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Stony Brook University: Entrance sign

The Simons Foundation’s contribution is the largest unrestricted endowment gift to a higher education institution in American history

The Simons Foundation, a philanthropy working to advance the frontiers of research in mathematics and the basic sciences, today announced a historic $500 million endowment gift to Stony Brook University during a news conference at the foundation’s Manhattan headquarters. This monumental gift — the combined largesse of the Simons Foundation and Simons Foundation International — is the largest unrestricted donation to an institution of higher education in U.S. history.

The extraordinary gift is also expected to grow by up to $1 billion in contributions for Stony Brook University’s endowment by capitalizing on New York State’s 1:2 endowment matching program and other philanthropy inspired by this gift. This transformative donation will cement Stony Brook’s place as New York’s flagship research institution and provide the means to invest in areas most urgent and necessary to help sustain the university’s commitment to educational excellence, research innovation and community support.

Investments stemming from this gift will have a direct and positive impact on perpetual funding for student scholarships, endowed professorships, innovative research, and excellent clinical care.

“The Simons Foundation mission is to advance the frontiers of research in mathematics and the basic sciences,” Foundation President David Spergel said. “For more than a decade, we have been proud to give to an institution that is at the forefront of educational excellence in the sciences. It is our sincere hope that this large unrestricted gift will build upon our previous support to Stony Brook, giving students and faculty the ability to dream big and engage in transformative research.”

“A world-class, public education has the ability to transform the lives of New Yorkers, which is why in this year’s budget we created the first-ever matching fund for endowment contributions for SUNY’s university centers,” Governor Kathy Hochul said. “Time and again, Stony Brook University forges a bold path forward, from innovation happening at Brookhaven Lab to the economic development throughout Long Island. With this remarkable contribution from the Simons Foundation, Stony Brook will continue to excel as an internationally recognized research institution and give students the tools they need to succeed.”

“We are eternally grateful to Jim and Marilyn Simons and Simons Foundation President David Spergel for their unparalleled support of Stony Brook University. In 1960, we were given a mandate by the State Board of Regents to become a university that would ‘stand with the finest in the country,’” University President Maurie McInnis said. “Thanks in large part to the generosity of the Simons Foundation, we have done just that, and we have no intention of slowing down. We take seriously our commitment to our students, our faculty and our broader community to advance knowledge and contribute to the most significant challenges facing our society. We are so proud of all that we have accomplished as an institution and our best days are ahead of us.”

“I joined Stony Brook University in 1968 as Chair of their Department of Mathematics,” Simons Foundation Co-Founder Jim Simons said. “I knew then it was a top intellectual center with a serious commitment to research and innovation. But Stony Brook also gave me a chance to lead — and so it has been deeply rewarding to watch the university grow and flourish even more. Marilyn and I are proud to support this outstanding public university that has given us so much.”

“As a Stony Brook graduate, I know firsthand the role that a quality education plays in the trajectory of one’s life,” said Marilyn Simons ’74, PhD ’84, Simons Foundation Co-Founder. “I am proud of the education I received there. Jim and I want to ensure that Stony Brook continues to serve its students with the highest level of educational excellence and with world-class resources. The foundation’s gift will also help give those from underserved communities the opportunity to reach their full potential. We look forward to seeing this institution continue to thrive.”

Since Jim and Marilyn made their first gift of $750 in 1983, they and the Simons Foundation have committed more than $1.2 billion to Stony Brook, while also inspiring over 2,100 other donors to give to the university. Their transformational support has led to growth impacting every corner of the Stony Brook campus and beyond, from the Renaissance School of Medicine and the Simons Center for Geometry and Physics to Stony Brook’s Simons STEM Scholars program, nine endowed chairs and professorships in economics, and more.

In addition to this historic gift and previous gifts to Stony Brook University, last month, following Stony Brook’s successful bid to serve as the anchor institution of the The New York Climate Exchange, the Simons Foundation committed $100 million to the project’s expected $700 million budget. These funds will help establish this climate research, education and green-economy training hub, set to transform how the world responds to the climate crisis and pioneer investigation into environmental, community and health outcomes and impacts.

