BroadwayTheatreBlog.com

The Official Blog of The Westchester Broadway Theatre


Archive for the ‘Interviews’

Cody Supposes…

April 14, 2011 By: Pia Haas Category: Interviews, News, Press, Singin In The Rain No Comments →

CODY WILLIAMS,who plays Cosmo Brown in Singin’ In The Rain, is a quadruple threat! He’s a masterful comedian, Dances & Sings Like a dream, and what an Actor! Where did he hail from? Read on!

  

I grew up in Marietta, GA.  Right outside of Atlanta.  As a kid I played a lot of soccer and did a lot of martial arts.  The only performing I did was a one week camp every Summer.  I loved performing every summer and after my last year of camp in 8th grade some friends talked me into giving the local performing arts high school a try.  As soon as I got there, it was all over.  I knew I wanted to be an actor.  

I was lucky because I have had a lot of incredible teachers.  The first thing that I remember seeing and being really inspired was the show Movin’ Out.  I saw it my freshman year of high school and remember saying to myself that I would, one day, be able to do what those guys could do.  

 

My first experience with Singin’ in the Rain came when I was very young from The Great Movie Ride and Disney’s Hollywood Studios.  I always had known about the movie.  It wasn’t until I was 17 that I saw it however.  I was completely blown away by how incredible it was. I have never done the stage show before but I have always wanted to. It’s hard to really compare it with the movie, however. For me, the reason to make a movie is so that you can do things that you can’t do in a theatre.  For instance, the stuff Donald O’Connor does in "Make Em’ Laugh" is so physically intense and amazing.  No one could ever do that in live performance because we don’t have the luxury of dubbing our voice in a studio afterwards.  

With all that being said, I feel proud of our production, and I am so happy people seem to be really enjoying it.  It’s hard for me to pick a single favorite moment in the show.  I really love the "Moses" scene though.

 

I have so many favorite shows and so many dream roles I couldn’t begin to list them.  I’m so lucky to have just played Will Parker in Oklahoma!, and I’m so lucky to be playing Cosmo right now.  Within the next couple of years, I would love to play Finch in How to Succeed, Candide in Candide, and Edmund in Long Day’s Journey Into Night.

When I am not on stage, I am an avid mixed martial arts fan.  You can find me watching UFC almost day of the week.  Other than that, its pretty much just hanging with my gilly.

 

On my I pod? The best of classic rock, a lot of Pearl Jam, a boat load of musical theatre and a bunch of voice lessons!  

Opening Night Fun!!

April 04, 2011 By: Pia Haas Category: Interviews, News, Press, Quirky Videos, Singin In The Rain, WBT Videos No Comments →

Candy & Egg Creams!

March 09, 2011 By: Pia Haas Category: I Do! I Do!, Interviews, News, Press, Special Events No Comments →

Tom and Pat Puchalski have been married 50 years on 10/30/10!  Pat shared her story with us!
  

 

 "We actually met in grammer school, during my 7th and 8th grade.  When I started high school I went to the candy store 2 blocks from my house and I used to see Tom there.  We would order egg-cream sodas. 

We started dating just before my 16th birthday.  Tom came to my 16th birthday and we started dating.  We married 2 1/2 yrs later on 10/30/60.  We now have 4 children and 10 grandchildren. 

"To remain happily married you have to listen to your partners needs and wants.  You can’t always have or do what you want.  You have to be able to give of yourself."

From Russia with Love!

March 08, 2011 By: Pia Haas Category: I Do! I Do!, Interviews, News, Press, Special Events No Comments →

Anna & David Portnoy said "I Do" 60 years ago!  Their daughter, Mila, explained their journey: 
 
My parents Anna and David Portnoy first met in Odessa, Ukraine when they were only 19, right after World War 2. They were introduced by my mom’s brother, who was also my dad’s friend and got married three months later. They worked very hard and have been great parents, selfless and dedicated to their three children, trying to give them the best education, working two jobs each to make extra money, so that their kids could take music, ballet and art classes.
At the end of 1970, they decided to move to the US for a better life and for freedom, because Jewish people in Russia were not treated equally and fairly and encountered all kinds of limitations as second class citizens…
America welcomed them and became a wonderful home. We all are so proud and grateful to this country!   What I observed  about them is their love for each other, total devotion, sacrifices for one another.  They do everything together and are never apart for more then an hour, especially now, my father can’t be without her even a minute. It seems that now they even more attached to each other and more loving then ever… If you meet them you, you could never forget that couple.  In November 2010,  they just celebrated their 60th marriage anniversary with their 3 children and 5 grandchildren. 

