PLAYHOUSE NEWS. What s Up Next. Somerset Valley Players. Somerset Valley Players. Directed by Todd R. Bennington. by Neil Simon

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1 Volume 20 Issue 1 Somerset Valley Players January 2019 PLAYHOUSE NEWS Inside this issue: Calendar of Events 2019 Sponsors 2 Meeting Bites 3 Biloxi Blues 4 Audition Notice Membership Renewal In Memoriam Dinner/Show Special Be an SVP Sponsor AmazonSmile SVP 2019 Season 7 SVP 2019 Subscription Form SVP 2019 Flex Pass Form SVP 2019 Membership Form What s Up Next Directed by Todd R. Bennington Runs January 25th through February 10th Fridays & Saturdays at 8PM, Sundays at 2PM by Neil Simon Tickets: $20 Adults $18 Seniors/Students To purchase tickets: Visit The second in Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Neil Simon's trilogy which began with Brighton Beach Memoirs and concluded with Broadway Bound. When we last met Eugene Jerome, he was coping with adolescence in 1930's Brooklyn. Here, he is a young army recruit during WWII, going through basic training and learning about Life and Love with a capital 'L' along with some harsher lessons, while stationed at boot camp in Biloxi, Mississippi in Somerset Valley Players 601 Route 206 Suite Hillsborough, NJ Executive Board: President: Emily M. Windus Vice President of Production: Todd R. Bennington Vice President of Theatre Mgmt.: Ed Hayden Vice President of House Mgmt.: Randy J. Coddington, Sr. Vice President of Sales & Marketing: Roberta Steve Secretary: Paula C. Windus Treasurer: Michael A. Muller

2 Playhouse News Calendar of Events P: SOMERSET VALLEY PLAYHOUSE (U ) J M D: J 14, 2019 T!: 7:30PM 9:30 PM B G M!&' M B B S D: J 25 F& 10, 2019 S T!: 8PM F, S, 2PM S F& M D: F& 11, 2019 T!: 7:30PM 9:30 PM B G M!&' M R M S D: M 8 24, 2019 S T!: 8PM F, S, 2PM S M M D: M 11, 2019 T!: 7:30PM 9:30 PM B G M!&' M T S S D: M 23, 2019 S T!: 1PM T& - ' & D P! A' M D: A' 8, 2019 T!: 7:30PM 9:30 PM B G M!&' M A F T H W F S D: A' 26 M 12, 2019 S T!: 8PM F, S, 2PM S SVP is very grateful to our 2019 Season Sponsors The cast of Ada & Francis Savarese In Honor & Loving Memory of Henry E. Bennington and Ralph N. DeMarco JML Landscaping Mailbox Business Center of Hillsborough Petrock s Bar & Grille The Robert W. Pittenger Family State Line Aviation Super Sundaes Page 2

3 Playhouse News Meeting Bites - December 2018 Theater Management Kyle Hamilton didn t do the mobile box office since all the Seussified performances were sold out. There was a discussion about who is receiving the newsletter should it be a larger audience than the members? Roberta will work with Mike Muller on sending out a letter about volunteer opportunities. It was suggested to highlight a specific volunteer in the newsletter. House Management Randy Coddington, Sr. reported that the fire inspection was done and the playhouse passed. The yearly maintenance for the furnace was done. Production A Seussified Christmas Carol is in production and will close December 16. Biloxi Blues is in rehearsal, will open January 25, and run through February 10. Rehearsal for Murder is cast and is currently in rehearsal. Auditions for A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum will be held January 6 (2:00 p.m.) and January 7 (7:00 p.m.) with callbacks scheduled for January 13 at 6:00 p.m. The table read for Doris Parmet s play, The Scam, will be Saturday, March 23, 2019, at 1:00 p.m. at the playhouse. Sales and Marketing Roberta Steve reported that she is updating and collating the 2019 advertising/ sponsorship packages. She is finalizing the table runner (which Mailboxes will produce) to use for future engagements. Kyle will draft a newsletter article on the mobile box office. Roberta was happy to announce that SVP received the Courier-News Readers Choice Award for 2018: the Best of the Best in Somerset County in the Entertainment Category. [see picture below!] The 2019 bookmark is printed and ready for distribution. The promotional video created by The Raritan Valley Community College intern, Liz Page 3