The Simons’ own personal involvement in Stony Brook community life over the past 55 years has been life-changing for generations of students’ and scholars’ past, present and future. They have provided countless hours of counsel and leadership to advance important initiatives. For example, Marilyn Simons’ work with the  Stony Brook Women’s Leadership Council mentoring program has been a launchpad for the careers of many undergraduates from all over campus.

“Jim and Marilyn have a long history of generously supporting the sciences, education, and the health and well-being of New Yorkers,” said Michael R. Bloomberg, founder of Bloomberg LP and Bloomberg Philanthropies, and 108th Mayor of New York City. “This new gift is an extraordinary example of that, and it will help Stony Brook University make critical investments that will empower more students to reach their full potential.” 

“The generosity of Jim and Marilyn Simons and the Simons Foundation has already changed the lives of millions of New Yorkers, and this historic contribution to Stony Brook University will impact our students and our state for generations to come,” said SUNY Chancellor John B. King Jr. “Today’s announcement will benefit SUNY students through scholarship, academic programs, and research opportunities, and it will enhance Stony Brook’s prominence as a world-class leader of higher education. The Simons donation illustrates the power of Governor Hochul’s Endowment Fund Match program to multiply the support of generous donors to expand research and scholarship across SUNY.”

“It is my true honor to know Jim and Marilyn and to have had the privilege to work alongside them for more than 30 years,” said Stony Brook Foundation Board of Trustees Chair Richard Gelfond ‘76. “Both as an alumnus of Stony Brook and as Board chair, I am grateful for their generous philanthropic support, their leadership, and their friendship. They have made an indelible impact on the future of the University.”

# # #

About Stony Brook University

Stony Brook is New York’s top ranked public university and a part of the State University of New York (SUNY) system, an internationally recognized research institution and center of academic excellence dedicated to addressing pressing global challenges. SBU serves as the anchor institution for the New York Climate Exchange on Governors Island, the nation’s first climate research, education and green-sector-job-training hub set to transform how our global response to the climate crisis. As one of only eight American universities with a role in running a national laboratory, Stony Brook is also the joint managing partner of the Brookhaven National Laboratory for the U.S. Department of Energy.  The university’s distinguished faculty have earned esteemed awards such as the Nobel Prize, Pulitzer Prize, Indianapolis Prize for animal conservation, Abel Prize and the inaugural Breakthrough Prize in Mathematics.

 

About Simons Foundation

Co-founded in 1994 in New York City by Jim and Marilyn Simons, the Simons Foundation’s mission is to support basic scientific research in pursuit of understanding the phenomena of our world. The Simons Foundation provides grants to individual researchers and to scientific collaborations and institutions, work in mathematics and physical sciences, life sciences, neuroscience, and autism science. The Simons Foundation also conducts computational research in basic sciences in-house at its Flatiron Institute.

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Photo from SBU

By Daniel Dunaief

From June 5 to 9, Stony Brook University will host a conference titled “Africa: The Human Cradle: An International Conference Paying Tribute to Richard E. Leakey” at the Charles B. Wang Center, 100 Nicolls Road, Stony Brook.

The University, which has 15 speakers among the 40 scientists delivering lectures, will celebrate the achievements of famed and late scientist and conservationist Richard Leakey and will bring together researchers from all over the world to celebrate the research in Africa that has revealed important information about early human history.

Stony Brook will host the conference in connection with the Turkana Basin Institute, which Leakey founded and is located in his native Kenya. The National Geographic Society, which provided financial support for Leakey’s seminal research for decades, is serving as a partner for the gathering.

Scientists from seven countries will discuss the latest developments in fossil research, archaeological and paleoecological records, as well as advances in geology, geochronology and genomic research.

Leakey inspired scores of scientists and made important discoveries that helped highlight Kenya’s central role in the narrative of human evolution. He died in early January 2022 at the age of 77.

