Bob’s Fruitcake
3/4 Cup Flour
3/4 Cup Sugar
1/2 Tsp. Salt
1/2 Tsp Baking Powder
Whisk together all ingredients in large bowl
1 1 Lb. package pitted dates
1 10 Oz. jar cherries, drained
1 1/2 Cups whole walnuts
1 Tsp. Vanilla
3 eggs
Add dates, cherries and walnuts to flour mixture and mix well
Whisk eggs and vanilla and add to flour and fruit mixture making sure all fruit and nuts are covered with egg mixture
Grease loaf pan, line with parchment paper and grease again
Bake at 300° for 1 3/4 hours or until done
Note: While my Dad made it through the depression and World War II, his birthday was December 26th. Cakes were hard to come by in those days, and he complained that he was destined to have fruitcake every year. He discovered this recipe and it was much more to his liking. I don’t know if he created it, but I definitely know he did not find it “online”. As he was a foodie long before it was popular, I am delighted to share this recipe to all those who enjoyed it. I can see him laughing right now. Happy Father’s Day, Dad!
With love and thanks to Barbara Harrison for making the cakes for us used in the show and for sharing this special recipe! Thanks, Barbara!!
BEHIND THE CURTAIN – Connecticut Theater Reviews
By FRANK RIZZO, frizzo@courant.com The Hartford Courant
June 6, 2013
I’m Connecticut opened to the sounds of uproarious laughter and audiences LOVED it!! It’s quirky, funny and you can’t go wrong with a big musical number at the end, right?! Are you from Connecticut? You’ll love this show. Do you have a friend from Boston? You’ll love this show. Ever been to Vermont, New Hampshire, Florida or Oklahoma? You’ll love this show!!!!!
LSM on facebook commented: I’m Connecticut is probably one of if not the
funniest shows I’ve ever seen. I made a complete fool out of myself
last night but I couldn’t stop laughing.
Click here to purchase tickets to I’m Connecticut. Playing now until June 23rd.
May 31, 2013
Join us for a fantastic evening of music and dancing at our Almost Paradise Gala Prom – Saturday, July 27.
Hospitality generously sponsored by Copper Beech Inn, Ivoryton.
Pre-prom hors d’oeuvres from 6:30pm before the 8:00pm performance of Footloose.
Dancing until mid-night to the sounds of John “Cadillac” Saville.
Seating is limited so book your tickets now by calling 860.767.9520.
Dust of your dancing shoes and grab your partner and come and party with the popular kids at the Ivoryton Playhouse!
May 24, 2013
Rehearsals have started for our June production of I’m Connecticut and the buzz is that this show will be the ticket to have to kick off summer fun!
The writing is funny and fresh, the cast is accomplished and – with Playhouse Artistic Director Jacqui Hubbard directing - it’s sure to be a hit. Don’t miss I’m Connecticut opening June 5th – 23rd! Tickets can be purchased by following this link.
Here is a sneak peek of just some of the wonderful costume designs from our new costumer Kari Crowther:
Handmade costumes created by Kari Crowther
I'm Connecticut opens June 5th and runs until June 23rd
May 9, 2013
Press Release
May 8, 2013
A brand new comedy all about us!
I’m Connecticut
at The Ivoryton Playhouse
Ivoryton: A brand new play from one of the writers of The Simpsons, I’m Connecticut – opening at the Ivoryton Playhouse on June 5th – is a wacky, fast-paced, sweet, romantic comedy about Marc, a Connecticut native who struggles with relationships and feelings of inadequacy – why? Because he comes from Connecticut – land of steady habits, sanity and politeness. A must-see comedy for anybody from the Nutmeg State!
First produced at the Connecticut Repertory Theatre, part of the School of Fine Arts at the University of Connecticut, in 2011, I’m Connecticut became the biggest selling non-musical ever produced in CRT’s Main Stage Series. The Hartford Courant called the romantic comedy “hysterically funny” and named it one of the top ten productions of the year. It was also named Best Play of 2012 by Broadway World Connecticut and it won a Special Recognition award from the Connecticut Critics Circle.
Emmy Award winning writer Mike Reiss will be joining us for the performances on June 6th, 7th and 8th and will be participating in a talk back with the audience. Mike was born in Bristol, CT but his career now spans both coasts. Mike has been a writer and producer of The Simpsons from its beginning and is currently working on season 24. He received a Peabody Award in 2006 and a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Animation Writers Caucus. He also co-wrote The Simpsons Movie, The Lorax, Horton Hears A Who! and Ice Age, Dawn of the Dinosaurs. He has published 17 children’s books, including seven Christmas tales.
