LONG ISLAND, NY – Bay Street Theater and Sag Harbor Center for the Arts hosted its 24th Annual Summer Gala on Saturday, July 11. Their gala is always a summer treat for Hamptonites to give their support to this amazing theater. The Bay Street theater, in association with DreamWorks Theatricals, presented a concert reading of the first act of Stephen Schwartz’s new stage adaptation of “The Prince of Egypt.”

Schwartz is a brilliant prolific composer whose accomplishment have included: “Godspell,” “Pippin,” “Wicked” and “Working.” Scott Schwartz the son of Stephen Schwartz is Bay Street’s Artistic Director and was thrilled to debut the project, which has been in the works for some time. “What’s happened is that DreamWorks has, over the years, with increasing frequency as they’ve gotten into the live theater business, gotten requests about a stage adaptation of “The Prince of Egypt” to the point that they thought it was time to make a live show,” says Schwartz. “The original movie, as with most animated features, has five or six songs, while the high teens are more common in a stage musical. I’m continuing to try and get some writing done on the new songs.”

“The Prince of Egypt” is an adaptation of the Biblical story of Moses leading the children of Israel out of Egypt and was released in 1998. This film was DreamWorks Pictures’ first traditional animated film. Many of his songs from the film became mainstream hits, including “When You Believe,” which Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston covered as a duet, as well as “River Lullaby,” covered by Amy Grant.

Broadway Star Kyle Barisich and Cognac Pose for a photo-op at the 24th Annual Bay Street Theater Summer Gala. Photo by Andrew Cohen.

I had the pleasure of interviewing the cast that night including Matthew James Thomas (Pippin, Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark) as Moses, Tony Award winner Patina Miller (Pippin, Sister Act, Madam Secretary) as Tzipporah, Norm Lewis (Scandal, Porgy and Bess, Phantom of the Opera) as Jethro, Julia Murney (Wicked, 30 Rock, The Wild Party) as Queen Tuya and Kyle Barisich (Phantom of the Opera, The Following) as Aaron

Last May, Norm Lewis who play “Jethro” made history as “The Phantom of the Opera’s first African American Phantom on Broadway. He was recently seen on PBS in the Live From Lincoln Center Productions of Norm Lewis: “Who Ami I?”, “New Year’s Eve: “A Gershwin Celebration” with Diane Reeves, “American Voices” with Renee Fleming and will be seen in the upcoming Live from Lincoln Center Production of “Showboat.”

Broadway Stars Julia Murney, Norm Lewis and Patina Miller pose for a photo-op on the Red Carpet at the 24th Annual Bay Street Theater Summer Gala. Photo by Andrew Cohen.

Hello darling, welcome back I am here at the 24th Annual Bay Street Gala and I am here with this Broadway Actor introduce yourself to the camera.

Norm: I am Norm Lewis

You have done so much on Broadway, what has been your latest accomplishment?

Norm: Most people know me from “Porky and Bess” and I just finished “Phantom Of The Opera” on Broadway and that was a dream.

We are here of course tonight for the Bay Street Theater. This is such a wonderful theater and it’s such a great thing that you are here tonight to support the theater.

Norm: It is an honor to be here. I have never been to the Hamptons before believe it or not. I have been in New York for over twenty years and I am glad that I had a chance to come here to do something as significant as this. I have always heard about the Bay Street theater and the wonderful shows they do, just how they treat their actors. I am honored to be here.

Patina Miller is an American actress and singer. Miller is best known for originating the role of disco diva wannabe Deloris Van Cartier in the 2009 West End and 2011 Broadway productions of “Sister Act.” She recently starred as the Leading Player in the 2013 revival of “Pippin” for which she won the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical.

Patina, don’t you think the Bay Street Theater is a fabulous theater?

Patina: Of course it is a fabulous theater. I love Stephen Schwartz and Scott is amazing and I think what they doing here is pretty special and I am happy to be here for this gala tonight.

Tell my audience what was it like to work with Mr. Schwartz?

Patina: Well, I mean Stephen is one of the greats and as a musical theater actress it has been very, very amzing to be able to work with him during “Pippin” you kmow him being hands on and to be here today celebrating and doing the first act of his new musical “The Prince of Egypt” it’s really amazing. Stephen is just the best of the best! We just have been having fun for the past five days!

Julia Murney is an American actress, singer and theatre performer, primarily featured in theatre and television commercial voice-overs. Until 2005, she was commonly known as the Broadway actress who had technically never appeared on Broadway. This was because her fame came mostly from her performances on the Broadway charity circuit, and not traditional Broadway productions.

Murney’s Off-Broadway theatrical credits include originating the role of ‘Queenie’ in Andrew Lippa’s “The Wild Party” (2000) at the Manhattan Theatre Club, opposite Brian d’Arcy James, Idina Menzel, and Taye Diggs, for which she was nominated for a Drama Desk Award. She was also seen in “The Vagina Monologues,” “Crimes of the Heart” (2001), “A Class Act” (2000), “Time and Again” (2001), and “First Lady Suite.” She appeared in a musical version of the film “Saved!”at the Playwrights Horizons Theatre, which had previews starting from May 9, and an opening on June 3, 2008. In August 2008, Murney portrayed the title role of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s “Evita” at Wells Fargo Pavilion in Sacramento.