Lawrence Martin, Professor in the Department of Anthropology at Stony Brook and Director of the Turkana Basin Institute, organized the meeting, along with Professor Frederick Grine. Stony Brook President Maurie McInnis and Jill Tiefenthaler, CEO of the National Geographic Society will provide opening remarks.

Martin, who called Leakey a “close friend” and a “mentor,” said the idea for the conference started in the days after Leakey’s death. The Stony Brook president “wanted Stony Brook to be the place that celebrates Richard Leakey as a scientist” and to recognize his “impact on the world.”

Organizers for the conference, which involved nine months of planning, wanted to focus on the “human story in Africa as it’s emerged” since Leakey’s ground breaking research, Martin explained. He expects the conference will involve an emotional outpouring, reflecting the personal and scientific impact Leakey had on so many other researchers and anticipates the meeting will be “state of the art” and will “pull things together in a way that’s never been done before.”

Leakey, who made his first major hominin discovery in 1964 at Lake Natron in Tanzania, worked with Stony Brook University for 20 years. SBU will share a National Geographic video tribute to Leakey on June 5 that will include pictures of his parents Louis and Mary Leakey, who made important fossil discoveries and were involved in numerous important scientific projects, through the last few years of Leakey’s life. 

Scientific talks

Martin suggested that the multi-disciplinary nature of the power-packed line up reflected Richard Leakey’s scientific views and bigger picture understanding of discoveries across a range of fields.

Leakey didn’t see geology, biology, paleobiology and other fields as separate, Martin explained. He saw all those disciplines as different sources of how humans adapted and evolved, which reflects the “integrated view” the conference is “looking to encourage.”

Richard Leakey examines fossils at the Turkana Basin Institute

Bernard Wood, Professor in the Department of Anthropology at George Washington University, joined Leakey on his first expedition to Lake Turkana. Wood will deliver the first talk, on June 5 at 2:15 p.m. He will focus on how Leakey inspired many scientists from a range of disciplines, with his intellectual curiosity leading to numerous research projects.

Lee Berger, explorer and scientist with the National Geographic Society, will deliver a talk on June 5 at 3:50 pm that will discuss recent discoveries of human origins. Martin said Berger’s talk would be “global news” and will likely be “covered all over the world.”

The first day will conclude with a free public lecture at 5 p.m. in the Staller Center’s Recital Hall by Richard Leakey’s daughter Louise, who will provide an overview of the discoveries and expeditions of the Koobi Fora Research Project in the Turkana Basin.

While Louise Leakey’s talk is free, attendees need to pre-register. The cost to attend the entire conference is $100.

Carrie Mongle, Assistant Professor in the Department of Anthropology at Stony Brook University, will be giving a talk on June 7 at 1:15 pm. She plans to attend all of the talks, as she sees this as an “incredible opportunity to see some of the world’s top paleoanthropologists come together and present the latest research in the field.”

In her lecture, Mongle will present new data related to the reconstruction of the hominin family tree.

“One of Richard’s scientific legacies is the extraordinary number of hominin fossils he was able to add to our collective understanding of human evolution,” she said. “Phylogenetic inference is a critical step in figuring out how all of these fossils come together to form the human family tree.”

On June 6 at 2:15 p.m., SBU Assistant Professor Marine Frouin will give a talk about the contribution of luminescence dating to the chronology of Pleistocene deposits in Turkana. Frouin uses luminescence dating techniques to study human evolution.

Turkana Basin Institute: Richard Leakey
All photos downloaded with permission from:
www.flickr.com
Username: turkanabasin
Password: knmwt15000

On June 7 at 9 a.m., Stony Brook Associate Professor Sonia Harmand, who worked closely in her career with Leakey and whose family developed a close relationship with the late researcher and conservationist, will describe research in the early Stone Age. Harmand and Directrice de Recherche Emerite at Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) Hélène Roche will discuss evidence in light of biological and environmental changes in East Africa and will present future research directions.

