Port Summer Show presents “On the Town” August 1st– August 4th!

Celebrating a tradition dating back 47 years, Port Summer Show presents “On the Town”. Performances are August 1-3 at 7:30 and August 4th at 2:00 in the air conditioned Schreiber High School Auditoriums . Tickets are $15 for general admission and $10 for children 12 and under. Senior Citizens, 62 and under are free on Thurs August 1st and $10 at all other performances. Veterans and their spouses are invited to attend the Saturday Aug 3rd performance for free with the ticket cost underwritten by the Peter and Jeri Dejana Family Foundation. There will be a special commemoration for all veterans at intermission on August 3rd.
With brash, spectacular, and slightly bittersweet abandon, “On the Town” is a musical about living life to its fullest. With a soaring score by Leonard Bernstein and humorous, highly intelligent lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green, “On the Town” showcases three sailors on 24 hour shore leave in NYC and their quest for love and adventure.
Now in its 47th year, the Port Summer Show is a nonprofit teen theater that has been producing Broadway musicals since its inaugural performance in the John Phillip Sousa Bandshell produced and directed by Ron and Pam Meadows. These productions give Port Washington teenagers the opportunity to work on all aspects of the production including on stage performance, backstage crew, and playing in the orchestra. Teenagers in grades 7 through 12 work with a professional director, musical director, choreographer, scenic designer, and costume designers.
This Port Washington tradition has been passed down, as graduates of the Port Summer Show productions introduce their children to the program. Parent volunteers are integral in creating and producing the shows each year. Co-President, Lori Lee stated “I love the collaborative nature of everything we do. Port teens and their parents bring an amazing array of talents to the table. Veronica (Lori’s daughter) has looked forward to this experience every year for the past seven years. This show is a bittersweet celebration of living it up and then saying goodbye. It's the perfect send off.”
In “On the Town”, three sailors, Gabey, Ozzie and Chip go on 24 hour shore leave. Gabey falls in love with a photo of Miss Turnstiles – Ivy Smith in the NYC Subway. All three sailors spread out to search NYC to find the elusive Ivy. Ozzie goes looking for Ivy in the Museum of Modern Art, as that is one of her interests as noted on the poster, but ends up at the Museum of Natural History by mistake. Ozzie meets Claire De Loone, an anthropologist who is into prehistoric looking men like Ozzie and quickly succumbs to his charms. While celebrating their new love with a kiss and a dance, Ozzie and Claire accidentally destroy a dinosaur skeleton at the museum. The dinosaur skeleton collapses into a heap on the floor, as they hastily exit.
Co- President, Lori Lee is an integral part of the production process for “On the Town”. This year one of the bigger challenges is designing a 10 foot tall dinosaur that is light weight, can be put together quickly, and can break away on stage every night for 4 performances. Lori used a children’s puzzle for inspiration. Bones are made out of lightweight materials and are fitted together with complete accuracy, so that they stay upright during dance numbers and can break away on cue. Only to have the entire process repeated for the next performance.
Lori stated this about the process “Creating the dinosaur was a perfect illustration of the ups and downs of the creative process. Katie and I tackled the challenge together, brainstorming ideas. After drafting working sketches, Katie Lyons crafted the head from chicken wire and papier mache. We then had to construct a lightweight, flexible body. We decided on pool noodles for ribs and limbs with gas bendable gas line piping run through as an armature. The crew jigged plywood for the spine, backbone and hips, and rigged the pieces to break away. We devised a way to lower the head using PVC and a lynch pin.”
Don’t miss “On the Town, Port Summer Show’s 48thProduction!