Hotel's GM Completes the Picture in 'Picture Incomplete' at Luna

Michael Polese is a proud and happy man – with reason. 

By day, this Montclair resident is the general manager of Livingston’s where he’s been employed for the past nine years. Touring the luxurious facility, he beams with pride as he shows off the indoor heated pool, spa, massive ballroom, and cozy lounge with computers, an entertainment center, and snack area.

He is clearly delighted by the hotel’s touches of whimsy, including lollipops in the bathrooms and a rug in the Fitness Center that invites you to “schvitz.”  And clearly, he is pleased about the success of the attached Strip House, which is the only steak house to receive 4 stars from Forbes “All Star Eateries.”

Polese is also proud of the success of what he calls his “avocation,” that of musician and composer. Growing up in Union City, he explained how he’d always wanted to play piano as a child. 

“Music was a release,” he said, but was always shy about his ability and his compositions.  It wasn’t until he met his life partner, Trent Armand Kendall, that his music really gained attention. Kendall, a seasoned actor/singer/writer/producer found some of Michael’s songs and began to publicize them. 

When Kendall wrote a script about a man reflecting on his “incomplete” life, Polese began writing the music for what would eventually become the 90-minute show “Picture Incomplete.”   

The show makes its New Jersey debut at Luna Stage in West Orange on Friday, Sept. 16  and Saturday, Sept. 17. 

Polese explained how writing the show’s music was “organic” and that it happened “naturally.”  The show has Kendall assuming a host of characters, some funny, others bittersweet, but all “thought-provoking and interesting.”  Many are based on the personal experiences of this dynamic writing/performing couple. 

“The theme is very heartfelt and universal,” Polese said. “We’re all incomplete. We’re all evolving and looking and wanting to understand the people and world around us.” 

He explains how music “affects us on an emotional level. It’s dramatic and can change how someone perceives the world.” Much like the service industry, he says, where people go to a hotel to celebrate momentous occasions in their life (weddings, bar/bat mitzvahs) or stay when they need to attend someone’s funeral. They come back from business meetings, exhausted, and are given the chance to recharge.  

“At the Westminster, I tell my people that they have the chance to change how people feel in a given moment. My choices, your choices, all change the course of someone’s day.” 

Polese sees music and the service field as noble because “when you do them both well, people immediately respond. You can see them begin to feel better.” Hotels, like the theatre, are a microcosm of the world and he loves them both.

As for his “avocation,” he is thrilled by the reviews “” has thus far received and he is hard at work on his new show, “Traffic” which will be “a musical at the intersection of love and life.”  In the meantime, he continues loving his pride and joy, The Westminster Hotel.  “We’ve built something very special here,” he says as he looks over his sumptuous place of business.  “I’m very happy.”

The Westminster Hotel is located at 550 W. Mount Pleasant Ave. in Livingston.  Their website is www.westminsterhotel.net.  You can hear Michael Polese on his album, Halfway Home, which is available on iTunes and cdbaby (www.cdbaby.com/cd/michaelpolese).  Luna State is located at 555 Valley Road in West Orange.  Their website is www.lunastage.org.