Also on June 7at 2:40 p.m., Jason E. Lewis, lecturer at Stony Brook, will discuss the implications of a new Early Pliocene hominin mandible from Ileret, Kenya on the origins of Australopithecus.

Stony Brook Associate Professor Krishna Veeramah, will conclude the talks on June 7 at 4:10 p.m. with a discussion of how the analysis of modern and ancient DNA has helped understand African prehistory.

Martin, who will wrap up the talks on June 9 at 12:20 p.m., said he thinks Leakey would appreciate what people say and how much impact he had on the field.

“He was quite a self-effacing person,” Martin said. “He wouldn’t have liked too much fuss about him.” He would, however, have appreciated that people recognized that he made “significant contributions in the area of the human evolutionary story,” among so many others fields.

For a full schedule of events and lectures, visit www.stonybrook.edu/richard-leakey/

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Smithtown Historical Society Civil War Encampment 05/27/23
Smithtown Historical Society Civil War Encampment 05/27/23
Smithtown Historical Society Civil War Encampment 05/27/23
Smithtown Historical Society Civil War Encampment 05/27/23
Smithtown Historical Society Civil War Encampment 05/27/23
Smithtown Historical Society Civil War Encampment 05/27/23
Smithtown Historical Society Civil War Encampment 05/27/23
Smithtown Historical Society Civil War Encampment 05/27/23

A HISTORY LESSON

The Smithtown Historical Society hosted a Civil War Encampment on Saturday, May 27. The well-attended event featured battle demonstrations, North and South camp life and infantry drills, music and dancing at the Frank Brush Barn, field hospital demonstrations and tours of the Epenetus Smith Tavern and Arthur Farmhouse

Photos from Smithtown Historical Society

 

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Chelsea Gomez of Level Up Kitchen with Emma S. Clark Memorial Library Director Ted Gutmann. Photo from Emma Clark library

The Emma S. Clark Memorial Library Board of Trustees has announced that they have selected a food and beverage vendor to operate the library’s new café which is slated to open later this summer. The vendor selected is Level Up Kitchen, a local business currently operating out of the Flowerfield complex in St. James.  Level Up Kitchen was selected from a pool of candidates that responded to the library’s recent request for proposal for a vendor to operate the café.

Level Up Kitchen is owned and operated by Three Village native and chef Chelsea Gomez.  Gomez graduated from Pennsylvania College of Technology with a degree in Culinary Arts in 2006, and prior to founding Level Up Kitchen Gomez was executive chef at Pentimento Restaurant in Stony Brook, which closed in 2021. Gomez is fully invested in the Three Village community, having grown up in Setauket, and she is currently raising her young family here. 

Drawing on her formal culinary education, current business operations, and her many years of experience as a chef, Gomez possesses extensive knowledge of food safety and how to prepare fresh, healthy, handcrafted fare that meets a variety of dietary restrictions. She plans to include items at the library café that include nut-free, gluten-free, vegetarian, and vegan, avoiding cross contamination with allergens. In addition, all of her employees will be Suffolk County Department of Health-certified food managers.

Moreover, Gomez places importance on sustainability, working with local farms and purveyors where possible to stimulate the local economy and provide the freshest, high-quality ingredients. She runs her businesses in an environmentally friendly manner, using biodegradable, post-consumer, and recyclable packaging and utilizing equipment that has low waste and high value, such as an energy-saving coffee machine and energy-efficient refrigerator.

Library patrons will be able to grab a quick snack on-the-go, or stay for a bite to eat and enjoy a more leisurely experience at the library.  Construction began on the new café at the library earlier this year and will include a new, indoor seating area adjacent to the historic 1892 reading room. Café customers will also have access to the outdoor seating terrace, which opened in August 2022 and looks out over the library’s beautifully landscaped grounds and the historic Setauket Village Green. The library and Gomez hope to have the café operational later this summer, once staff are trained and all required permits have been issued.

