Salon Readings

ROOM 23 by Nicholas Platt – Two lonely people meet unexpectedly in a motel room and get drawn into each other’s fantasy worlds. They become entangled with a third character when the fantasy and real worlds increasingly blur together. 

THE DROP – 1965 by Gino Diiorio – Filomena runs a lucrative numbers operation from her tenement window, and when she’s threatened by a wise guy, she resorts to extreme measures….to protect herself and her neighborhood. 

THE OPEN CURTAIN by John Biguenet – Rising from bed after midnight, a traveling salesman’s wife finds her husband sitting vigil at their kitchen table and implores him to sleep, but he explains that no matter how exhausted he is, he must, must stay awake. 

Location: West End Arts Center, 132 West End Ave, Long Branch

ROCKET CLUB by Ken Weitzman – When a new dean is visited by the former one, she must stomach his advice and condescension. That is, until she provides him with a taste of his own medicine. 

SCREEN SAVIOR by Jim Benner – In the not-too-distant future, at the Hospital for the Digitally Challenged, a neural-implant protester must fight for his release or suffer surgical implantation and a permanent loss of self. 

THE FAMILIAR by Julia Blauvelt – During the early days of the pandemic, estranged siblings gather to plan their father’s virtual funeral, forcing them to examine their grief, their truths, and their past.

Location: West End Arts Center, 132 West End Ave, Long Branch

MARY ASTOR’S PURPLE DIARY (The Musical)

Music and Lyrics by Michael Garin
Book by Mardie Millit
Based on the book by Edward Sorel
Directed by Carl Andress

In 1965, author-illustrator Edward Sorel moved into a rent-controlled, Upper East Side apartment. While ripping up the linoleum floor, he found a pile of old newspapers with tabloid headlines, all about the biggest sex scandal of 1936. It involved a post-custody battle between a sexually liberated movie star, Mary (The Maltese Falcon) Astor, and her controlling ex-husband. Her numerous affairs, as detailed in her ‘purple diary’, rattled the entertainment industry, from Hollywood to Broadway. Sorel became obsessed with the subject, resulting in a best-selling, illustrated book. This musical version is a fizzy little cocktail inspired by his book, bubbling over with love, passion, infatuation, and a bit of magic!

Location: West End Arts Center, 132 West End Ave, Long Branch