Simple Gifts Productions presents “You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown” featuring all your favorite Peanuts characters, at Finley Middle School, 20 Greenlawn Road, Huntington on Nov. 21 and 22 at 7:30 p.m. and Nov. 23 at 3 p.m. and again at 6 p.m. For ages 4 and up. Tickets are $20 adults, $15 children ages 10 or younger. To reserve tickets online, visit www.simplegiftsproductions.com. For more information, call 561-9522.
Emma S. Clark Memorial Library, 120 Main St., Setauket invites children to drop by on Nov. 16 between 1 and 3 p.m. to make a free craft. Choose between a Thanksgiving turkey picture magnet and a hand-print hanging turkey craft. No registration required. Open to all. Call 631-941-4080 for further information.
MEET ABBEY AND SARAH!
This week’s shelter pets are Abbey, left, and Sarah, above, two sweeties who have just arrived from Mississippi and are waiting at Kent Animal Shelter for their furever homes.
They are both approximately 2 years old and are ready for the next chapter in their lives. Both have lovely personalities and are great on a leash. As you can see from their photos, a little time spent on Weight Watchers wouldn’t hurt either one of them! With a little TLC they’ll be in tip-top shape.
Come on down to the shelter and meet them! They come spayed, microchipped and up to date on their vaccines and do not have to be adopted together.
Kent Animal Shelter is located at 2259 River Road in Calverton. The adoption center is open seven days a week from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. For more information on Abbey, Sarah and other adoptable pets at Kent, call 631-727-5731 or visit www.kentanimalshelter.com.
Suffolk County Legislator Sarah Anker joined Town of Brookhaven Councilwoman Jane Bonner, the Miller Place–Mount Sinai Chamber of Commerce and the community in celebrating the grand reopening of Vincenzo’s Pizzeria and Restaurant, 343 Route 25A, in Miller Place on Oct. 19.
“I am pleased to welcome Vincenzo’s to the Miller Place community,” said Anker. “I encourage residents to try its delicious food and inviting atmosphere!”
Vincenzo’s Pizzeria and Restaurant is a family-owned Italian restaurant originally established in Port Jefferson. In 2017, the business had the opportunity to relocate to a larger space in Miller Place, while also expanding its menu and offerings. For more information, visit www.vincenzospizzalongisland.com.
Sweetbriar Nature Center, 62 Eckernkamp Drive, Smithtown is in need of old newspapers to line the enclosures for the wild animals they are rehabilitating. They can’t use the ads or the shiny stuff, but the rest of the paper would be greatly appreciated. The New York Times is their favorite sized paper but any newspaper will do. For more information or to schedule a drop off, call 631-979-6344.
SOME ENCHANTED EVENING
John T. Mather Memorial Hospital of Port Jefferson honored three of its own at its One Enchanted Evening gala at East Wind Long Island in Wading River on Nov. 1.
Neurosurgeon Dr. Sumeer Sathi (second from left), section chief of neurosurgery and the medical director of neurosciences at Mather Hospital, and Dr. David Shenouda (center), cardiologist with Three Village Cardiology and former medical board chairman, each received the Theodore Roosevelt Award. The Nassau-Suffolk Hospital Council created the Theodore Roosevelt Award more than 50 years ago to honor those who demonstrate exceptional volunteer commitment to a member hospital and its community.
Dr. David BenEliyahu (second from right), administrative director of the Back & Neck Pain Center at Mather Hospital and Mather’s Chiropractic Collaboration program was honored as the hospital’s Community Honoree as thanks for supporting the hospital and its programs over the years.
With them are Mather President Kenneth Roberts (far left) and Mather Chairman Leo Sternlicht (far right). The 54th annual event raised funds for the Contessa Nadia Farber Emergency Pavilion at Mather Hospital.
Photos by Stuart Vincent
LOVE WHERE YOU LIVE
Port Jefferson Mayor Margot Garant snapped this photo along Shore Road in Setauket on Nov. 4. She writes, “ I was heading back into Port and saw the sky and pulled over — it was a gorgeous moment.
Send your Photo of the Week to [email protected]
By Heidi Sutton
Just in time for the holidays, the Smithtown Center for the Performing Arts kicks off its 18th season with a production of the classic family musical “Annie” through Jan. 20. Last seen on the Smithtown stage back in 2010, the show returns with fervor with a whole new cast, albeit a lovable favorite, and brims with hope, optimism and dreams.
