66 THE QUEENS COURIER • BUZZ • AUGUST 16, 2018 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
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SGTG Presents “Sister Act” the Musical
Queens College alum Jerry Seinfeld keeps us laughing
BY RUTH BASHINSKY
Long Island Press
Special to The Queens Courier
On a balmy June night at the Classic
Car Club in Manhattan, hot-rod lovers
congregated to talk engines, horsepower,
carburetors and more. Amid the
fl eet of supercars — a 2015 Lamborghini
Huracan, 1963 Corvette Stingray, and a
’66 Mustang convertible — stands comic
icon Jerry Seinfeld.
Dressed in a dark suit and dress shoes
and looking eff ervescently cool, Seinfeld
was clearly in his element. He was at the
car club to celebrate the new season of his
popular web series, Comedians in Cars
Getting Coff ee, since Netfl ix picked up
the show from Crackle in January. Th e
tenth season premiered on July 6.
As the creator, executive producer,
and host, Seinfeld takes the viewer on a
ride, literally, as he picks up a new guest
comedian in a vintage car he selects.
During the trip, there are lots of funny
stories, lots of laughs and lots of caffeine.
Guests on the new season are the
late Jerry Lewis, Kate McKinnon, Ellen
DeGeneres, Hasan Minhaj, Dana Carvey,
Neil Brennan, Tracy Morgan, Brian
Regan, Alec Baldwin, Zach Galifi anakis,
John Mulaney, and Dave Chappelle.
As the crowd buzzed about, checking
out some of the sleek automobiles
and enjoying the sunset views of the
Hudson River, Seinfeld was talking with
the media. Th e Press was there too, ready
to chat with the man who made talking
about nothing so much fun.
At a youthful 64, Seinfeld is still
delivering the laughs and getting
it right, traveling to diff erent
stages across the country
for his Jerry Seinfeld Comedy
Tour.
How does it feel now that
your show is on Netfl ix? Being
picked up by Netfl ix I guess
is like being put on the
Yankees. You are
on the team that
is going to win.
It is very exciting
for me. At
this point in
my career, it
is very hard
in show
business to get a second hit. A lot of people
are lucky enough to get one hit; to get
two hits is really hard. It feels pretty good.
As a car enthusiast, what would you
say is your ultimate set of wheels? I love
a minimalist car. I love a car that is almost
like a motorcycle with four wheels. Th e
1958 Porsche 356 Speedster I think is the
greatest model you can drive. It is very
little. I love the openness and sleekness
of it. It is not that fast, but
it is just an incredible feeling of
freedom.
With the name of the show
being Comedians
in Cars
Getting Coff ee, I need to ask
how you like your coff ee. Black?
Light and sweet? I actually started
drinking coff ee a couple
of years before I did
the show. It is so
fun to have coffee
with people
I fi gured
I gotta do a
show about
this. Now, I
love coff ee.
I drink
coff ee all day everyday. I like any type of
coff ee: latte, espresso, cappuccino, cream
and sugar.
Was the character of George, Elaine or
Kramer based on any friends or anyone
you knew growing up on Long Island?
No. Me and Larry David had a wonderful
staff of writers. We were cooking up ideas
all day every day; that is all we did.
Of all the episodes, which was was
your favorite that still makes you laugh?
I really loved the marine biologist one
when Kramer hit the golf ball in the blowhole
of the whale and George found it trying
to save the whale pretending to be a
marine biologist. I thought that was the
best bit we ever came up with. Th at was
a funny bit.
Did you have a nickname growing up?
Seiny. I didn’t like it. People still call me
that even today.
Everyone knows you as Jerry, but your
formal name is Jerome. You don’t look
like a Jerome. Does anyone call you
that? George Wallace, the comedian, calls
me Jerome.
What is next for Jerry Seinfeld? I love
doing Comedians in Cars and I want to be
doing this for a while.
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A brassy night club singer accidentally
witnesses a coldblooded murder.
To outmaneuver her pursuers she fi nds
safe haven in a convent. Th e result is the
aff ectionately irreverent and very popular
musical comedy, “Sister Act”.
Director/choreographer Kathy Rollo
Ferrara owns almost four full decades of
theatrical leadership. As usual, she leads
an excellent cast of individual performers
and equally exuberant dancers and
singers. Charismatic Ruperta Nelson as
Deloris Van Cartier is abundantly talented.
Her character musically discovers new
and truer friends. Ultimately, she fi nds a
more meaningful, less superfi cial life.
Postulant Mary Robert (Hannah Pipa)
discovers a new sense of independence
with even greater spirituality as she follows
Van Cartier through paradoxically
secular locations. At Friday evening’s performance,
her solo “Th e Life I Never Led”
absolutely brings down the house. You
can’t fake this kind of sincerity. Equally
moving and unquestionably powerful
is the song “Raise Your Voice” which
appears in Act I and is reprised in the
fi nale by the entire company.
Th e show’s bad guys are just too likable
to despise. Th eir “tough guy” caricatures
are well played by Timothy F. Smith,
Zach Russo, Th omas Laskowski, Paul
Th omas and cabaret gals Shala Hunter
and Deanna Mayo. Th e good guys include
“Sweaty Eddie” the laid back cop played
melodiously and humorously by Jeremy
Copeland.
The convent’s noble denizens
include community theatre veteran
Lori Santopetro as Mother Superior.
Her onstage performances throughout
Queens have delighted audiences
for decades. Mary Patrick (Kelly Ann
Connors), Mary Lazarus (Kelly Pipa) and
the entire group of singing and dancing
nuns are heartwarmingly entertaining. A
joyful Monsignor O’Hara is well played
by Gary Pipa. Bravisimo to one and all!
Musical Director Jon Riss and his musicians
never miss a note. Well-deserved
bows to the entire production team
including Lydia Pastori, Monica Athenas,
Katie Kuhle, Todd Wilkerson, Amy
Costa, Marjorie Wilkerson, Margaret
Richman, Alex Santullo, Noah Platte and
Mike Mayo. Kudos to the many members
of the ensemble and everyone behind the
scenes.
In the most magical moments of the
musical, several characters visibly display
tears of joy during the fi nale. Clearly the
troupe delivers the real thing!
For information on this and future productions
by St Gregory’s Th eatre Group,
call (718) 989-2451 or surf to www.sgtg.
org. As always, save me a seat on the aisle.
A VIEW FROM
THE CLIFF
BY CLIFF KASDEN
/www.sgtg
