Glittering stars twinkle over the Catskills

The cosmos is a wonderful thing. At any given moment in time, stars are forming somewhere in the universe. Some are infants, just learning to shine (or walk, as the case may be). Some have already begun their journey through space and some are fully formed, having exploded into consciousness with a Big Bang of their own.

On Friday, August 21, some new galaxies began forming at the CAS Arts Center in Livingston Manor. Ranging in age from 13 to 17, future stars Cindy Zheng, Kelsey Leland, Christine Troianello, Zoe Zurad, Rebecca Pisall, Cooper Zurad and Sam Satanovsky took center stage and premiered a new radio play, replete with music and live sound effects.

Written and directed by Ramona Jan, the Act Up! Teen Theatre program’s presentation of “Venus Fly Trap” was lively, entertaining and good, old-fashioned fun. The future for these talented teens looks bright.

Meanwhile, at the Forestburgh Playhouse, a supernova called “Hairspray” exploded on stage this week. Led by the incandescent performance of shining new star Jessica Wagner (as Tracy Turnblad), the playhouse continued it’s summer-long romance with audiences and created a fireworks display of energy, talent and entertainment above and beyond anything observed on the Fourth of July.

Firecracker Zoe Kassay (as Penny Pingleton), along with explosive performances by John Jeffords, Georgia Tapp, Martina Vidmar and the ultra-classy Benai Boyd boosted this production into the stratosphere, supported by an effervescent shower of sparks emanating from the entire company.

Richard De Genaro (as Edna Turnblad) had the difficult task of following in the footsteps of Broadway’s Harvey Fierstein and cult film favorite Divine, outré star of the original John Waters movie, on which this musical is based. Undaunted, De Genaro rose to the challenge and had the audience in stitches as he put his own spin on this great comic role.

The playhouse, including the directors, designers, musicians, actors and technicians pulled out all the stops this year and every single member of the organization deserves recognition for their efforts in this stellar season. “Hairspray” runs through August 30 and (in my humble opinion) should not be missed. For more information visit www.FBplayhouse.com or call 845/794-1194.

A new comet zoomed overhead in Liberty, NY this weekend as Paul Austin’s Liberty Free Theatre premiered “By the Time We Got To Woodstock.” As part of the company’s ongoing First Hearings Series, Rilla Askew’s new play, featuring wonderful performances by Dana Priebe, Richard Traviss and Karen Young, was funny, touching, thought-provoking and heart-wrenching, all at the same time.

Askew, who recently won an Academy Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters (for the body of her work) is a gifted playwright, and this theatre company continues to deliver solid productions of new works.

Whether it is a staged reading, an evening of poetry and jazz (with Barry Wallenstein and Steve Carlin on August 28) or a full-scale production of Harold Pinter’s “The Dumbwaiter” (coming up September 24) the theatre continues to offer a variety of stimulating and entertaining productions. Free admission? Hard to believe, but reservations are suggested, since seating is limited, and I have yet to see an empty seat on any of my visits to this wonderful venue. Call 845/292-3788 or visit www.libertyfreetheatre.org for more information and schedule of events.

Check out The River Reporter’s calendar of events to plan next week’s schedule of shows, art openings and special programs. More than likely, you’ll see me there!

Visit workingwithoutanet.blogspot.com for Jonathan Fox’s blog.