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Photo from Whisper Woods

Whisper Woods of Smithtown, a Benchmark assisted living and Mind & Memory Care community, has ranked among the best assisted living with memory care communities in New York and the entire U.S. for the second straight year. In U.S. News & World Report’s second annual Best Senior Living ratings published today, the community was selected following a comprehensive resident and family member survey. Whisper Woods is the only senior living community in the greater Smithtown area to have earned this prestigious award.

Whisper Woods earned “Best” status by achieving the highest possible rating for assisted living. Respondents gave the community high marks in critical areas, such as overall value, management and staff, resident enrichment, dining and food, safety, transportation, maintenance, housekeeping and location.

Forty Benchmark communities throughout the Northeast received a total of 53 U.S. News awards for the second straight year.

“We are honored and humbled that our residents and their families, once again, recognized the hard work, compassion, and dedication of our 6,000-plus associates. It’s their shared purpose of transforming lives through human connection that earned Benchmark these U.S. News & World Report awards and continues to separate Benchmark communities from other senior living companies,” said Tom Grape, founder, chairman and CEO of Benchmark.

Whisper Woods’ care and experiences spans independent assisted living to specialized memory care assisted living for those who would benefit from a safer, engaging environment, chef-prepared meals, supportive living services, transportation and assistance with daily activities, such as getting dressed and medication management. Residents enjoy connecting over programs and amenities offered in many common spaces including a bistro, art gallery, hair salon and spa, fitness center, recreation room and outdoor terrace with wine bar.

Whisper Woods’ award-winning Mind & Memory Care program offers carefully created living environments and unique opportunities for those with Alzheimer’s and dementia to find joy in each new day. Residents are supported by 24/7 care providers who have been hired for heart and educated in memory loss, communication and empathy. Neighborhoods provide the comforts of home and have unique features that help those with memory impairment stay connected to who and what matters most to them. Thoughtful touches, visual cues and purposeful amenities further promote familiarity and wellness.

“Our team is committed to keeping our residents connected to who and what matters most through outstanding care and experiences,” said Desiree Krajnyak-Baker, executive director of Whisper Woods. “Exceeding expectations every day is what we strive for so it’s incredibly exciting to have our dedication recognized by an industry leader like U.S. News.”

For more than 30 years, U.S. News has served the American public as an unbiased arbiter of quality across a variety of important choices. Whether picking a college, selecting a hospital or moving to a nursing home, consumers go to U.S. News to research and make consequential life decisions.

“For the second consecutive year, U.S. News is providing in-depth information to help potential residents and their loved ones find the best place to help meet their needs,” said Sumita Singh, senior vice president and general manager of Healthcare at U.S. News. “Communities that are highly rated excel in making residents feel safe, well cared for and highly satisfied by the services provided.”

For more information about Whisper Woods of Smithtown, click here or go to its U.S. News profile at https://health.usnews.com/best-senior-living/whisper-woods-of-smithtown-644.

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The St. James Farmers Market is set to start up on June 3 and run through Oct. 7. Photo from St. James Civic Association

The St. James Farmer’s Market reopens for the season on Saturday, June 3, in the parking lot of St. James Lutheran Church, 230 Second Ave., St. James from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. 

On opening day the market will feature 40 vendors, including Bakewicz Farm, vendors selling microgreens, fresh organic flowers, honey, coffee and teas, mushrooms, pickles, Brooklyn baked breads, treats from Norway, Polish Pierogies, craft beer, self care items, artisan crafts and much more. 

There will also be hot empanadas, live music by Perfect Strangers, free face painting, on the spot poetry project as well as a Kids Corner. Organized by volunteers of the Community Association of Greater St. James, the market will run through Oct. 7. 

 

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The Suffolk County Board of Elections ruled on May 30 that Village of Port Jefferson trustee and mayoral candidate Lauren Sheprow's petitions were invalid, removing her from the June 20 ballot. Above, Sheprow during a May 10 Meet the Candidates forum hosted by the Port Jefferson Civic Association. File photo by Raymond Janis

The mayoral race in the Village of Port Jefferson just took a shocking twist. 

