. There have been other complaints made against Mr. Beatty’s record keeping and an allegation about his personal timesheet documentation.  Public Safety has investigated the allegations.

At this evening’s Town Board meeting a speaker was making a complaint about Mr. Beatty’s treatment of an employee involving the rescue of two huskies. Mr. Beatty, the speaker alleged, was insisting the dogs be adopted together and that he berated an employee who was not following his order. At this point Supervisor Vecchio announced  Mr. Beatty’s resignation and mentioned that Mr. Beatty had recently lost his wife, the caregiver for his grandchildren, and that Mr. Beatty would be taking over that responsiblity. The audience applauded and cheered and completely disregarded any mention of Mr. Beatty’s loss.

One woman called Mr. Beatty a “cancer” another urged that he not be paid his salary. After the meeting the Supervisor questioned how people could be so concerned about the animals and lack any compassion for this man who just lost his wife.

Kings Park Shows Off Its Red Nose With Today Show Host Matt Lauer

Matt Lauer in Kings Park as part of his 225 mile bicycle ride for Red Nose DayIf you were up early and passing the Kings Park Volunteer Fire Department this morning you may have been wondering why there was so much traffic. Upon further reflection you might have started to wonder whyTraffic on 25A heading into Kings Park there was a camera crew, a drone and a large crowd of people standing in front of the Kings Park Fire Department.  If you were able to sneak another look you might have seen that NBC was filming the opening of the Today Show.  In the middle of the crowd of early morning risers was Today Show host Matt Lauer. 

Mr. Lauer came to Kings Park as part of his 225-mile bicycle ride fundraiser for Red Nose Day. His stop in Kings Park was on the fourth day of his five-day bike ride from Boston to NYC. The Red Nose Day Fund was established to support impoverished children in the U.S. and throughout the world.Crowd many from local schools and organizations.
The Goldsteins from Kings Park were early morning risers making there way to the Fire Department Kings Park residents got up early and made their way to the Fire Department on the corner of Indian Head Rd. and 25-A in Kings Park to see Mr. Lauer and also to show their support for Red Nose Day. DONATE NOW: Support Matt’s ride to help lift children around the world out of poverty

Why film in Kings Park a person asked Matt during the break between filming? An ideal spot along the pre-planned bike route, was the response. Kings Park residents would concur with Mr. Lauer, Kings Park is an ideal place!