Lost & Found!

February 24, 2011 By: Pia Haas Category: I Do! I Do!, Interviews, News, Press, Special Events No Comments →

Joyce & Burt Koyner of Ossining, NY have been married 50 years! 
 
My wife and I met at a hotel called Brickman’s in upstate New York. The first time I went to take her out, I got lost going there. She lived in the Bronx and I lived in Tarrytown. When I finally got to her apartment and we were about to leave on our date, her Aunt who was visiting said “Come back again.” I thought that was a good omen.
 
We got married at a place in New Rochelle. I can’t say that I was nervous, but I got a bloody nose just before the ceremony. The nose bleed stopped, luckily, before she walked down the aisle.
 
We have been blessed with 3 children and 4 wonderful grandchildren.
 
One of the ways to stay together is to learn 6 words. The first two are “yes dear” and the next four are “ you’re right, I’m sorry.”
 
It has been a pretty good life and I hope it continues for many more years.  
 

Love & Wisdom (teeth?)

February 22, 2011 By: Pia Haas Category: I Do! I Do!, Interviews, News, Press, Special Events No Comments →

 Sylvia & Philip Feiner share 60 years as man & wife! Their story as told by their son, Paul Feiner:

My father, Philip Feiner (who will be 90 in March) and my mother, Sylvia Fuch Feiner, who is 86, have been married for 60 years. My father was at the dentist 61 years ago and the dentist told him that he had to take out a wisdom tooth. He asked my father if he’d like to meet someone terrific. Fortunately, he said yes before the wisdom tooth was taken out. The lesson: make all your important life decisions before the wisdom tooth comes out. The secret of the success: My mom and dad both put my mom first, according to grandchild Moriah Trenk.   

Love will last a Lifetime!

February 22, 2011 By: Pia Haas Category: I Do! I Do!, Interviews, News, Press, Special Events No Comments →

Sam & Ruth Papa Of Briarcliff Manor, NY  will be married 58 years on February 21st, 2011.  Sam shared their story with us:
     
Yes we will be married 58 years on February 21st, 2011.  It all started at a mutual friend’s house.  When we met,  I never stopped winking at Ruth. It was just a must to do. We talked, walked and dated and after coming out of the service,  we married in 1953.  

Our friends and family said that it would never last.  The few that are still around can see that it did, and it was, and is as great as ever.  We have two lovely daughters, and six grandchildren.  

Ruth worked as an administrative assistant in York College, and I worked at several financial houses and the New York Times. Our move to Briarcliff Manor was one of the best we ever made.  I enjoyed the years that I volunteered at the SPCA shelter and the "Puppies Behind Bars" program.  

Ruth loves to read, cook and watch "Book TV".    She adds that  the key to a long & happy marriage is " Tolerating what is unimportant. Looking at the alternative and realizing that not being together is not the answer. One must go on & accept things as they are now, people give up too easily today."

Sam agrees and adds that it helps if the couple has a "great example with their  parents’  marriage and how they kept it going.  Yes, It is always great at the beginning, but there are unexpected and unforseen bumps in the path…there are always stumbling blocks in a good relationship..work things out, think about what you can say and do. And think about the original commitment you made and don’t throw in the towel. Look for the happiness always."

Always a Bridesmaid?

February 18, 2011 By: Pia Haas Category: I Do! I Do!, Interviews, News, Press, Special Events No Comments →

Lou and Rosemarie Mastrangelo of Danbury, CT, have been husband & wife for 52 years and counting!

 
 
Lou and I will be married 52 years this May. We both came from the same neighborhood but did not know each other until we were partners in his cousin’s (my best friend) wedding party.  

I taught him how to dance at that wedding. In Sept.1955, He was in the airforce and stationed in Maine so we could not date until he got leave. He  was then transferred to  Puerto Rico where he remained for two years from there he was discharged. We then started dating and in got engaged after six months Six months after that, we got married May 30,1959 at St.Martin of Tours Church. The Church all of  us friends got married in so many years ago. 

We have two daughters both are married. We Lived in Westchester for 30 years, now live in Danbury, CT. To this date we are still in touch with Mr. and Mrs. Dechiario,and Mr.and Mrs. Coleman all of whom came from same neighborhood still friends  70yrs later.  The secret to a happy marriage: "Be friends first and If you’re angry or disagree, get it out & forget it!"  

