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The Times of Scotch Plains-Fanwood

CYAN YELLOW MAGENTA BLACK

Arts & Entertainment

Pen and Ink

By MICHELLE H. LePOIDEVIN What A Difference Short Hair Makes: ‘Felicity’Continues

Despite Hairdo

They called me “Straight From the Bottle” in my sorority because I changed my hair color like a chameleon. Red one

week, blond streaks the next and one year, dark brown au natural. Various hairdos, same ol’ Michelle.

Granted, my decisions for flipflopping around were based heavily on what was going on in my life. Often after a long relationship wearing longer hair, I chopped it shorter because it was like starting over, cleaning the slate. It’s a woman’s prerogative, darn it.

So, when “Felicity’s” Felicity Porter decided to snip her sinuous tresses after she was fed up with the indecisiveness of Ben, her love interest, I understood completely. However, the program’s loyal audience didn’t seem so forgiving. Everyone loved the curly, long hair. “What was she thinking,” voices echoed worldwide. What Keri Russell, who plays the neurotic and perky Felicity, was thinking stems from a decision she made over the summer before last season when she decided she was due for a change. She notified WB executives who turned their noses up at the notion, but later thought it might be an interesting twist to the new season.

Go ahead and cut it, they surrendered.

Since then, ratings have plummeted and left those big cheeses at WB wondering what to do.

Keri Russell

RETURNING TO WESTFIELD FOR PRODUCTION REMAINS UNCLEAR

NBC’s Sunday Line-Up Will Include Pilot Filmed in Westfield Last Year

Friends Will Come and Go: So Fanwood Filmmaker Chronicles In ‘Back in the Day’

Continued on Page 23

A Picture in Poetry

“A sepal, petal, and a thorn Upon a common summer’s morn A flash of dew, a bee or two, A breeze A caper in the trees, And I’m a rose! Poem by Emily Dickinson Rose from Michelle H. LePoidevin’s garden

ON LOCATION... Miguel Jerez and Christopher Halverston

WITH KERRIANNE SPELLMAN CORT Take the Stage

By MICHELLE H. LePOIDEVIN

Specially Written for The Westfield Leader and The Times

FANWOOD – The films Fanwood resident Christopher J. Halverston makes may not be as big as Battlefield Earth or Gladiator,

but his movies have a bigger challenge – delivering a moral in only 20 minutes.

Take his latest creation,

Back in the Day, which was filmed in New York City over a span of 14 days in order to depict a oneday encounter. The film has been entered into the Cityvisions Film & Video Showcase at The City College of New York where Mr. Halverston will graduate this year.

“It’s a short film,” he reported. “You really have to get your point across and make it move.”

In the film, four friends who attended a small town high school, meet up again in New York City after not

Continued on Page 23

David B. Corbin for The Westfield Leader and The Times SPOTLIGHT ON WESTFIELD... In April 1999, cameras pointed to Vivian’s Kitchen, above, and other spots in Westfield to film a pilot for CBS called “Stuckeyville.” Uninterested in the pilot, NBC picked it up for next fall’s Sunday lineup and changed the name to “Ed.”

seeing each other for five years. In Times Square, the main character Rick Gannon, runs into Damian who has become a con artist. Rick then finds his old friend Mike at Bryant Park. Mike has become a stockbroker. Angela, a model turned drug addict, is discovered by Rick in Harlem.

The moral of the story is something Mr. Halverston thinks everyone can relate to. All four friends realize that the ties that once kept them connected are fragile and they have easily drifted away.

Mr. Halverston noted that he used New York City as the film’s backdrop because he believes the characters would have eventually ended up there. Being familiar with the surroundings and hiring actors and crew members from New York also added to the appeal.

A black comedy, which falls into the genre of films such as Fargo and those made by Quinten Tarantino,

Back in the Day is what Mr. Halverston describes as “a straight out farce” in which the “humor has to do with the characters themselves and how eccentric some of them are and the twists and turns that they go through.”

A graduate of New Jersey City University in Jersey City, Mr. Halverston demands originality from himself.

“I try not to make the same film twice,” he said. “I really want to grow from each movie.”

Past Halverston originals include Helen O’Loy, which he describes as a science fiction film of the 1950s such as

Please send all Arts & Entertainment

News to: michelle@ goleader. com

Jerry Garcia (19421995)

ARTIST OF THE WEEK

Life was one long, strange trip for Jerome John Garcia of “The Grateful Dead,” who was born in San Francisco in 1942 and died while trying to recover from a drug addiction in 1995.

A 4yearold Garcia had his right hand middle finger severed by his brother who was chopping wood with an ax at the time. His mother entered the workforce after Garcia’s father, a swing musician, drowned in a fishing accident. These circumstances forced the young musician to be brought up by his grandparents.

Garcia first took up the guitar at the age of 15. He dropped out of high school and, later left the Army, deciding that music was his true path in life. Little did he realize that his voice would speak for a restless generation yearning for peace amongst the turbulent 1960s.

When I heard the news that Garcia died that hot August day, I was in Lahaska, Pa. withmymother. Though I was not a selfproclaimed “Deadhead,” I greatly admired the musicianship and devotion Garcia had to his craft. It seemed like, yet again, another day that the music died.

For crepes: blend all ingredients in a blender for one minute. Refrigerate for 1 hour. Heat griddle or skillet pan which has been brushed with oil. Pour 4 tablespoons of crepe batter in pan and spread out. Lightly brown on one side before turning over crepe. For filling: Melt 2 tbsp. butter in large saucepan, adding onions and mushrooms. Saute. Stir in remaining butter until melted, adding flour one tablespoon at a time. Add in cream, wine and chickenbroth. Cookoverheatuntilthickened. Addchicken, crab, parmesan and salt. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Fill crepes and roll. Place on 9x13 buttered dish, topping with munster cheese. Bake for 20 minutes.

