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From Armonk to Broadway: One Recent Grad’s Journey

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How Alexander Baron is making waves in the theater world
By Lindsay Hand

alex 1We all have dreams of making it big and doing what we love. Here in Westchester, many kids are fortunate to have the fun and exciting experience of being in a show, whether through school or community theater, but only a select few are able to turn it into a career. For Armonk native and current Penn State freshman Alexander Baron, however, that dream has come true.

Discovering the NYC Theater Scene

Though he never dreamed of being involved in theater when he was younger, while at Byram Hills High School, Baron discovered a passion for the production aspect of the business. Rather than studying for finals, Baron wrote a one-act show and submitted it to the Manhattan Repertory Theatre. The show was accepted, and from there his involvement in New York City theater really took off. “I’m terrible at writing plays and it was the worst show ever, but I loved producing it,” says Baron. “I loved bringing things from page to stage.”

Through this initial experience, Baron was introduced to many successful people involved in theater who have helped him gain experience and discover his passions. One such person is Marathon Live Entertainment president and Penn State Programming Board of Theater member Mike Karns, who “has been able to make me realize how many more options there are in the theater world than just producing,” explains Baron.

Through Karns and Marathon Live Entertainment, Baron had the opportunity to intern at both The Last Ship and Hamilton, two extremely successful recent Broadway shows. In addition, in 2014, he produced his own off-Broadway show entitled Vote For Me: A Musical Debate, which provided him invaluable experience and a new connection in producer Dori Berinstein, a fellow Armonk resident.

She was impressed with him from the moment they met. “Not only was Alex already–at such a young age–a determined, visionary producer,” she says, “but he was kind, warm, articulate and very clearly an extremely smart and focused young man.”

Gotta Dance (and Produce)

Despite starting college, Baron is still working nonstop. He started his own production company called Baron Theatrical Inc., and then truly got his chance when producer Berinstein presented the opportunity for Baron to co-produce Gotta Dance, a pre-Broadway show set for the Chicago stage. The show focuses on a story about the 2007 New Jersey Nets senior citizen basketball team and incorporates music and dance. After a successful premiere in Chicago, the show, directed by Kinky Boots director Jerry Mitchell, is planning on a Broadway debut this Fall. Baron points out how the show “crushes the stigma of age that you’re never too young to dance,” and compared it to himself, stating proudly, “you’re never too young to produce.”

He is fortunate to bring extensive experience to the show, and credits Hamilton in particular with really showing him the power of social media, and he plans to use those ideas “to get the younger crowd to come see the show.” For someone so young he has already accomplished so much, and this fact is not lost on him. “The opportunity has done so much for me and we’re only getting started, and I’m really excited for what the show is going to hold in the future,” Baron states.

He recognizes that he has been incredibly lucky to have some experienced, extraordinary people helping him along and providing him with incomparable opportunities. “As we ramp up for Broadway, Alex’s insight on how best to excite and engage younger theater-goers about Gotta Dance will be invaluable,” Berinstein adds. “I’m thrilled to have Alex on our team and I’m very much looking forward to watching him become a major force on Broadway.”

Alex Baron with Gotta Dance director/choreographer Jerry Mitchell
Alex Baron with Gotta Dance director/choreographer Jerry Mitchell

Looking Ahead

While of course paying attention to his studies and life in college, Baron is highly focused on Gotta Dance. He plans to not only keep producing but also get more involved in the advertising, PR and marketing aspects of the industry. He is co-producing a show headed to Broadway and living his dream, and can serve as inspiration for many young people with similar dreams of working in the theater. There is no doubt that he will continue to grow and become an important part of the New York theater community. “It’s an incredible feeling to open up a playbill and see my name under the title,” Baron adds. “Every second I’m truly grateful.”

Two-time Inside Chappaqua Guest Editor Lindsay Hand is a sophomore at Cornell University.

The Beauty of Armonk

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The Gazebo at Wampus Brook Park
The Gazebo at Wampus Brook Park

By Miriam Longobardi

As you drive through the hamlet of Armonk you may not realize all the work that goes into the little touches that beautify the area. The wreaths during the holidays, the flags flying proudly from Memorial Day through Labor Day, and countless other seasonal and permanent displays one sees are just some of what the Armonk Beautification Committee makes happen each year.

The Committee, which is comprised of members appointed by the North Castle Town Board, serves Armonk, Banksville and North White Plains. The Armonk Beautification Committee is chaired by Carol Bidjarano and, since North Castle is so spread out, a sub-committee was formed for the other two hamlets. The committees all work together generating ideas for projects in their respective areas to maintain the beauty and appearance of open spaces as well as along streets.

