Woof's Super Fruity Party Punch

For those of you who thought that the Public Theatre's production of Hair was too clean, that it lacked grit, soul, energy, love, sweat, tears and anger; run, or take a train to Asbury Park, New Jersey and see this definitive production of the Love Rock Musical Hair. Staged by the Revision Theatre .

I was in a cast many years ago and have seen this show in several incarnations and have never been left with such a powerful punch as this version provides. If for any reason the director and choreographer of the Public version do not go to Broadway the producers need look no further than Andy Goldberg (director) and Elisabetta Spuria (choreographer) to find the talent needed to have audiences on their feet, not because they have been invited to join a Mama Mia type dance party, but because they have been touched deeply.

From the moment the lights come up and Aquarius begins as the souls of our pasts are given a summons from a Royal medium the chills begin. All around us the ghosts appear and as they grow stronger in voice they become real and it isn't a nostalgic look back, we are there. It's 1968 and we are at war, young men are needlessly dying in a war we know is wrong.

The voices are powerful and strong as the past comes to life as real and vital as anything we have experienced.

Many versions of hair make Berger the 'star'. Here we see him on his own methadrine trip, one of those selfish types who talk a good game and will someday be a Republican excusing his life with a yearly cheque to some charity.

As we become fully a part of the tribe, the tribe moves above us, around us, in front of us immersing us in their world.

When Claude sings 'Where do I go?" and the cast turns to him in the final chorus we are a part of them beseeching him to join them in being free, not to give his life for some idiotic thought of patriotism. We as the audience know no matter what the sacrifice, nothing changes.

As the show draws to a close we want them to stay, celebrate their youth just a little longer, be a part of something important, sing and dance for as long as you can. Don't become us.

It can't happen.

We know who they are, and we know who they will become. A population that has allowed the president and the congress to run roughshod over our constitution. We, who are complacent sheep going along with anything to be perpetuate the illusion that we are 'safe'. We who as the lights go on and souls of who we used to be depart sit stunned with tears in our eyes for what we have allowed ourselves and our country to be.

Theatre this evocative should run much longer than 3 weeks. The City of Asbury needs to give this amazing company an extension on the Carousal building and when it finally closes spend their resources turning the space into a Theatre, not some wasteful shopping court. If equity is an issue, guys bend your rules, you do it all the time to screw actors. Bend them again to give them a chance to be seen.

I'll make the trip to New Jersey again for this, but not to buy a pair of sunglasses.

Go to the website, read the names, remember these performers. Keep your eyes on them as they continue to work and hopefully fulfill the promises so many of us have failed.

So how do we go from here to a punch recipe? Hey, I'm a food writer, it may not always be a smooth transition but what is?

The one thing I remember about the 60's was punch, fruit juice (always eventually spiked) was served in big Christal or glass bowls. As hard as this cast works an Angel Hair pasta recipe just wouldn't cut it. They need something to rehydrate as they skinny dip til the sun comes up.

2 cups sugar
1 huge ginger root cut up
2 cups water

Warm the water on the stove and simmer the ginger root in the water for 30 minutes then stir in the sugar to make a syrup.

1 cup lemon juice
1 cup lime juice
1 cup unsweetened Cranberry juice
1 cup Cherry juice (tart if you can get it)
1 cup Pineapple juice
7 cups water

Once the syrup is made, stir in all the fruit juices and chill. Serve like a lemonade over ice and if the party calls for it spike it with some booze. Vodka, rum, or tequila blend best with fruit juices, but hippies can't be choosers so use what you've got.
Best served at final cast parties to celebrate a job well done. For this cast I would man the Barbecue at no fee, and I'm expensive.

Ephie Aardema, Julia Arazi, Casey gensler, Kyle Taylor Parker, Marah Meese, Mike Russo, Scoop Slone, Keith Antone, Steven Charles, Joay Caldwell, Spiro Gallatsatos, Martin Gould Cummings, Deidra Grace, Iliana Inocencio, Britt Johnson, Hannah Shankman, Anita Welch

The Band
Brian Green, All Coffey, John Gronert, John Manga, Jim Mcilvain, Steve Pleasnarki, John Luckenbil
Band Conductor: Andrew Hertz
Set Design: Russell Michael Scramm
Lighting: George Hansel
Costumes: Steven Epstein
Sound: Simon Ghezzi
Assistant Director: Heather Foard
Associate Set Design: Dawn Von suskill
Production Stage Manager: Julie Meyer
Assistant Stage Manager: Ann Marie Chiatia
Music Direction: Andres Hertz
Choreography: Elisabetta Spuria
Director: Andy Goldberg