Cheese, Chicken and Crab Crepes

Crepes: 2 eggs 1/ 8 tsp. salt 1 c. milk 1 c. flour 4 tbs. melted butter

Filling: 5 tbsp. butter, separated 5 sliced onions 3 tbsp. flour 1/ 2 c. mushrooms 1 c. chicken broth 1/ 4 c. light cream 1/ 4 c. white wine 1 c. chopped chicken breast 1 c. shredded crabmeat 1/ 2 c. parmesan 1/ 2 tsp. salt 1 c. munster cheese, grated

The Main Ingredient The Main Ingredient The Main Ingredient The Main Ingredient The Main Ingredient

PEONIES IN EVERY COLOR... will be available at The New York Botanical Garden in The Bronx until Sunday, June 24.

Continued on Page 22

By MICHELLE H. LePOIDEVIN

Specially Written for The Westfield Leader and The Times

WESTFIELD – Move over Frasier, Will and Grace, NBC’s got a new kid in town. His name is “Ed” and come next fall, he’ll have his own show in the network’s Sunday night lineup.

Big deal, you say? If you live in Westfield it is.

Of course the name of the program, “Ed,” might not sound familiar because the original name was “Stuckeyville” when a portion of the pilot was shot at Westfield’s Vivian’s Kitchen, Mindowaskin Park, Tamaques Park, Westfield High School and St. Marks Avenue in late March through midApril in 1999.

The facades and landscapes of the town were selected as the ideal quaint and cozy backdrop for the show after Location Manager Tom Whelan drove around New Jersey for an entire day searching for the best atmosphere.

When Mr. Whelan’s attention became captured by the tall, white steeple of The Presbyterian Church in Westfield and the winding town streets, he knew he found a gem.

“Everyone said, ‘Wow, that’s really nice, ’” he recalled last year. Mr. Whelan hinted that the camera crews would consider return ing to Westfield if the pilot received

rave reviews. Viacom Productions Publicity

Coordinator Wendy Luckenbill told

The Westfield Leader and The Times

that “as of now, production is still scouting locations” for the program and won’t know until July or August if camera crews will return to the Town of Westfield.

She added that the production team must factor in whether or not the original locations are still available, or if permits are required by the town selected for “Ed” ’s backdrop.

Approximately 15 other towns, such as Rockland County, N. Y. were considered for the pilot.

However, the plot thickened when, after filming the one hour

Chinese Peonies Burst At Botanical Garden

By MICHELLE H. LePOIDEVIN

Specially Written for The Westfield Leader and The Times

THE BRONX – Appreciating the rich and colorful splendor of Chinese tree peonies at The New York Botanical Garden will be a rare way to spend Memorial Day next Monday, along with other floral and garden festivities.

The Enid A. Haupt Conservatory at the Garden will overflow with peonies in shades of white, red, pink, magenta, violet, yellow and green. With their paperlike texture, the Garden’s flora will feature selections such as “Great Winged Butterfly,” “Better Than Jade With Triple Magic,” and “Lotus that Shines in the Sun.”

Over 100 specimens will be available to peony lovers through Sunday, June 4.

Also during Memorial Day Weekend, “All About Flowers” in the Bendheim Global Greenhouse will be offered at the Everett Children’s Adventure Garden.

The exhibit will afford children the chance to touch spring flowers and discover how they are made. Plant science will also be discussed in the 12acre garden.

Several other children’s activities are on the menu at the Gar den, as well as a Garden Highlights

Tour, Bird Walk, Forest Tour and Tram Tour.

The New York Botanical Garden is located at 200th Street and Kazimiroff Boulevard in The Bronx. For more information, please call (718) 8178700 and visit the Garden’s Web site at www. nybg. org.

Memorial Day Concert Slated By Symphony

WESTFIELD -A free concert commemorating fallen American soldiers will be offered by The Westfield Symphony Orchestra on Memorial Day, Monday, May 29, at 7 p. m. at Echo Lake Park.

The event will be held rain or shine, however, the location will be switched to Cranford High School if rain does occur.

The Symphony will perform Rhapsody in Blue, Gould’s American Salute, Armed Forces Medley and selections from West Side Story, among others.

For more information, please contact the Westfield Symphony Orchestra office at (908) 2329400.

Brigadoon Ensemble Offers Fine Performance in Westfield

By KERRIANNE SPELLMAN CORT

Specially Written for The Westfield Leader and The Times

WESTFIELD — Westfield Community Players (WCP) is staging the wonderful Lerner and Loewe musical, Brigadoon, for the last show of their successful season. This is the 67th consecutive year for WCP, and the local troupe has offered Union County theatergoers a diversity of plays this season. Closing their favorable year with this classic musical was an excellent choice for the company.

The writing team of Alan Jay Lerner and Frederic Loewe, (who both, unfortunately passed away in the mid1980s,) brought us outstanding works such as My Fair Lady, Gigi, Paint Your Wagon, and Camelot. Their first hit was

Brigadoon, and the subsequent film version starred the glorious Gene Kelly, as well as his extraordinary dance partner, Cyd Charisse.

The original production of

Brigadoon opened on March 13, 1947 at The Ziegfield Theater in Manhattan and ran for 581 performances.

Brigadoon is one of those trea sured standard American musicals

that has become a staple of sumContinued

on Page 22

Calling AllLocal Laureates

The Arts & Entertainment Editor is looking for a few good poets. If you would like to see your poetry considered for publication in a new section called “Local Laureates,” please send to: Michelle H. LePoidevin, P. O. Box 250, 50 Elm St., Westfield, 07091 or email: michelle@ goleader. com. No simultaneous submissions to other poetry journals or publications will be considered.