In the upcoming village election on June 20, trustee Lauren Sheprow and Deputy Mayor Kathianne Snaden are vying to succeed incumbent Mayor Margot Garant, who is running for Town of Brookhaven supervisor. Following a meeting of the Suffolk County Board of Elections on Tuesday, May 30, Sheprow’s petitions were ruled invalid. This ruling removes Sheprow’s name from the ballot. 

In a statement, Sheprow said her opponent challenged her petitions due to an error on her cover sheet. In the face of the decision, she pledged to continue her mayoral campaign, now running as a write-in candidate.

“My opponent’s campaign and its lawyers challenged my petitions, and due to an issue with the cover sheet, the Suffolk County Board of Elections on May 30 determined that my name cannot be placed on the ballot,” Sheprow said in a statement.

She added, “I am committed to continuing my campaign for mayor even if it means I’ll be a ‘write-in’ candidate. It may be an uphill battle, but I will not quit the people of Port Jefferson.”

A statement issued by The Unity Party, the ticket under which Snaden is running alongside trustee Stan Loucks, clarifies how the challenges to Sheprow’s petitions first came about.

“The Unity Party requested, through the Freedom of Information Act, all documents related to Ms. Sheprow’s petition filing,” the statement said. “Upon discovering several defects, including the lack of a cover page, resident signatures on blank petition forms and other inconsistencies, a challenge to Ms. Sheprow’s election documents was filed. The SCBOE reviewed the challenge and found the deficiencies identified to not only be fatal, but also incurable.”

In the same statement, Snaden commented on the outcome: “While this decision will be disappointing to some, we should take pride that the law and process were followed. I have the utmost respect for the integrity of the bipartisan SCBOE and the decisions they make. Following the rules with transparency and integrity are the hallmarks of good government.”

The Suffolk County Board of Elections declined to comment for this story, referring inquiries to the Village of Port Jefferson clerk’s office. 

In a phone interview, Village clerk Barbara Sakovich said she was not involved in the decisions leading up to the ruling, maintaining that her position is strictly administrative.

“A mayoral challenge was submitted, and it then was brought to the Board of Elections,” she said. “The commissioners met, and the determination was made by them, not at the village level.”

Sakovich said the appeals process will be open until the end of business on Friday, saying, “I’m assuming if there is any change, the Board of Elections will notify me.”

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Photo from Leg. Trotta's office

The Commack Kickline Cougarettes won the varsity kickline title and the Sportsmanship Award at the 2023 National Dance Alliance Competition in Orlando, Florida. This was their second consecutive kickline title at this competition.

Suffolk County Legislators Rob Trotta, Leslie Kennedy and Manuel Esteban Sr., who represent the Commack area, invited the team, their coaches and School Superintendent Jordan Cox to attend the May 23 General Meeting of the Legislature to recognize the team and coaches for their achievement.

“As a graduate of Commack High School North, I am so impressed by these student athletes and congratulate them and their coaches for their athleticism, precision and team effort,” said Suffolk County Legislator Rob Trotta. In addition, Legislator Trotta invited several of his classmates who were on the Kickline team at Commack North to join him in congratulating the current team members.

Pictured at the Suffolk County Legislature are the Commack Kickline team, coaches, Commack Superintendent Jordan Cox (left) Commack Athletic Director Pat Friel (next to the superintendent) Legislator Rob Trotta (center) former teammates (in front of him) and Legislator Kennedy (sixth from right).



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Photo from Let. Trotta's office

Suffolk County Legislator Rob Trotta invited Northport High School senior Kaitlyn Ruiter and her parents, Anna and Walter, to the Legislature’s General Meeting on May 23 to recognize Kaitlyn for winning a Grammy as a member of the New York Youth Symphony, where she plays double bass. The New York Youth Symphony won a Grammy for its album, “Florence Price, Jessie Montgomery, and Valerie Coleman.” This is the first youth orchestra ever to win a Grammy. Legislator Trotta congratulated Kaitlyn on this major achievement and expressed his admiration for her musical talent.