Murney made her debut on Broadway in 2005, in the short-lived musical Lennon. She was also seen in the Actors’ Fund benefit concerts of “Funny Girl,” “Chess,” “Hair” and the World AIDS Day Benefit Concert “Pippin.” She has also been featured on television in “Sex and the City,” ” Ed,” “NYPD Blue” and various episodes of “Law & Order.”

Tell my audience about this play and of course the music is by Stephen Schwartz. How were you introduced to him?

Julia: I have known Stephen Schwartz since 1996. I have worked with him a number of times. I got to play the wicked witch in “Wicked” on Broadway so we have a long history.

Matthew James Thomas is a British actor and singer who has made appearances in television, film, and theater. He is known for his television roles including the BAFTA and Emmy Award-winning, “The Lost Prince” and the TV drama-musical show, “Britannia High.” Thomas is also recognized for his performance in the title role of the 2013 revival of “Pippin” which received a Tony Award for Best Revival of a Musical. He was also a late addition to the U.S. national tour of “Pippin” in 2014. He had his Broadway debut in 2010 playing Peter Parker in “Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark.”

Now tell me, Matthew, why are you here tonight. Obviously you are here for a special reason. Tell my audience.

Matthew: We have just completed a performance of the first act of “The Prince of Egypt” which is now being turned into a musical.

And you are very excited about that!

Matthew: Hugely excited! All we did today was perform the first act and it was incredible!

Kyle Barisich who plays “Aaron” is a native of Log Gatos, California. Kyle is thrilled to baking his Bay Street Theater debut. He comes directly from the Broadway company of “The Phantom Of The Opera” where he recently played Raoul, Vicomte du Chagny.

We are here at the Bay Street Theater Gala and I am here with this wonderful Broadway actor. Eveyone loves you in the theater. You are doing such amazing work. Introduce yourself to the camera.

Kyle: Sure, my name is Kyle Barisich and I play “Aaron” in “The Prince of Egypt.”

Tell my audience what was it like to work with Stephen Schwartz.

Kyle: I come from “Phantom Of The Opera” so I me met and worked with Andrew Lloyd Webber and Stephen Schwartz. you know he is so down to earth for someone that is such a mad genius as he is. He is so approachable and down to earth and was just as excited bo bring this show tonight as we were to be a part of it and that was so exciting!

During the gala the Bay Street Theater & Sag Harbor Center for the Arts honored The Honorable Timothy Bishop and Joe Pintauro for their services to the community and to the arts.

The Honorable Timothy Bishop is a representative for New York’s 1st congressional district. Bishop served most of central and eastern Suffolk County and secured more than $150 million for projects within his district. He was widely viewed as one of the Congress’ strongest advocates for access and affordability for students pursuing Higher Education. Prior to serving in the United States Congress from 2003-2015, Bishop was an administrator at Southampton College of LIU for 29 years, the last 16 of which he spent as Provost. Recently named distinguished professor of Civic Engagement and Public Service at St. Joseph’s College, he resides in Southampton with his wife Kathy. The couple have two daughters, Molly and Meghan, and a grandson, Nathan.

Joe Pintauro is a noted playwright, poet, and novelist. His play Men’s Lives was the inaugural production of Bay Street Theater. His novels are Cold Hands and State of Grace. Joe is a recipient of the John Steinbeck Writers Award and the Guild Hall Lifetime Achievement Award for the Literary Arts. He is currently working on a third novel and just completed a new play.

Bay Street Theater & the Sag Harbor Center For The Arts is a year-round, not-for-profit professional theater and community cultural center which endeavors to innovate, educate, and entertain a diverse community through the practice of the performing arts. We serve as a social and cultural gathering place, an educational resource, and a home for a community of artists.

For more information please visit www.baystreet.org.

LONG ISLAND, NY – Kevin C. Fitzpatrick was born January 10, 1966 and is an American historian and non-fiction writer. He is best known for his research and writings on Writer Dorothy Parker and his latest book “The Algonquin Round Table New York Historical Guide” from Lyons Press which was recently published on January 6, 2015.

The Algonquin Round Table was a celebrated group of Manhattan writers, critics, actors and wits. Dorothy Parker and her entourage of literary giants met initially as part of a practical joke, members of “The Vicious Circle”, as they dubbed themselves, met for lunch each day at the Alqonquin Hotell from 1919 until roughly 1929. At these luncheons they engaged in wisecracks, wordplay and witticisms that, through the newspaper columns of Round Table members were disseminated across the country.

On Tuesday, June 23rd 2015, Mr. Fitzpatrick sat down with me at the Historical Algonquin hotel and discussed the history of the Algonquin Hotel and his latest publication.

