Review: Escape to Margaritaville on Broadway - Leave Your Port of Indecision, Sail On Over for Last Call and You'll Leave Happy

by Suzanne Ordas Curry

It's Hamilton for Parrotheads.

But even if you don't know what a Parrothead is,  you'll enjoy this escape.

I must start by saying I don't care for musicals. Musical movies, yes, Broadway no. I almost left after 5 minutes of Spongebob the musical, which critics love. I think I am the only one in the world that did not like that one. I did like Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. I need a real story and dialogue along with the music. WIthin the first few minutes of Escape to Margaritaville I knew I was in for a treat.

Interview: Actress and 9-11 Widow Iliana Guibert Talks about Life After 9-11 and Her Continuing Pledge to Live Each Day Fully

Iliana Guibert  is an inspiring woman, actress, writer, mother and 9-11 widow who one might says has made lemonade out of lemons. Embarking on a career in acting later in life, she is making her mark in the business with acting and writing, including being in documentaries on 9-11. A New York- based actress, who trained at NYU's Tisch, she has had roles on Blue Bloods, Quantico, Law and Order: SVU and many other series and films. She lives by the motto that "life is too short". Read more about her in this interview and catch her film Twice Upon a Time.

Update: To watch Twice Upon a Time visit: https://www.facebook.com/TwiceUponATime.TheMovie/

As The World Turns Trent Dawson Hosts Fun Fundraiser for His New Short, The F with a Bevy of His Soap Friends.. Martha Byrne, Michael Park, Anne Sayre, Terri Conn, Austin Peck, Colleen Zenk, Eric Sheffer-Stevens & More

"It will be a really fun night" said Trent Dawson, about his fundraiser for his new short film, The F. On June 22nd at the Freeman Studio in NYC at 6:30pm he and a bunch of his good friends from the soap world will get together for a night of nostalgia about As The World Turns (though Trent was recently on GH) and more.There will be a performance, music, a silent auction and a short montage featuring ATWT bloopers.

Trent wrote a play, and now he wants to make it into a short film. Without giving away what the "F" is - you'll have to come Friday to find out- we know the play takes place in a NYC subway station, and in one of those, anything can happen! I talked to Trent about his new play when I saw him at Cady McClain's play in NYC, and he promised the evening would be a good time.

NJ Event: Review of Half Time at Paper Mill Playhouse Starring the Mary Tyler Moore Show's Georgia Engel: Gotta Dance! Gotta See It!

Review by Beth Abramson Brier

They got sizzle. They got style.  But most of all, they got swag!  I’m not talkin’ ‘bout Beyoncé and her bae Jay-Z.  I’m talking Seniors (yeah, like the AARP card carrying  kind) and the east coast premiere of Half Time now at Paper Mill Playhouse in Millburn, New Jersey through July 1, 2018.  While a show about geriatric dancers may seem an unlikely theme, “this is not your father’s Oldsmobile®”!

Paint Made Flesh: A New Play by Howard Meyer, Directed by Cady McClain Premieres in New York City

Paint Made Flesh is a new play coming to New York City for a limited engagement June 12th, 14th and 15th at The Cell, 338 West 23rd Street in New York City.

The play is written by Howard Meyer and directed by Cady McClain (Seeing is Believing: Women Direct and Actress most well-known for All My ChiIdren). The play is a production of Evolutionary Media Group, Amanda Quinn Olivar, Eva Paris Cicinyte and the Axial Theater.

Interview: Playwright Howard Meyer Talks His New Play, Paint Made Flesh Premiering in NYC

Howard Meyer has a new play, Paint Made Flesh premiering in New York City in June 2018 at the Cell Theater. It's about Willa, a transplanted NYC painter that now teaches at American University in Washington, DC.  After ending a long and passionate relationship with a rising NYC star performance artist she is now about to marry a seemingly “normal guy” and “settle down.” Keir, her husband-to-be, is a Washington DC politician from a good DC family who is diligently working his way up the political ladder. He loves Willa and thinks he can create a stable life where she will be happy, but also has a huge secret from his college years that Willa is confronted with. I asked Howard about his new play and  what he's up to next.

Meet Houswares Designer Nora Fleming: Nora Fleming To Sign Her Stoneware and Accessories at Mango Jam in Ridgewood, NJ

Nora Fleming comes to Mango Jam 41 N. Broad Street in downtown Ridgewood, NJ on June 8, 2018. For those who purchase one of her pieces, she will sign it and the purchaser will also receive a special edition orange butterfly ornament for their piece. Refreshments will be served. The event is from 12:00 - 2:00.  

If you cannot attend, you may pre-purchase a piece and Mango Jam will have it signed for you.Signed pieces are collectables.

Nora Fleming is a line of home goods including platters, kitchen accessories and boards which have interchangeable ornaments. Her line includes stoneware, melamine as well as other types of homegoods.

Opinion: Twinkies and Tweets in the Age of Ambien - An Open Letter to Roseanne Barr

My Thoughts.....Exactly! Today's Topic

"Twinkies and Tweets in the Age of Ambien® "

By Beth Abramson Brier

Dear Ms. Barr,

As I suspect you have very few other offers as of late, you might want to continue reading before you discard this letter. Ever since Sanofi, the makers of Ambien®, have gone on record that “racism is not a known side effect of any of [their] medications”, it seems you are in need of a new (plausible) legal theory to defend your outburst on Twitter. Coincidentally I once practiced law in the pharmaceutical field and have some thoughts about alternative theories of jurisprudence*. Obviously some fall under the category of “legal fiction” but who can tell these days, right?

Interview: Actress Holly Fulger Whose Roots Are on the First Ellen Show Now On a Mission to Teach Young Women the Real Meaning of Beauty - GoFundMe Campaign for True Beauty Detective Underway

You may recognize actress, writer, and producer Holly Fulger from some of the shows she's been on. She played Ellen DeGeneres' friend, Holly Jamison on Ellen's sitcom way back when before Ellen was THE Ellen. She's also been on an impressive number of shows, including Thirtysomething, 7th Heaven, CSI, The Practice, John Larroquette Show, Dweebs, Anything but Love, Sable and more.  As of the past few years, Holly has been running the company True Beauty Detective. It s a media company and movement all about inclusivity, diversity and creating broad views of beauty. Having been an actress, who are often judged on their looks, she sees a need to change the beauty standard.  

Ridgewood Guild International Film Festival Wraps Up 2018 Festival with A Real Housewife of New Jersey, A Hollywood Producer, and Many Talented Filmmakers - 40 Exclusive Photos and List of Winners

Tony Damiano, RHONJ Dolores Catania
and Brad Forenza a the RGIFF 2018

The 8th Annual Ridgewood Guild International Film Festival was home to over 200 films over it's 8 days. The festival started with a a Human Rights Film Festival for 2 days, a 2 day Foreign Film spectacular and two nights of shorts, student films, docs and films by new and established filmmakers from the US and abroad at the Bowtie Cinema Theater in downtown Ridgewood NJ.

Hundreds of people attended the festival and its activities. Of special note during the festival was a highlight reel and then talk and Q & A by Hollywood Producer Scott Rosenfelt (Home Alone, Teen Wolf,  Mystic Pizza). This presentation was given as part of the Ridgwood Arts Council Artist Talk Series. Attendees heard inside scoop on some of his most iconic movies, including how Michael J Fox was almost not cast in Back to the Future and what MaCauley Culkin was like on set as a kid.

Crowds also enjoyed seeing Real Housewife of New Jersey Dolores Catania and her family on the Red Carpet and then starring in the film Breaking Points by NJ filmmaker Brad Forenza.