The Fabulous Kane Cast Cookies

If you look at the Kane Sisters web site you might think that you are in for an evening of song, dance, bawdy burlesque if you will. (David A. Rudd pictured)

Nothing could be further from the truth. There are no top hats and canes to be found in this farce. In fact by the time the actors appear for the bows we are dying to see some actual act from these Kane Sisters. The curtain call would have been a perfect opportunity to pull out the canes, the hats and the fancy socks and give us the number. But alas, yet another opportunity was missed.

With a plot as thin as Angel hair pasta and jokes from tired drag queens throughout history, you might wonder what this show has to offer and why on earth they get their own cookies.

This show offers some of the most talented cast members of any fringe show. Actors that make their caricatures into characters. Actors who are given no jokes who still manage to get laughs out of almost non-existent situations. There are too many talented folks to cite each one so I am printing the cast list out. They make a show that in lesser hands would have been unbearable into an evenings entertainment. I want to see more of all of these folks.

The Newscaster ............Zach Kleinsmith
Pice ............................... Andrew Dawson*
Shifty .............................Brent Erdy*
Lynn ...............................Elizabeth Bove*
Rory .............................. Patrick McCarthy*
Belva ..............................Sheila Stasack*
Romaine ........................Elizabeth West*
Merkin .......................... Brent Erdy*
Stinky .............................Nicholas Gorham
Buddy ............................. Christian Pedersen*
Lana ................................Marc Geller*
Nova ............................... Bill Roulet*
Slats ................................Christopher H. Matthews*
Pansy .............................. Marta Reiman*
Buster ..............................David A. Rudd*

*member Actors' Equity Association

Marc Geller who wrote and directed and acts in this bit of fluff shows his strengths only as a director. He coaxes the most out of a bare stage and out of his fellow performers.

So this talented cast gets a chocolate chip cookie, a thin one. It's been done about a thousand times before; there is little original about this recipe but if you do it well and put love and enthusiasm into your baking, these cookies will get a round of applause.

3 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1.5 teaspoons salt
3 sticks butter softened
1 cup dark brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 beaten egg whites
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon brandy
2 packages dark chocolate bits (if you get chips, get one large chip and one mini chip)

Stir together your dry ingredients and set aside. In a large mixing bowl cream butter with sugars until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla and brandy. Stir in flour mixture with a spoon; stir in chocolate chips. Then get your small ice cream scooper or a tablespoon. Shape cookie dough into little balls. Place about 2 inches apart on lightly greased baking sheets, or us parchment if your baking sheets are as old as mine. Bake at 325° for about 15 minutes, or until flat and browned. Cool completely on the baking sheets. Store in airtight containers. This recipe makes enough cookies to feed a cast party.

The Dumbing Down of the American Palatte

My first day at the Fancy Food Show in NY held few
surprises. Overall the products on display had less flavor, less oomph
than ever before. Sweet seems to have overtaken almost all other
seasonings.

Jalapeno Pretzels...a promising snack...third ingredient SUGAR. More dessert than Jalapeno.

Health drinks that advertising as sugar free had so much Stevia to sweeten them that they tasted like syrup.

Habanero salsas that tasted of corn syrup rather than Habanero.

There
were so many offenders that I cannot name or mention them all. Suffice
it to say that product makers are becoming less and less creative with
flavor and more and more reliant on sugar. It's offensive.

A few notable exceptions were just pik't
grapefruit juice, a delicious fresh squeezed product. Their orange was
made with such sugary sweet oranges however it was undrinkable. I can't
imagine what hybrid produced oranges with absolutely NO tang whatsoever.

Fabrique Delices Charcuterie does some beautiful all natural Pate among many other cured meat produces. Absolutely delicious.

Sweet Riot...the name is awful but they make delicious chocolate nibs covered in dark chocolate. They were among the least sweet entries at the show.

READ
the ingredient labels on anything you are seeking to buy, especially
new products. If you see sugar (and it's not dessert), corn syrup or
any variation thereof put it back on the shelf. Save your tastebuds for more worthy savories.