Some projects, such as holiday wreaths and the hanging baskets in the spring, are done annually, with all projects funded by the budget allocated by the Town Board. Larger, more expensive endeavors need to be phased in over a few years to be more cost-efficient, such as replacing street signs as well as the lovely “Welcome to the Hamlet of…” signs welcoming people into each area. The amount of money for new projects is impacted by the costs of the things done annually that must be maintained. Still other projects are just beyond the scope of what the Committee can handle and are beyond their control.

Decisions about what projects to focus on are voted upon by the main committee at their monthly meetings, depending on which area is involved. “Majority rules,” Bidjarano reports. “We always keep an odd number on the Committee to avoid a tie.”

The flags hung for Memorial Day were all recently replaced and are another example of a larger venture. Smaller touches include flowers planted in the grassy triangles at various intersections or other green spaces.

Open spaces, or lack thereof, can sometimes present more of a problem than stretching the budget. “North White Plains is really challenged by a lack of open spaces to beautify,” Bidjarano said. There is also little room for people or organizations, such as scouts or students seeking community service, to volunteer as all work is done by the town.

Weather is another challenge that can impact potential projects. Last year, due to the extremely long winter and late spring, plans for planting flowers in front of St. Mary’s were put on hold. By the time the snow melted and the ground thawed, the town employees were scrambling to  ready the ball fields, parks and pool and the flower-planting was forced to be put on hold. The funds had been approved and allocated but they were unable to use them, but they hope to complete that work this year.

Despite occasional challenges, Bidjarano says that all the women who serve on the committees are proud of what they accomplish each year. “We enjoy the work and make a difference,” she said. “It’s a win-win.”

Miriam is a single mother of two girls living in Westchester. A breast cancer survivor, she volunteers for the American Cancer Society and teaches fourth grade. Follow her on Twitter @writermimilong.

Stayin’ Alive Fund Helped Purchase Vital Emergency Response Equipment Local First Responders Received a $36K Grant From the Armonk-Based Charity

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By Stacey Pfeffer

North Castle Police Department Sergeant Timothy See (left) and Chief of Police Peter Simonsen (right) received a Stayin’ Alive Inc. grant during a recent North Castle Town Board meeting. e police were pictured with Andrew Berliner and Doug Saltstein.
North Castle Police Department Sergeant Timothy See (left) and Chief of Police Peter Simonsen (right) received a Stayin’ Alive Inc. grant during a recent North Castle Town Board meeting. e police were pictured with Andrew Berliner and Doug Saltstein.

First Responders from the Armonk, Banksville, North White Plains and Thornwood Fire Departments as well as the North Castle Police Department were recently the grateful recipients of a $36,000 grant provided by Armonk-based charity Stayin’ Alive Inc. Representatives from these groups were recently presented with the generous grant at a North Castle Town Board meeting in October. Longtime Windmill Community residents and friends Michele Berliner and Christy Saltstein founded Stayin’ Alive, Inc. after their husbands Andrew Berliner and Doug Saltstein were critically injured in their neighborhood during Hurricane Sandy when they were both struck by a utility pole. Due to the tenacity and expertise of the local First Responders, Andrew and Doug survived and were able to be transported safely in an ambulance to the hospital despite fallen trees and live power lines.

“These individuals worked tirelessly to get to us–the fire department, police department and highway department. They risked their lives. I vividly remember thinking this [Hurricane Sandy] is a true test of the emergency system working. All of these departments responding exactly the way that they are trained to respond,” noted Christy Saltstein.

Runners raised more than $25,000 during last year’s race in the Windmill Community.
Runners raised more than $25,000 during last year’s race in the Windmill Community.

After spending many evenings in the hospital together while their husbands recovered, Berliner and Saltstein wanted to thank the First Responders and decided that raising funds for them was crucial especially for equipment that isn’t normally covered by their budgets. Just one year post-Sandy, the two women who are both avid runners put a team together of local North Castle runners for the Westchester Running Festival. That race helped raise $20,000 which was directly donated to the Armonk Fire Department for the purchase of new EMS jumpsuits. Spurred by that success and seeing a greater need for funds, the inaugural Stayin’ Alive 5K Fun Run took place in May 2014 in the Windmill Community and they incorporated their charity later that summer. This past spring, the 2nd Annual Stayin’ Alive 5K Fun Run raised more than $25,000 from 350 participants.

The North Castle Police Department, one of the grant recipients, will use the funds to purchase a new lightweight “Jaws of Life” hydraulic rescue tool. The entire North Castle Police Department will be trained on how to respond to motor vehicle accidents with this tool and it will “revitalize the response of the entire department,” commented Michele Berliner. Other equipment that will be purchased by grant recipients includes thermal imaging cameras and CPR chest compression systems.

