Northern Westchester

Considering I’ve traveled far and wide to see moe. (though certainly not as far and wide as some people I know…), it feels pretty weird to be gearing up to see them right here in Westchester. But weird in a reallllly good way, of course! This band is one of my favorites; and they never fail to put on an amazing show.

Here’s the details about tonight:

What: moe. plays the Paramount Center for the Arts in Peekskill.
When: 8 p.m. Wednesday.
Where: 1008 Brown St., Peekskill, 914-739-2333.
Tickets: $32.50, can be purchased online from www.paramountcenter.org.

Believe it or not, this band has been around for 20 years already. That should attest to the talent these boys bring to the stage. But don’t take me word for it. Come see and hear for yourself! Also, check out an article I wrote for The Journal News about moe.’s musical legacy and loyal following for some more background about the band.

The county just put out this announcement:

Residents of White Plains, North Castle, Scarsdale and Yonkers who are served by County Water District #1 are being asked to conserve water this summer because of work that the New York City Department of Environmental Protection (NYCDEP) is doing inside the Kensico Dam.

The district serves approximately 75,000 residents in the communities listed above.

During the ongoing construction, District 1 will be receiving its water from a diversion system that was set up by the NYCDEP. The system has limitations on how much water can be drawn through it.

Problems will be avoided if residents in the water district service area conserve water. If usage is too high, it could result in reduced water pressure, disruptions in service and possible mandatory restrictions, similar to those put in place in drought situations.

Visit www.westchestergov.com for more details.

A North Salem resident who complained that the bond referendum during the May 18 school budget election was unfair because it was hard to find on the ballot and the voting machine didn’t match the sample ballot has vowed to continue pressing his point.

Robert L. Treadway, a freelance party planner and floral designer, had intended to make a formal complaint to the state education commissioner but said he missed the deadline because of the complexity of the complaint. Instead, he will send a complaint letter and continue making his arguments to the school board, he said.

Treadway said that he heard from several voters that after they voted on the school budget, which passed with a total of 1,263 yes and no votes, they couldn’t find the bond referendum on the ballot. The $1.3 million bond, which passed with 953 people voting, will pay for a new boiler and HVAC system at Pequenakonck Elementary School and for security improvements.

On the sample ballot available at the polling place for most of the day, he said, the bond question was underneath the budget on the left side of the ballot. But on the voting machine it was on the far right. Treadway argued the falloff of 310 votes is too steep to be accounted for by the usual pattern of voting. He also talked to several people, he said, who said they couldn’t find the bond. (more…)

Chappaqua residents sponsored a well-attended wine-tasting fundraiser at the Lexington Square Cafe in Mount Kisco on June 11 to benefit the Epilepsy Research Fund of The Children’s Hospital at Montefiore, said Mike Quane, public relations manager at Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx.

Shown are (left to right) Tracey Dupree, Montefiore Development; Chappaqua residents Dan Levitz and Laurie Marsh; Solomon Moshe, MD (also a Chappaqua resident), Chief of Neurology at The Children’s Hospital at Montefiore; and Chappaqua residents Abbe Goldstein and Josh Laurie.

Peekskill police today released information on these recent arrests:

Police headquarters: Calida Lamson, 35, of Peekskill, was charged Friday around 10 a.m. with first-degree harassment, a misdemeanor. Police said that Lamson repeatedly followed and threatened another person in public for the last two months, causing the person to fear physical injury. Detective Ralph D’Aliso made the arrest.

Washington Street: Ashley Jones, 23, of Cortlandt was charged Friday around 1:15 p.m. with petty larceny, a misdemeanor. Police said an investigation by Detective Marcos Martinez showed that Jones, an assistant manager of the Dunkin Donuts on the 500 block of Washington Street, was manipulating cash receipts and taking money that she was supposed to deposit in a bank.

Nelson Avenue: Steven Strang, 27, of Cortlandt was charged Friday around 8 p.m. with seventh-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance, a misdemeanor, after Officer Matt Basso found him with two small bags of heroin, police said.

Louisa Street: Gregory Lynch, 20, of Cortlandt was charged Saturday around 1 a.m. with driving while intoxicated, a misdemeanor. Officer Chatoyer Woodland stopped Lynch for speeding after he nearly lost control of his vehicle, police said. Lynch was also cited for several vehicle and traffic infractions.

Main Street: John Burkett, 44, of Peekskill was charged Saturday around 11:15 p.m. with seventh-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance after Officer Julian Hermosillo found him in possession of three bags of crack cocaine, police said.

When people learn that “Troilus and Cressida” — one of the three plays in the 2010 Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival — is a love story set in the Trojan War, expectations might build.

But don’t expect to see huge battle scenes on the lawn beyond the festival’s tent.

This is Shakespeare, not Homer, says Terrence O’Brien, the artistic director at the festival, now in its 24th season.

(more…)

In an age when youth theaters can charge big money for a double-cast production of “Annie,” it’s refreshing to learn of a program that won’t cost theater-loving high-school kids a penny to participate.