4 Playhouse News Somerset Valley Players Biloxi Blues WWII Comedy Puts War Veterans in the Spotlight It s 1943, and five young men find themselves on a train to Biloxi, MS. The war in Europe and the Pacific is raging. And the Army is going to make them into soldiers. They hope. That s the premise of Biloxi Blues, the autobiographical Neil Simon comedy opening January 25 at the Somerset Valley Players in Hillsborough. Simon drew on his own experiences as a G.I. in the wartime Army to mine laughs from his experience in basic training. The narrator of the play, Eugene Jerome, is Neil Simon s alter ego, explains director Todd Bennington. The show is told through the aspiring writer Eugene s book of memoirs. It s a good bet that the other characters are caricatures of his very real fellow soldiers. Bennington has directed several Simon comedies at SVP. Directing Biloxi Blues is special to him for personal reasons. I directed Brighton Beach Memoirs in 2015, which is the first of Simon s Eugene Jerome trilogy. Second, with Simon s passing in 2018, it s a fitting way to pay tribute to this comedy legend. The most personal reason, though, is why Bennington chose not just to direct the show, but also to sponsor it with a financial donation to SVP. Both my grandfathers, Henry E. Bennington and Ralph N. DeMarco, were part of the greatest generation of American men who became citizen soldiers in WWII exactly the same way Eugene and the other characters in the show do. I m so proud that this show honors their service to the country. The comedy in Biloxi Blues comes from how these men were thrown together in the most difficult circumstances, adds producer Karen Abbatiello. The characters don t often see eye-to-eye, and they don t necessarily even like each other, but by the end of boot camp they are a band of brothers ready for the fight. Produced by Dominick and Karen Abbatiello and stage managed by Holly Lessing, Biloxi Blues runs January 25-February 10 at the Somerset Valley Players theater on 689 Amwell Road (Rout 514) in Hillsborough. Friday and Saturday performances begin at 8 p.m. Sunday matinees start at 2 p.m. The theater is air conditioned, barrier free and wheelchair accessible. For tickets and show times go to Henry E. Bennington Ralph N. DeMarco Page 4

5 Playhouse News AUDITION NOTICE Date/Time: Sunday, January 6 at 2 PM Monday, January 7 at 7 PM Place: Somerset Valley Players, 689 Amwell Road, Hillsborough, NJ Synopsis: Sondheim's joyous, musical romp through Rome has desperate lovers, scheming neighbors and secrets behind every toga. Broadway's greatest farce is light, fast-paced, witty, irreverent and one of the funniest musicals ever written. A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum takes comedy back to its roots, combining situations from timetested, 2000-year-old comedies of Roman playwright, Plautus, with the infectious energy of classic vaudeville. Director Eric Walby will be looking for 7-10 males (ages 20s-50s), 8-10 females (ages 20s-40s) Callbacks, by invitation only, will be Sunday, January 13, at 6 pm. SPECIAL NOTES FOR AUDITIONERS: Please wear comfortable dancing shoes. Be prepared to sing 16 bars of a lively, upbeat tune. PLEASE BRING SHEET MUSIC FOR THE ACCOMPANIST. Readings will be from the script. Bring your funny!! Performance dates run weekends, April 26 through May 12, 2019 (Friday, Saturday & Sunday). Performers interested in auditioning should go to for a complete breakdown of characters and other information Membership Renewal It s now time to renew your membership for 2019! You may renew online by going to (underscore between membership and information) or by mailing in your dues of $25 to SVP, 601 Route 206, Suite , Hillsborough, NJ Membership includes twelve issues of the Playhouse News newsletter, two complimentary tickets to any SVP 2019 production, voting rights at membership meetings, the opportunity to chair a SVP committee and work on theater projects and initiatives, and membership only discounts throughout the year. (Note: Life members do not have to renew.) In Memoriam Richard Dobrowolski, a founding member of Somerset Valley Players, died December 12 at age 89. A resident of Somerville, Rich acted, directed, and produced many shows at the Somerset Valley Playhouse. His funeral was held on December 17 at Immaculate Conception Church. Rich is survived by his wife Betty, four children, and four grandchildren. He will be missed by his SVP family. Page 5

6 Playhouse News Dinner and a Show Special SVP s popular Dinner & Show partnership with Caffé Piazza is BACK! Bring your ticket* to Caffé Piazza before the show on Friday or Saturday and receive a 10% discount towards your dinner. When you finish dinner bring your dinner receipt to SVP and receive a $2 per ticket* refund. Dinner and show must be on same date to receive discounts. A valid SVP ticket* must be presented at Caffé Piazza. Valid dinner receipt must be presented at SVP box office. SVP ticket discount offer valid Friday and Saturday only. Dinner discount valid on Sunday after the show. 609 Route 206 North Hillsborough, NJ (Located in Stop & Shop complex) (908) *NOTE: Ticket must be a nondiscounted ticket ($18+). Become an SVP Sponsor! A Show Sponsorship delivers you direct marketing to the SVP family and patrons. Your company will become the headline sponsor of a SVP production. Your company name and logo will appear: On the cover of the Show Program for the sponsored production. In all Audition Notices sent for the production. In all Membership Notices and Newsletters for the next 12 months. In all Press Releases sent to local print and broadcast media for the production. On all Inside and Outside Signage during the run of the production. On the SVP Website for the next 12 months. In the production pre-show announcements speech prior to each performance. Plus you will receive passes for 10 free tickets to the sponsored SVP production. Please contact vp_marketing@svptheatre.org or call for more information! AmazonSmile is a simple and automatic way for you to support your favorite charitable organization every time you shop, at no cost to you. When you shop at smile.amazon.com, you ll find the exact same low prices, vast selection and convenient shopping experience as Amazon.com, with the added bonus that Amazon will donate a portion of the purchase price to your favorite charitable organization - SVP! When you shop at AmazonSmile, Amazon donates 0.5% of the purchase price to Somerset Valley Players! Please keep us in mind the next time you are shopping on Amazon. Bookmark this link: support us every time you shop! Page 6

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