With book by Thomas Meehan, music by Charles Strouse and lyrics by Martin Charnin, “Annie” the musical premiered on Broadway at the Alvin Theatre (now the Neil Simon Theatre) in 1977. Since then, the award-winning show has toured around the world and serving as inspiration for many stage, film and television adaptations.
Loosely based on the adventures of Little Orphan Annie, a comic strip created by Harold Gray in the 1920s, “Annie” tells the story of a spunky 11-year-old who has been living at the New York Municipal Orphanage for Girls since her parents dropped her off there when she was an infant with half a locket and a note promising to come back for her. As the years pass Annie grows restless waiting for their return and runs away a lot, testing the patience of the ill-tempered and downright cruel Miss Hannigan who runs the orphanage.
“That was 1922 and this is 1933 – they must’ve got stuck in traffic!” Miss Hannigan says sarcastically.
As the holidays roll around, billionaire Oliver Warbucks sends his personal secretary Grace Farrell to the orphanage to choose one lucky orphan to spend Christmas at his mansion. The secretary chooses the rambunctious curly-haired redhead, who quickly steals the hearts of Farrell, Warbucks and the entire household staff. When the billionaire hears Annie’s story, he offers a $50,000 reward to help find her parents, attracting every swindler out there including Miss Hannigan’s shady brother Rooster and his girlfriend Lily. Will their scheme be foiled? Will Annie find her real parents?
Directed by Tommy Ranieri, the uber-talented cast embraces the ever-optimistic script and runs with it. The role of the orphans are double cast, with a Red and Green Cast. Last Saturday afternoon’s performance, performed by the Green Cast, featured a wonderful Paige Mathers as Annie (a role shared with Gabby Blum), perfectly capturing her character’s pluckiness, toughness and determination. Mathers’ versions of “Maybe” and “Tomorrow” are delivered perfectly.
Annie’s fellow orphans, played by Cassidy Gill, Catalina A. Kreitzman, Adrienne Porti, Alexa Oliveto, Alexandra Mitnick and Jenna Hammelman, are terrific as well, most evident in the big number, “It’s a Hard-Knock Life.”
Joe Morris is perfectly cast as Oliver Warbucks and shines in “NYC” and “I Don’t Need Anything But You.” The bond he shares with Annie is charming and sweet.
While the ensemble serves as the supporting cast for the show, they have plenty of time to shine on their own — especially Jeremy Hudson who changes roles quicker than changing clothes. It was nice to see him back on SPAC’s stage.
Erica Giglio Pac steals the spotlight as the cantankerous and boozy Miss Hannigan. Her vocals on “Little Girls” are pitch perfect and her wishful thinking rendition of “Easy Street” with Ryan Cavanagh as Rooster Hannigan and Alyson Gannon as Lily St. Regis leaves the audience wanting more.
And there is a lot more, with a tap dancing Santa Claus, an appearance by President Franklin D. Roosevelt (Doug Vandewinckel) and, amazingly, Shamus, the sweet cocker spaniel who played Sandy in the theater’s 2010 production, reprises his role as Annie’s lovable sidekick.
Choreography by Ryan Cavanagh is excellent, especially in the big numbers like “NYC” and “It’s a Hard-Knock Life” which uses wet mops as props.
Designed by Tim Golebiewski, the set is most impressive as it rolls and turns on wheels. The orphanage, with its many bunk beds, is transformed into a back alley, the entryway of Oliver Warbuck’s mansion and the Oval Office of the White House. Long creme-colored silk curtains are draped to hide the different props and give the scenes an expensive and festive feel.
The full orchestra brings a wonderful richness to the classic songs, under the direction of Melissa Coyle, while the beautiful period costumes by Ronald Green III, complete with Annie’s iconic red dress, tie the whole production together in a big holiday bow.
The Smithtown Center for the Performing Arts, 2 E. Main St., Smithtown presents “Annie” through Jan. 20. Running time is approximately 2½ hours with one intermission. Tickets are $40 adults, $36 seniors, $25 students. For more information or to order, call 631-724-3700 or visit www.smithtownpac.org.
All photos by James Gorman
Village officials have moved to curb reckless biking around Port Jeff by impounding bikes of people they find breaking the code.