Pictured with Grammy winner Kaitlyn Ruiter (center) are, from left, Suffolk County Legislator Stephanie Bontempi, Kaitlyn’s parents Anna and Walter, Northport High School orchestra teacher, Michael Sussino, and Suffolk County Legislator Rob Trotta.

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Kara Vertucci stars as the rebellious Princess Ida in the Gilbert & Sullivan Light Opera Company of Long Island’s 2023 production of Gilbert & Sullivan’s Princess Ida. (Photo by NanMagna. Copyright 2023 The Gilbert & Sullivan Light Opera Company of Long Island.)

The battle of the sexes will break out into open warfare when the Gilbert & Sullivan Light Opera Company of Long Island brings its 2023 production of Gilbert & Sullivan’s classic Princess Ida to the Smithtown Performing Arts Center on Saturday, June 17, at 8 p.m.  The production will feature a 23-piece orchestra.

 Princess Ida—which debuted in 1884 at London’s Savoy opera, with book and lyrics by W.S. Gilbert and music by Arthur Sullivan—is a favorite with Gilbert & Sullivan aficionados, with its score in particular regarded as perhaps Sullivan’s greatest.  The current production is the Light Opera Company’s first since 2007.

More dramatic in tone than any other Gilbert & Sullivan work, c In the end the story boils down to whether the opera’s young people are doomed to grow into their parents, repeating all their mistakes, or if they can escape the machinations of their parents, move beyond hatred and violence, and forge a new future for themselves.

In the new production of the opera, Kara Vertucci of Lindenhurst plays Princess Ida and Joseph Anthony Smith of Freeport plays Prince Hilarion, with Chris Jurak of Brightwaters as King Gama and Ben Salers of Northport as King Hildebrand.  Lady Psyche is played by Patricia Gallagher of West Hempstead, and Lady Blanche by Terry Hochler of East Meadow, with Alyssa M. Mener of Massapequa Park as Melissa; Jordan Breslow of Bellmore plays Florian and Richard Risi of Locust Valley plays Cyril.  Ida’s brothers, the formidable Warriors Three, are played by Henry Horstmann of Lindenhurst (Arac), John Benvenuto of Floral Park (Guron) and Marc Eliot Stein of Brooklyn (Scynthius).  Tamara Shyngle of Brentwood plays Sacharissa, Claudia Arroyo of Port Washington is Chloe and Hanna Roth of Upper Brookville plays Ada.  The director is Gayden Wren, and the music director is Leonard Lehrman.

“Princess Ida is unlike any other Gilbert & Sullivan opera,” said Wren, a longtime member of the company and also the author of an acclaimed book about Gilbert & Sullivan.  “It’s Shakespearean in its scope, and its humor—which combines farce, slapstick, satire and burlesque—is in the service of a story of unique emotional power.  Ida and Hilarion are two sides of the same coin, young aristocrats who’ve been pawns in their fathers’ rivalry almost since they were born.  The story pits them as enemies, but as the opera progresses they begin to see something of themselves in each other, and to sense the outlines of a future different from the one they’ve always been told awaits them.

“Ultimately this is a story of generational conflict, of young people trying to get past the mistakes and hatreds of their parents, trying to forge a new world they might actually live in together,” Wren concluded.  “When people ask me what it’s about, I say it’s about a prince, a princess and an arranged marriage … but also about climate change, racial and ethnic rivalries, inequality, social justice and pretty much anything else that’s going on in the world today.  It’s funny, it’s beautiful, but there’s no Gilbert & Sullivan story that’s more directly relevant to the world of today.”

Princess Ida will be presented on Saturday, June 17, at 8 p.m. at the Smithtown Performing Arts Center, 2 East Main Street in Smithtown.  Admission is $30, seniors and students $25.  For further information, call (516) 619-7415 or visit www.gaslocoli.org.

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