Stayin’ Alive Inc. Co-Founders Michele Berliner (left) and Christy Saltstein (right) cheer on runners during the 2nd Stayin’ Alive 5K Fun Run held in May 2015.
Stayin’ Alive Inc. Co-Founders Michele Berliner (left) and Christy Saltstein (right) cheer on runners during the 2nd Stayin’ Alive 5K Fun Run held in May 2015.

“We couldn’t do any of this without the support of the community and especially  the North Castle Town Board –they have backed us 100 percent.  They have helped us in planning the race and promoting it and we are so thankful for them,’ said Berliner.

The 3rd Annual Stayin’ Alive 5K Fun Run will take place May 14, 2016 in the Windmill Community.  Runners, volunteers and sponsoring companies can contact stayinalivecharity@gmail.com for more information.

Stacey Pfeffer lives with her husband and three young children in Chappaqua. Her oldest child just started doing fun runs and hopes to participate in the 3rd Annual Stayin’ Alive 5K Fun Run in May 2016.

Inside the Theatrical World of Pia Haas

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By Heather Skolnick

Pia Haas
Pia Haas

Finding ways to express oneself is an individual journey. No surprise, I found my personal outlet in writing.  For others, there are a myriad of creative outlets that exist. For Pia Haas, Director of The Armonk Players, her outlet was always the theatre–acting and directing.

Pia began developing her love for the theatre at a young age, starting her acting career in elementary school. By high school, her interest in acting had grown significantly, but her love for Biology reigned supreme. Pia intended on majoring in Biology. Before matriculating though, she met someone who would become her mentor who changed all that.

Lend Me A Tenor
Lend Me A Tenor

Pia met Mort Clark who gave her a taste of the life in the theatre. He was the chairman of the Arts Department at SUNY Westchester Community College and he exposed her to the many exciting aspects of theatre as her teacher and mentor.  Based on those experiences, Pia chose to pursue theatre as her major in college. After graduating from Sarah Lawrence College, she started teaching part time at the college, while also performing. She succeeded in landing a variety of roles from commercials, to soap opera appearances (The Guiding Light and One Life to Live!) to plays.  She sought a steadier form of income so Pia next went back to school to get a Masters in Educational Theatre at NYU.  With Masters in hand, she began to teach both Acting and Directing at Westchester Community College as an Associate Professor. At the same time, Pia directed the theatre group called The Theatre Connection and was also freelancing as a Director on the side. Pia was one busy lady!

Fools
Fools

After 10 years of teaching at Westchester Community College, it became too much to manage along with raising her three children. Pia gave up teaching and focused on freelancing. In 2000, Pia was approached to work for the newly formed Armonk Players.

The Armonk Players was an idea conceived by Barbara & Hal Simonetti and Susan Geffen. The Armonk Players is a not-for-profit organization supported by Friends of the North Castle Public Library and is made up of mostly North Castle residents. This symbiotic relationship benefits both organizations–the library raises money for the Players and allows the Armonk Players to utilize Whipporwill Hall as a stage. Any money earned by the Players goes right back to the library–all the while enriching the Armonk community. In fact, Pia said that the people involved in The Armonk Players “think of the Players as a gift to the community.”

The Armonk Players annually does two main stage productions and three to four staged readings where the actors carry scripts. The Players just wrapped Mothers and Sons, and will be doing a one day staged reading on 12/16 called Looking at Christmas, a light hearted fun comedy. Next up is Love, Loss and What I Wore in February, also a staged reading.

A Flea in Her Ear
A Flea in Her Ear

Their next main stage production has not yet been determined. Now 15 years as the Director, Pia speaks fondly of The Armonk Players. She said that her fellow actors and peers “became like a family.” She continued to say that “working with such a great group of people made it fun, made it my outlet.” While Pia predominately directs the productions, she occasionally acts as well–something she called “the ultimate creative outlet.”

Pia’s three children have “all dabbled in acting and directing”–as middle schoolers, campers and then as counselors.  Pia’s eldest daughter leverages some of those skills and techniques learned when she was younger with her students at a New York City Montessori charter school where she teaches.

CAST AFOOT 2

Want to express yourself but acting isn’t your forte? There are many ways to be involved with The Armonk Players without being an actor. Pia suggests that creative involvement can include set building, costume design, building /designing props, make up, gathering music, social media/publicity, poster design and execution, programs. If interested go to the website: www.armonkplayers.org

As if she weren’t busy enough serving as the Director of the Armonk Players, Pia also does all Public Relations for the Westchester Broadway Theatre, and most recently helped promote a stellar production of Showboat. For those of us who may not be theatrically inclined but still enjoy watching productions, there are two great options to see the fruits of Pia’s labor!

Heather Skolnick, husband and three children reside in New Castle. She works for a major retailer on their Omnichannel Strategy. While Heather is not theatrically inclined, she enjoys writing for Inside Chappaqua and Inside Armonk as a vehicle for self-expression. 