The cast will include two actors from the original production – Harris Doran and Jerry Adler. Harris is a talented young actor who, just last year, won the Best Supporting Actor award at the Long Island International Film Expo for his work in the feature film, Junction.
Jerry Adler, a Connecticut resident, is a veteran of over 50 Broadway productions as Producer, Director and Production Stage Manager, including the original My Fair Lady (the revival of which he directed), Coco, The Homecoming, Annie and many more, as well as the Tony Award-winning Good Evening which he directed with Dudley Moore and Peter Cook – before he began his new career as an actor. He then appeared in Woody Allen’s Manhattan Murder Mystery and The Public Eye with Joe Pesci. He has since been seen on many television productions, including The West Wing, Law and Order, Northern Exposure, CSI: Miami and was a regular on Mad About You. He is an original cast member of The Sopranos and was “Hesh”, Tony’s mentor/advisor throughout that award-winning HBO Production’s run.
His recent films include In Her Shoes opposite Shirley MacLaine and Cameron Diaz, Prime with Meryl Streep and Uma Thurman, Find Me Guilty, directed by Sidney Lumet, Synecdoche playing Philip Seymour Hoffman’s father, and the soon-to-be-released Last Angry Man in Brooklyn with Robin Williams. On TV, he was the Fire Chief on Rescue Me with Denis Leary and is presently Howard Lyman on The Good Wife.
Directed by Jacqueline Hubbard, the cast includes Gwen Hollander*, Bill Mootos*, Rebecca Hoodwin*, Gino Costabile*, and Elizabeth Talbot. The set design is by Daniel Nischan, lighting design by Marcus Abbott, and costumes by Kari Crowley
I’M CONNECTICUT opens in Ivoryton on June 5th and runs through June 23rd. Performance times are Wednesday and Sunday matinees at 2pm. Evening performances are Wednesday and Thursday at 7:30pm, Friday and Saturday at 8pm. Tickets are $40 for adults, $35 for seniors, $20 for students and $15 for children and are available by calling the Playhouse box office at 860-767-7318 or by visiting our website at www.ivorytonplayhouse.org (Group rates are available by calling the box office for information.) The Playhouse is located at 103 Main Street in Ivoryton. Members of the press are welcome at any performance. Please call ahead for tickets.
Generously sponsored by: Webster Bank and Comcast
*member of Actors Equity
May 7, 2013
ESSEX HISTORICAL SOCIETY Preservation Award
Voting is now open for nominations for the 2013 Preservation Award! Please vote for the Ivoryton Playhouse!
In 2013, the EHS will be awarding the third winner of the Preservation Award. In 2011 the first Preservation Award was presented to the Ivoryton Library and in 2012 the Centerbrook Meetinghouse was honored. Both buildings were restored, bringing back the integrity of the historical periods in which they were constructed.
From May 1 – May 30, you may cast your ballot at post offices in Ivoryton, Essex and Centerbrook. And this year, you can also VOTE ONLINE!
Qualifications for the award:
-The building can be either commercial or residential
-The building needs to have been erected prior to 1936
-The historic character of the original structure has to have been preserved in keeping with the period it was initially constructed
Voting will close on May 30, votes will be tallied and then the award will be presented at the EHS Annual Strawberry Social on June 23!
Follow this link to vote online: http://www.essexhistory.org/preservation-award.htm
April 25, 2013
Auditions by appointment:
DREAMGIRLS
Book and Lyrics Tom Eyen. Music Henry Krieger
Non Equity male dancer call
Tuesday April 30th 2013
Noon –2pm
Pearl Studios 500 8th Ave New York NY 10018
African American male dancers that sing. Early 20’s to 30’s. Come prepared to dance first.
In the video submissions persons should demonstrate ability in jazz dance.
Please bring a picture and resume, stapled together. Call 860-767-9520 ext 203 for appointment
DREAMGIRLS runs Aug 7th 2013 till Sept 1st 2013
Theatre’s mailing address: Ivoryton Playhouse, PO Box 458 , Ivoryton CT 06442.
By Geary Danihy
Sex, money, power, doughnuts. Who knows what drives a man?
In Lawrence Garfinkle’s case — the man known as Larry the Liquidator — it’s all four, not necessarily in that order. You see, Larry is currently out at the Ivoryton Playhouse, doing deals, looking for companies he can take over, break up, and walk away from with a nifty profit. He’s larger than life, a raving egoist, sexist, overweight, amoral and…totally intriguing, as are most of the other four characters in “Other People’s Money,” an engaging dramedy directed with a deft eye by Maggie McGlone Jennings.