At the Nov. 4 board meeting, Port Jefferson officials amended the village code to allow Suffolk County police and code enforcement officers to impound bicycles from reckless riders, including juveniles.
“As an era of common sense is not really operating anymore regarding bicycles, we have heard and seen kids running in front of cars, playing games where they’re hooking onto cars — incredibly dangerous activities out there,” village attorney Brian Egan said. “Vehicles are taking incredibly dangerous maneuvers to avoid these bikes.”
The code’s language forbids persons from trick riding, which usually comes in the form of wheelies, weaving back and forth in traffic or hanging onto automobiles driving on the road. It also forbids people from riding distracted, such as while using a phone or camera, though using a GoPro camera or similar devices while biking is permissible, according to the village attorney.
Acting Chief of Code Enforcement Fred Leute Jr. could not be reached for comment.
Egan said at the Nov. 4 meeting that the law was being “narrowly tailored” to still allow bike riding in the village.
Bikes seized by either code enforcement or Suffolk police are kept in Port Jeff at the Department of Public Works building, with a record of impounding kept by the head of Code Enforcement. A parent or guardian can retrieve the impounded bike on behalf of a minor.
Some residents at the meeting questioned if there were any issues with taking and impounding a minor’s bike, but Egan said it has worked for villages like Babylon.
“In practice, we see from other villages that these bikes never get retrieved,” he said.
Mayor Margot Garant said after they reach a certain number of bikes that are not recovered after a time, they would hold an auction like they have done for kayaks left on village racks after the season is complete. She said the village would likely decrease the price of impounded bikes based on age.
“We have to review the impounding fee, because I think with the kayaks, we didn’t take into consideration an aging timeline, it was one set fee and here we were with all these kayaks,” she said.
In August of this year, the Village of Babylon passed a similar measure to curb the number of reckless bicyclists. That village fined riders over 16 years of age $250 when charged with violating the village code.
The village has yet to set any fines from breaking this new section of the code or for retrieving the bike. Village officials said that decision would come at a future date after discussion, likely the next board meeting Nov. 18.
Veterans Day events across Long Island have inspired children to sing, bands to play, politicians to speak and servicemen to march in parades.
Many Long Islanders came out to exhibit unwavering support for veterans on this national holiday. But with so many veterans facing hardships, such as food insecurities, joblessness, homelessness and health issues — some service-related — more needs to be done each and every day.
There are many ways our readers can help the men and women of the armed forces long after Veterans Day is over. Long Island organizations are always looking for help, year-round, whether it’s donating time, money, clothing or gently used items.
Here are a few groups, where you might lend a hand:
• Long Island Cares Inc. — The Harry Chapin Food Bank: This Hauppauge-based center has been helping veterans, military personnel and their families since 2010. According to the nonprofit, more than 1,200 veterans per month typically receive support from its regional food bank through many of their programs. Long Island Cares will provide 500 veterans with holiday meals this year. The food bank is able to do this in part thanks to an $11,000 donation expected from Steven Castleton, civilian aide to the Secretary of the Army. Long Island Cares also offers the Veterans Mobile Outreach Unit, the VetsWork program and Military Appreciation Tuesdays where all Long Islanders can help by donating food items or money.
• United Veterans Beacon House: Headquartered in Bay Shore, this organization provides housing throughout Long Island for veterans. According to its website, on any given day more than 255 men, women and children throughout the tristate area have received services ranging from help with homelessness to treating PTSD, addiction and more. The organization can always use coats, gently used clothing and furniture.
• Long Island State Veterans Home at Stony Brook University: Located on SBU’s west campus, interested people can help out by assisting the home’s residents during their recreation programs and trips, or simply by sitting and talking with the men and women.
• Northport VA Medical Center: The VA presents opportunities where community members can volunteer or donate their time or money. A cash donation can be used by the VA to buy items for patients including hygiene products and refreshment supplies. The hospital also collects items such as magazines, coffee, and new or gently used clothing.
Some veterans are doing well, but sometimes they could use a little company. Many people at the senior centers and retirement homes would welcome a visit, so they can share a story, or have someone even record it for future generations.
Long Island has the highest concentration of vets in New York state. These men and women are our neighbors. Make some time to find a vet in your community.
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