Style comes to Life with Sugar and Sazon!

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Gumdrop Lane founder Jenny Amicucci / Photo by Holly Berfield
Gumdrop Lane founder Jenny Amicucci / Photo by Holly Berfield

By Liz Susman Karp

She readily admits to a ribbon addiction and says she’s literally covered in glitter from the beginning of November through the middle of January. So it seemed natural for Armonk resident Jennifer Amicucci to launch lifestyle website Gumdrop Lane, gumdroplane.com, this past October, fulfilling her desire to make it easy for people to create beauty in their lives.

The product of a strict Dominican family, Amicucci speaks thoughtfully about the powerful influence her family, particularly her grandmother and primary caretaker, Tirsa, had on her. “When I think of her, I think of lights surrounding her like La Virgen de La Altagracia,” she says, referring to the Spanish version of the Virgin Mary.  “She was so humble, so genuine, so extraordinarily talented. She was always helping others.

Watching her grandmother sew dresses for entire wedding parties, prepare large dinners from scratch and making her Barbie doll clothes from fabric scraps had a definite impact on the young Amicucci. She fondly remembers her mother creating elaborate décor for birthday parties and bridal showers and being part of the lively preparations for those big events in the Dominican culture.

After a move from Washington Heights to Pleasantville at age 14, Amicucci earned a BS and law degree from Pace University and worked as a medical malpractice attorney. The combination of career, caring for her three young children–Dario, now 9, Matteo, 8 and Christina, 6–and family illness prompted her to take stock and a step back.

Her husband, Dario, and friends encouraged her to focus on what she truly loved doing, so she considered buying a property in town to host children’s parties, which she had done before. She realized with a website she could manage her work schedule more easily while raising her children.

Gumdrop Lane is “a reflection of all that I have been through and all that I have learned and everyone that I have learned from,” says Amicucci. The tag line, “a sweeter life with a little sazon,” is a nod to her roots, reflecting her desire to add a little spice to people’s lives.  Since friends always ask for her party planning expertise, topics range from recipes to décor and DIY & crafts and beauty tips (she’s a former makeup artist).

Her Roman Catholic faith and belief in positive thinking has seen her through difficult family losses and illnesses, including her own post-partum depression after having Christina. “When you project sweetness and love and light, that’s what you will be surrounded by. I’ve evolved in that full circle and now it is my time to be able to share all of these things.”

Without much fanfare, Gumdrop Lane saw 1,700 visitors in its first week according to Amicucci. She’s focused on the long term, planning a line of craft products within five years. She defrays the cost of the site by creating store windows in town and holiday decorations in homes.Amicucci hopes Gumdrop Lane will inspire people to tackle a DIY project or make a delicious dinner. “You know, just making life a little bit easier for people. Finding ways for other people to be able to enjoy a beautiful place setting or a great kids party. They can do this themselves and feel the same fulfillment that I feel. It’s actually more of a high I think!” she says, laughing.

Freelance writer Liz Susman Karp lives in Briarcliff Manor with her husband and two teenage sons. She could use some inspiration to tackle a DIY project.

empanadas

Baked Empanadas

Courtesy of Gumdrop Lane

Ingredients:

  • 1 pkg Goya Discos Para Empanadas (Dough for Pastry Turnovers, found in freezer section) thawed
  • 1 tbsp Olive Oil
  • 3/4 lb Ground Beef
  • 1 pckt Goya Sazon con Achiote y Culantro (You can find the boxes of this seasoning in the Goya section)
  • 1 tbsp Recaito
  • 2 tbsp Goya Spanish Style Tomato Sauce
  • 1 pinch of dried oregano
  • 2 hardboiled eggs, chopped
  • 2 tbsp Pitted Cocktail Olives, chopped
  • 1 Egg, Beaten

For the Filling:

Heat the olive oil in a skillet. Season the beef with the packet of Sazon. Add the recaito to the oil and cook for a moment or two. Once the recaito and olive oil are hot, add the beef and brown until almost cooked. Add the tomato sauce and a pinch of dried oregano. Once the meat is cooked, turn off the flame and stir in the chopped eggs and olives.

Take one pastry disc and roll it out onto a cutting board to expand it slightly. Cut the disc in half.

Place one half of the disc and place roughly two tablespoons of beef in the center. Fold the dough over the filling. Using a fork, press down along the edges to seal the meat inside of the pastry dough. Repeat with other half, and then do the same with the rest of the pastry discs. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Grease a baking sheet with non stick spray, and arrange the empanadas on it. Using a pastry brush, lightly glaze the tops of the empanadas with the beaten egg. Bake for approximately ten minutes, or until the dough is golden. Remove from oven and allow to cool slightly before serving. Yield: 20 appetizer size empanadas!