I am sharing these photo copies with you, because the following events happened when the Internet was just a sore eye green light coming from a bulky machine. I promise not to post everything...
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Some of the newspapers clippings have wrinkled and faded but it still provides a snap shot of those days, I was 26 years old in 1970.
Anyone for guitar lessons? The second clipping, I'm the one with the long dark hair. Above me (left) is Mr. Zarkavich who taught me to play gypsy style guitar, in the center, Barry Eisner, and my guitar students, John Soto (with glasses) and Hava Atli, bottom right. We were the founders of the New Jersey Guitar Society. Mr. Zarkavitch and I resigned a few months later after that picture was taken, and so did Hava. Being the only guitar teacher at the Freehold Music Center, and teaching group classes at the Freehold High School, as well as private lessons, I was also busy putting young rock groups together. |
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I'm on the extreme right, yes that's me in pigtails teaching a classical guitar class. I was thirty years old. Many times I have wondered what became of those children.
Inspired by my students (I was teaching guitar, bass, banjo, and keyboard) I began putting on full scale musical productions. Using some of my mother's published music works and blending it with the more updated music of that time.
I wrote and produced a vaudeville style of musical comedy every year, Broadville I, II, and III. About four years later I wrote and produced, The Time Machine, and as the cast grew bigger with each musical, I wrote and produced And the Panther Cried, which was inspired from a lyric poem my mother had written. Notice the word "black" was not present in the playbill and on all advertisement, because at that time no one would allow me to put on a production with the words, "Black Panther."
I wrote and produced a vaudeville style of musical comedy every year, Broadville I, II, and III. About four years later I wrote and produced, The Time Machine, and as the cast grew bigger with each musical, I wrote and produced And the Panther Cried, which was inspired from a lyric poem my mother had written. Notice the word "black" was not present in the playbill and on all advertisement, because at that time no one would allow me to put on a production with the words, "Black Panther."
A copy of the playbill cover for "And the Panther Cried." The word "black" was not part of the original title , because black panthers were not welcome in New Jersey. In those days the inside of the playbills, were typewritten... I enclosed in my producer's welcome, the way I felt about my mother's incredible accomplishments. When I came to America in 1962, my nickname was Ronnie and remained that way for 29 years, while living in New Jersey that is until I began attending Life Chiropractic University, Georgia and had to sign my real name, Veronica.
When someone calls me by Ronnie, I already know they are from the east coast. _________________________________________________ The following is dedicated to Dale Lutz, (RIP) without him as my partner and best friend there would have been no theatre at the Kobe Japanese Restaurant. 
The play Sabona, dealt with the apartheid system. Due to it's controversial subject, the Howell Cultural Arts Committee hired several cops to stand outside the theater just in case of a riot. Instead, we received standing ovations at the end of each performance. 
Andy was featured in the Asbury Park Press for his play "Sabona."
Andy Oosthuzen the playwright and director of Sabona was a specially creative man. I provided him with media coverage and even wrote several articles about him for the local newspaper on my syndicated column. But I didn't mention his directing technique at that time. When he couldn't get the kind of emotion needed from Blanche in Streetcar Named Desire, he inserted an open safety pin into the chair that Blanche was supposed to sit on stage. When she got up screaming from the pain, he said, "That's exactly how I want you to react when Stanley attacks you. I want to hear that exact scream."
"Streetcar Named Desire"
Godspell took off like a rocket, and several churches and schools booked us to put on performances. Kind of ironic since the Cultural Arts Committee I belonged to, felt it wasn't the appropriate type of show for our community. 
We became temporary a traveling theater company, just like when we did Sabona. But it was a lot of work and difficult for everyone to give up their weekends with their families. It didn't last too long. 
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Being a member of the Cultural Arts Committee gave me the opportunity to produce many events, like country bands playing on weekends, break dancing competitions, art shows, and even sponsoring the New Jersey Youth Orchestra among other events at the township center.
But it was always a struggle with the committee since their form of cultural activities was doing a strawberry festival once a year. I began looking for a building where I could have my own theater. One sunny morning as I drove north on Hwy 9 to get to my store, the Howell Music Center, the Kobe Japanese Restaurant, caught my eye.
What a large beautiful building! I immediately went in and there it was, a second floor big enough to build a stage and seat 75 people comfortably. The owners welcomed me with open arms. I named the theater, The Simy Dinner Theatre Company, after my mother's name. Autumn of 1985 The Simy Dinner Theatre Company presented it's first production Plaza Suite, by Neil Simon. Each production ran for a month. The dinner theater ran for 10 successful years. Nothing is impossible! -------------------------------------------------------------------------- The sign being changed for the production of The Playboy of the Western World. Below it are a few of the sets I designed and built.
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My friend and theater partner Terry Flannigan and me on Halloween night at the Kobe, wearing a colorful spiky wig. Terry was the prop queen of theater and she always had a funny joke to share with us, while we were being treated to dinner every Friday night with the cast and crew, compliments of Mr. and Mrs. Ounmason, the Kobe Japanese owners. 
I had nothing to do with the set for Sleuth, except put up the walls. The director, bless his soul, took it upon himself to bring all the props and designed the set himself. :-) Terry was very happy too. |
I was extremely proud of this set for The Gin Game.
Everybody thought that I had used "real" shingles. I sliced into strips a bunch of cardboard boxes that had been used to deliver pianos to my music store. Then I overlaid the strips and staple them to the walls, painted them gray and while wet I used newspapers to rub the strips and give the beat up look of being the outside patio of an old nursing home. Too bad the picture doesn't make justice.
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Top left: sets for Bathroom Humor, to the right Butterflies are Free.
Bottom right Murder at the Howard Johnsons, and my very best even though the picture only shows half the stage, The Playboy of the Western World.
I still have the Irish antique pottery that was used on stage above the fireplace, courtesy of director John C. Fraraccio.
The following are just a few of the reviews and playbills.
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And then there were many other plays, Blithe Spirit, Crimes of the Heart, Bus Stop, The Nerd, The Best of Broadway, Brighton Beach Memoirs, Educating Rita, Talk Radio, Move Over Mrs. Markam, Bathroom Humor, Bedrooms, Friday Night Live, Veronica's Room, and so many more... so many memories... of the times that passed us by and never stood still.