                                         

The Greatest Gift….

February 18, 2011 By: Pia Haas Category: I Do! I Do!, Interviews, News, Press, Special Events No Comments →

Beth Jane Creighton and Paul Raymond Levesque of Riverdale, NJ,  were married 52 years ago!  Their son, Paul explains:.
 
Paul and Beth met during the summer of 1954 while swimming at a large quarry in New Hampshire where lots of teens went to swim.  Paul and his friend, Jack Tibbetts went to the Quarry where they met Beth and her friend, Carolyn Wyeth. It was the  Labor Day holiday weekend.  Paul started dating Beth and Jack started dating Carolyn.  Paul enlisted in the US Army in January of 1955, served for three years, and following his discharge in December of 1957, married Beth on August 30th, 1958 in Townsend, Massachusetts.
 Paul and Beth both believe that one of the main reasons why their marriage has lasted over 52 years is that they both have a personal faith in God and a reverance for the Bible.  "In the early years of our marriage, we also realized that joy and happiness do not come with having material possessions.  We both believe that life is about love and have worked diligently at having an unselfish love and to be thankful for what we did have together.  God blessed us with 4 children and 10 grandchildren whom we love very much.  Our family has always been our first priority and our commitment to them continues to this day.  A loving family is the greatest gift you can have."

Can I Have This Dance?

February 17, 2011 By: Pia Haas Category: I Do! I Do!, Interviews, News, Press, Special Events No Comments →

Stephanie & Michael Iachetta have been a team for almost 51 years!  Check out their story as narrated by Michael!
  
We met at a College of New Rochelle event. I was there for a literary discussion to discuss Tennessee Williams and Shakespeare and thought I could shake up the Ursuline nuns at the all-girls college by showing how Billy Shakespeare’s writing was every bit as violent and filled with love, forbidden and otherwise, back in the day as Tenn’s was in ours. Afterwards, there was a social mixer, and Stephanie was serving eggnog and one of my Fordham buddies on the track team with me commented on how beautiful she was and said he was going to ask her to dance. Out of sheer competitiveness, I cut him off (I used to run lead off leg on the mile and two mile relays for Fordham as a track scholarship athlete).
I asked Steph to dance and we have been dancing together ever since. That was in December, close to Christmas (hence the eggnog) of 1957. I was a junior English/Journalism major out of Little Italy off Fordham Road in the Bronx, she was a sophomore speech major from Van Houten Fields in West Nyack who went on to become president of CNR’s Props and Paints theatre group.
We married a year after her college graduation from CNR (Steph graduated in 1959, we kiddingly used to say CNR stood for the College of No Romance) when I was fresh out of the Army (direct commission from enlisted man to first lieutenant) and at the start of my career with The NY Daily News, going on to become, among other things, a globe-trotting, nationally-syndicated travel writer, columnist, editor, arts critic (including theatre and ballet) and more. Our wedding date: Oct.15, 1960 (I had trouble getting off from work because of the World Series). Steph was a speech therapist for a while in Rockland, then stayed home to raise our four no longer kids (a college professor, creative copy writer, nurse and psychologist, two boys, two girls, ranging in age from 40 to 48 at what I used to say was two year Jesuitically spaced intervals).
As the kids grew up,  Steph went on to become an IBM executive as well as the author of a best selling book called "The Daily Reader of Contemplative Living,’ now in its fourth printing (at least). We both, by the way, are also senior aerobics instructors for various area YMCAs. I am long-since retired from The NY Daily News. But still write regularly for regional and national publications And Steph, an ex-dancer, also teaches Zumba, the aerobics dance craze.
Our secret to a long & happy marriage, if there is one, is to accept one another as we are, not as we’d like each other to be. We forgive if not forget but conveniently develop amnesia about some things. We focus on the positives. We appreciate the ongoing adventure of getting to know one another better every day. We are continually amazed by the bond that comes from having children and grandchildren. And our shared experiences have led to a love that surpasses all understanding.
  • User Menu

  • About This Site

    The BroadwayTheatreBlog is a frequently updated news and opinion site affiliated with the Westchester Broadway Theatre in Elmsford, NY. Our goal, along with our sister site BroadwayTheatre.com, is to be your source for information and candid behind the scenes content.

    Please feel free to join us as a member and comment on the content you see here. You can also contact us via the information presented on our "Contact Us" page.

  • Visit the WBT Online Gift Shop!
    These Products are available
    EXCLUSIVELY online
    -- Not available in the theatre! --

    Support This Site