Historian and non-fiction writer Kevin Fitzpatrick and Cognac at the Algonquin Hotel, June 23rd 2015.

Hello darlings, I am Cognac Wellerlane and I am here at the historical Algonquin Hotel and I am here with Mr. Kevin C. Fitzpatrick who is a famous author and he recently published a book about the Algonquin Round Table.

Kevin: Yes…

And it is all about the fabulous people of the day like Ms. Dorothy Parker who was a famous poet, she was also a critic.

Kevin: A critic, short story writer…..

And she frequented this hotel and it is haunted with her entourage of famous writers, poets, and just famous people of the day. I am here with Kevin Fitzpatrick and he is going to talk about this book.

Kevin: Thank you for having me on.

Yes!

Kevin: Well the book is called “The Algonquin Round Table New York Historical Guide” from Lyons Press and it’s about thirty members of the Vicious Circle that met right where you are sitting in 1919.

What fascinated you about this hotel and the people that came to this hotel to write the book.

Kevin: I am a fan of the Algonquin just as someone would be a fan of Yankee Stadium because I know the greats were here. This was ground zero for amazing writers, producers, actors, Broadway publicists and what not that came in here about ten years and to this day it still a literary landmark.

You know what fascinated me about Dorothy Parker, like her I am a journalist, like her I do reviews, like her I also am a critic but amazingly Ms. Dorothy Parker died on my birthday which was June 7, 1967 and I was born June 7, 1957.

Kevin: Wow! That’s incredible! Well you have a lot of other things in common too! She also spent a lot of time in Long Island…a lot of time in Broadway theaters and she liked a good time as well!

Why did she love this hotel so much? What was so special about the Algonquin Hotel.

Kevin: It’s very close to everything that was important to her. Her job was nearby, the theaters that she worked as a critic were nearby, her offices were nearby….she lived on the upper west side, that’s where she grew up. She would take the train. It was very easy to get here because it was near Times Square. It was a very centrally located place and the speakeasies were close by too.

Ah ha! The speakeasies from the 20’s and 30’s.

Kevin: They were on 49th Street where Rockefeller Center is today. The speakeasies were on 49th between 5th and 6th Avenues.

But strangely and sadly enough as famous as she was she did not make a lot of money doing what she did. Isn’t that true?

Kevin: No she didn’t.

Journalist don’t. I don’t make a lot of money either. People think that because I look so glamorous all the time.

Kevin: Well she made money in the 30’s and 40’s when she was working in Hollywood but she spent it as quickly as she made it. She like to say “Hollywood money isn’t money. It’s congealed snow, melts in your hand, and there you are.”

Oh my God. I would say that myself! Sometimes I wonder those numbers do they mean something? 67, 57, June 7th… I don’t know it’s a little psychic don’t you think?

Kevin: A funny thing about the end of her life is her very good friends were Gloria Vanderbilt and Wyatt Cooper.

Wow!

Kevin: They were very important to her. She met Wyatt Cooper in California when he was working as a writer. He moved back to New York in the 60’s with Vanderbilt and they really took her under their wing. They were very important to her and Gloria Vanderbilt in particular. When Dorothy Parker died, the reason Gloria couldn’t go to her memorial service was because she just had baby and the baby was Anderson Cooper.

Oh my God what a fascinating story.

Mr. Fitzpatrick went on to say how much he admired Ms. Dorothy Parker and what a good writer she really was. To find out more information about Historian Kevin Fitzpatrick please visit http://www.fitzpatrickauthor.com and to find out more about Dorothy Parker please visit http://dorothyparker.com

Kevin Fitzpatrick American historian and non-fiction writer discusses his latest book “The Algonquin Round Table New York: A Historical Guide” at the Alonquin Hotel

Fitzpatrick has had a varied multimedia career including newspapers, television, advertising agencies, magazines, and more recently web-based publishing and editing. Prior to writing books he has produced close to seventy-five websites and written for many trade publications. When not involved with media pursuits, Fitzpatrick is a certified New York City sightseeing guide. His other profession is giving walking tours of historic locations, landmarks, cemeteries and drinking establishments. Mr. Fitzpatrick is also a frequent guest speaker at libraries and literary clubs.

Fitzpatrick was inspired by such great writers including: Dorothy Parker, Robert Benchley, Franklin P. Adams, and Stanley Walker. Fitzpatrick produces the award-winning dorothyparker.com, which he launched in 1998. He is the president of the Dorothy Parker Society which he established in 1999. He was also instrumental in the effort to get Dorothy Parker’s birthplace in Long Branch, New Jersey named a National Literary Landmark by Friends of Libraries USA. Fitzpatrick was also behind the creation of a bronze memorial plaque that was unveiled in August 2005 in Parker’s hometown. In conjunction with the Algonquin Hotel, Fitzpatrick leads walking tours of the former Algonquin Round Table homes and haunts in Manhattan. In 2009 Fitzpatrick established Donald Books, a small independent publishing company.

For more about this fascinating writer please visit http://www.fitzpatrickauthor.com