You see, Garfinkle (Edward Kassar) has a computer named Carmen, and most of the time when he cranks up Carmen in his New York office and asks her who is the fairest of them all, the answer is “Larry,” but one day the answer is a 78-year-old company in Rhode Island, New England Wire and Cable, with a great balance sheet and undervalued stock. Suddenly, there’s blood in the water and Larry the shark twitches.
Meanwhile, in Rhode Island, Andrew “Jorgy” Jorgensen (Gary Allan Poe), the company’s aging owner, is preparing to retire, and is disdainful when his company’s president, William Coles (Dennis Fox), suggests that the company’s recent stock movement might indicate that there are sharks in the water.
Soon, however, it becomes apparent that the company is in danger and, against his better judgment, Jorgy considers hiring his step-daughter, Kate, (Elizabeth Donnelly), a shark in her own right, to help the company fend off Garfinkle’s attack. But there are twisted family ties between Jorgy and Kate, and she rejects his less than elegant offer, only to be persuaded to reconsider working to save the company by her mother, Bea Sullivan (Denise Walker), Jorgy’s executive assistant who…well…there are stories within stories in this two-act play.
Slow to get off the ground, the play eventually takes flight mid-way through the first act as the characters come into focus, multiple conflicts are revealed, and the audience can’t help but be drawn into the lives portrayed on stage.
Playwright Jerry Sterner has a good ear for the parlance of big business and the money-macho lingo of the Wall Street movers and groovers who like to think of themselves as gunslingers, elegantly suited studs who use money like Colt-45 pistols. Thus, it’s the Garfinkle character who gets most of the best lines, and Kassar doesn’t let a single one of these lines escape his trenchant, sharp delivery as he creates a Jewish pistolero who, you sense, has a little bit of self-loathing hiding behind that flashy, foul-mouthed façade. He is gross, up-front, disdainful and totally honest about his wants and desires. It’s a bravura performance, all the more so since he makes it seem so natural.
Playing against Kassar, Poe, as “Jorgy,” is upright, rigidly moral, and conflicted, a man whose values can’t allow him to use the various ploys Kate suggests as ways to thwart Garfinkle’s attacks on his company. Think Gregory Peck, who played the role in the 1991 film of the play, which also starred Danny DeVito as Garfinkle. Kate can’t believe Jorgy’s naiveté when he is faced with the down and dirty of what happens when a company is “in play,” yet, as a shark herself, she is strangely drawn to Garfinkle’s persona – she likes the rub, the rush, the fact that it’s all egos at dawn with drawn pistols.
Then there’s the corporate president, Bill Coles, who, as he realizes a “golden parachute” may not be in the offing – that he and his family may be left high and dry if things don’t work out – sells out to Garfinkle, who is also confronted by a worried Bea, who is willing to give him her million-dollar annuity if he will only leave the company alone, i.e., leave alone the man she loves.
You can’t help but be caught up in these lives. Yes, it’s soap opera, but soap opera of a witty, high order, delivered by adept actors who make their characters come to vivid life. The only performance that may not totally ring true is Walker’s Bea Sullivan – just a bit too earnest and eager, yet her scenes with her daughter as she justifies he life and her love for Jorgy are quite powerful. If, over the run of the play, she tones down her early goggle-eyed eagerness, her character will come to the fore.
There’s an electric, visceral nature to this production, enhanced by scenic designer William Russell Stark’s set, which has Garfinkle’s office stage right, Jorgy’s office stage left, and, in the middle, a meeting room center upstage, and Marcus Abbot’s lighting design, both of which allow for scenes that enable characters in Rhode Island and New York to interact and comment on each other’s actions.
You may not totally buy the play’s final moments, a wrap-up of sorts that seems to beg the questions the play suggests, but that doesn’t take away from the production’s power and intensity, driven by Kassar’s performance. Yes, there are echoes of Oliver Stone’s 1987 “Wall Street” film, but those echoes enhance the play’s penultimate moments, a charged stockholders’ meeting that allows Jorgy and Garfinkle to present their diametrically opposed views of what a capitalistic society must prize.
So, take a drive out to Ivoryton and be drawn into the morally suspect dealings of a Wall Street carnivore as he puts into play a series of actions that demand people to weigh what is really important in their lives, all of it grist for some good conversation over a post-theater dinner.
“Other People’s Money” runs through May 5. For tickets or more information call 860-767-7318 or go to www.ivorytonplayhouse.org.