Director Betsy Hooper is launching Free Theatre Westchester with auditions tomorrow night at the Mamaroneck Avenue School in White Plains. The program is sponsored by the White Plains Youth Bureau. Hooper and her staff are donating their time.

Hooper has taught in schools across the Lower Hudson Valley, including Hastings, Greenburgh, Irvington and Pelham. She has directed “Guys & Dolls,” “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum,” “Company,” “Urinetown,” “Kiss Me, Kate,” “Noises Off,” “Black Comedy” and “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” to name several. At the Purchase College Summer Youth Program, she founded and directed the Playwriting and Film programs. These days, she works at the Windward School in White Plains.

“Free Theatre has been a long-time goal of mine because I have seen the transformative effect of theatre on a young person,” Hooper says. “The collaboration and sense of belonging, the joy of creative thinking, the chance to gain confidence that theatre offers should be available to any kid who’s willing to commit. (Our tag line is: The only cost is your commitment). At a time when summer jobs are scarce, Free Theatre offers kids an opportunity to have a productive, challenging summer.”

Hooper held a preliminary meeting and attracted more than a dozen kids to get in on the ground floor of this program. Tomorrow, June 30, at 7 p.m., she’ll hold general auditions for actors and actresses entering ninth through twelfth grades. Rehearsals will be from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m., so kids who work days can still take part.

Hooper and her team will look at who shows up and then decide which show best suits the new company. She says that her past shows might provide a hint as to the caliber of work Free Theatre kids should expect to perform.

“I’m into musicals, comedies and musical comedies,” she says.

The five-week program runs from July 6 to Aug. 6, with a performance at 7:30 p.m. on Aug. 6. If you have questions, contact Hooper at freetheatrewestchester@gmail.com.

Check out Free Theatre Westchester’s Facebook page.

I saw a show at the National Theatre in London today and was home in time for dinner.

The show was Irishman Dion Boucicault’s “London Assurance,” a sold-out London smash directed by Nicholas Hytner that closes tomorrow. I saw it today — with a full house — live at the Jacob Burns Film Center in Pleasantville. When Londoners in the Olivier Theatre laughed at the antics of Simon Russell Beale, right, as Sir Harcourt Courtly, we in Pleasantville laughed along.

One of the most pleasant developments this past season is the advent of “NT Live,” live theatrical productions beamed via satellite to cinemas in 15 countries.

On hand in Pleasantville was David Sabel, producer of NT Live, who is in Westchester this week visiting his sister, who lives in Larchmont and is about to give birth to a Sabel niece or nephew any day now. I chatted with him before the 2 p.m. curtain and he said he has been in the production truck for the previous NT Live productions, but that today’s show gave him the opportunity “to see what it feels like for our audience.”

(Perhaps because her producer was sitting with us, the Burns earned a shout-out from pre-show host Emma Freud, who mentioned “Pleasantville, N.Y.”  as one of the venues participating.)

Sabel said that while past efforts to present live theater on the big screen have been met with decidedly mixed results, he’s pleased with his team’s efforts to maintain “the theatrical DNA” of the productions at the National Theatre, a complex of three venues on the River Thames.

“It was launched very much as an experiment and actors and directors, rightly, had big concerns because historically, it has been done so poorly,” Sabel said. He said advances in technology—and the advent of HD—has helped. Also, the National plans the filming in an empty theater. They set the cameras in their best positions and then fit the audience in the spaces between. This puts the production first and audiences in London understand that they’re part of a big experiment.

The fast-paced play was broad and very funny, with plenty of eye-rolling and double entendres. Read a round-up of London reviews on the Guardian’s Web site.

There were a couple of glitches. About a half-hour into the show — tickets for which cost $25 for non-members and $20 for JBFC members — a strong storm knocked out the satellite feed for five minutes, costing us half of a scene. Had this come later in the action or, say, during the final scene of next year’s “Hamlet,” it could have been disastrous. As it was, we missed a little exposition.

The show will be broadcast again on Wednesday at 7 p.m. Go to the Jacob Burns Film Center’s Website. While not live, this will be the very last time to see the show, as it will have closed on the West End when it airs at the Burns.

Check out the show’s Facebook page, where folks who saw the live feed weigh in from all over. Pretty cool.

Photos by Catherine Ashmore: Simon Russell Beale is Sir Harcourt Courtly in the National Theatre’s production of Dion Boucicault’s “London Assurance.”

People leave the Mount Pleasant Town Center pool quickly after a sudden rainstorm causing the pool to be closed.

Alex Vincent, 7, and his younger brother, Zachary Vincent, 4, try to stay dry from a sudden rainstorm when they were enjoying the warm weather at Mount Pleasant Town Center pool. Click her to see an online gallery of Mount Pleasant Town Center.

Carl Paladino, the Buffalo developer running for governor, talked about his candidacy on Monday in an Editorial Spotlight interview.

Paladino, who lost the Republican nomination to former Rep. Rick Lazio, is gathering petition signatures in an effort to receive a place on the Sept. 14 primary ballot. He’s also running on the Reform Party line. We talked with him about his positions on the issues and the various controversies surrounding his campaign.

Here’s a video of our interview: