The Record from Hackensack, New Jersey • F7

SUNDAY, JULY 6, 2008 BETTER LIVING THE RECORD F-7 THEATER A play about ex-consf played by themselves The actors in "The Castle" have been studying their roles for a long time. Collectively, 70 years. That's the combined prison time of the four ex-convicts who play themselves in this unique off-Broadway play, conceived and directed by Bergen County native David Rothenberg. "Being a theater per son, I saw the drama in their lives," says Rothenberg, whose piece can be seen at New World Stages, 340 W. 50th St.

The play is an outgrowth of The Fortune Society, a not-for-profit advocacy group for ex-prisoners that Rothenberg founded 41 years ago just one phase of a strikingly varied ca JIM BECKERMAN An unusual arrangement, Rothenberg admits, but it has to be that early. By law. "They have to be home, because three of them are on parole," he says. Tickets for "The Castle" are $30 and $45 and are available through Telecharge, 212-239-6200 or telecharge.com. Simon Cowell, look out.

Domenick Panfile may be headed your way. Panfile, a 17-year-old Dumont resident, placed first in the boys division of the National High School Teen Idol contest, brainchild of Glen Rock resident Carmen Jon. The contest, similar to but not affiliated with "American Idol," subjected 30 teen finalists to a grueling three-tiered, three-day competition, from June 27 to June 29. Panfile took the cake with his soaring rendition of "This Is the Moment," from the musical "Jekyll Hyde." "When I won, it was just great," Pan-file says. "I cried.

Just winning and holding the trophy in your hand is unbelievable." Panfile, who will be a senior at Dumont High School in the fall, will be appearing on the "Fox Friends" TV show to celebrate his victory, though an airdate has not been determined. A musical eclectic, whose taste runs the gamut from classical to musical theater to Sinatra, Panfile aspires to be an all-around entertainer. And according to Jon, he's well on his way. "This kid is incredible," Jon says. "You can tell he's very well-trained and very versatile.

He can sing any kind of style." E-mail: beckermannorthjersey.com Angel Ramos their raps range from drug-related thefts to murder who are all current or former residents of The Fortune Academy, otherwise known as "The Castle," a Harlem halfway house and assistance center with some 60 tenants that Rothenberg has been actively involved in. "It's very gothic-looking," Rothenberg says. "At Halloween, we make it into a haunted house." Rothenberg, who grew up in Ridge-field Park and Teaneck (Teaneck High School, class of 1951), began his career as a part-time sports writer for The Record. This was around the time of Jackie Robinson's historic leap into the major leagues, and he credits Robinson with opening his eyes to the social injustice that was to become a major preoccupation of his life. "I always said that Jackie was my bridge to social activism," Rothenberg says.

"We watched how he was discriminated against. As a sports fan, I saw what he went through, and I didn't like it." In the 1950s, he sat down with other protesters at segregated lunch counters, and was spat on for his pains. In the 1960s, a period of experimental and agitprop theater, he became press agent for several definitive plays of the era: the hippie musical "Hair," the groundbreaking gay drama "The Boys in the Band" and several plays by Edward Albee. He also became producer of "Fortune and Men's Eyes," a sensational 1967 prison drama written by an ex-con, John Herbert it dealt, among other things, with homosexuality behind bars that opened a lot of people's eyes, including Rothenberg's. "Up until that time, the only thing I knew about prison was old movies," Rothenberg says.

"They were either rioting or escaping. This was very different." Out of "Fortune and Men's Eyes" grew The Fortune Society, dedicated to helping ex-prisoners find their feet in the outside world. Then as now, they needed the help. When four society members appeared on David Susskind's 1960s TV talk show, Rothenberg's office was besieged by former inmates the next day some 250, he remembers desperate for aid. "I suddenly had two careers, producer and advocate," he says.

"I realized I had to make a choice. I evolved slowly out of the theater and The Fortune Society became full-time." Over the next few decades, Rothenberg continued his advocacy work. When the Attica riots broke out in 1971, he was part of a team sent into the New York prison to assess the situation. In the late 1990s, the society bought a former Catholic girls' school on 140th Street and Riverside Drive "The Castle" as their new residence. Rothenberg, who took a hands-on interest in the organization, used his old theater connections to wrangle tickets to Broadway shows for Castle residents.

"We found it was a very good thing for getting them back into the world, and getting them to socialize," Rothenberg says. "Then, as I started going to the theater with these guys, I thought, God, what happened to these guys is a lot more dramatic than anything that happens on stage." That was the germ of "The Castle" HERE AN NEW JERSEY ARTS reer that has taken him from sports writer to press agent to theater producer to radio personality (his show can be heard Saturdays 8:30 to 10:30 a.m. on WBAI-FM 99.5) to civil rights gadfly. 'We're putting a face on people who have been anonymous and invisible people who have made mistakes and want to participate in society, and society does everything to keep them out," says Rothenberg, 74, who now lives in New York. The play stars Vilma Ortiz Donovan, Kenneth Harrigan, Casimiro Torres and Bergen County native David Rothenberg conceived and directed "The Castle," performed by former prisoners.

which Rothenberg shaped from interviews he did with four Castle residents. "It's about their lives, from childhood to rebirth," he says. "It's about their prison experience, their incarceration, their coming out, and coming to terms with their life." The show, which began performances in February, was originally staged on-site at The Castle, but when off-Broadway producers Eric Krebs and Chase Mishkin caught it there, they thought it could have life farther downtown. In late March, it opened at New World Stages, a complex of several theaters on 50th Street, where it plays once a week, at 5 p.m. on Saturdays.

Robert Feldberg is on vacation. His Onstage column will return next Sunday. Now Starring American Idol Winner Taylor Hicks! Today at 2 7 Try weeknights for best availability GREASE Tue Sun Thur- Sat Wed, Sat, Sun 2 Tktmaster: 21 2-307-41 00800-755-4000 Premium tix available: 212-220-0500 Groups 1-800-714-8452 GreaseOnBroadway.com Brooks Atkinson Theatre 256 47th St Today at 3 "BROADWAY'S BIGGEST BLOCKBUSTER" -The New York Times WICKED Tue Wed-Sat Wed Sat Sun 3 Ticketmaster.com or 212-307-4100 Premium Tickets Available: 212-220-0500 Groups: 212-398-8383800-223-7565 WickedTheMusical.com Gershwin Theatre, 222 West 51st St. FINAL 3 WEEKS! Must End July 27! Today at 3 FAITH PRINCE TOM WOPAT HARVEY FIERSTEIN A CATERED AFFAIR A MUSICAL Book by HARVEY FIERSTEIN Music Lyrics by JOHN BUCCHINO Directed by JOHN DOYLE Tues Wed, Thur Sat Thur-Sat Sun 3 Telecharge.com or 212-239-6200 ACateredAffairOnBroadway.com Walter Kerr Theatre() 219 W. 48th St.

Today at 2 7 "7th Heaven's STEPHEN COLLINS and Dancing With the Stars' DREW LACHEY star in The Funniest Show in the World BEST MUSICAL! 2005 Tony Award MONTY PYTHON'S SPAMALOT Book Lyrics by Music by Eric Idle John Du Prez Eric Idle Directed by Mike Nichols Tue-Fri Sat 2 Sun 2 7 Telecharge.com or 212-239-6200 MontyPythonsSpamalot.com Shubert Theatre () 225 W. 44th St. Today at 2 Winner! BEST MUSICAL TONY AWARD "A SINGULAR NEW SENSATION!" Charles Isherwood, NY Times IN THE HEIGHTS Music Lyrics by Lin-Manuel Miranda Book by Quiara Alegria Hudes Conceived by Lin-Manuel Miranda Choreography by Andy Blankenbuehler Directed by Thomas Kail lnTheHeightsTheMusical.com Ticketmaster.com or call 212-307-4100800-755-4000 Groups (15): 800-223-7565 Tue-Sat Wed Sat Sun 2 Richard Rodgers Theater () 226 St Today at 3 FINAL 9 PERFORMANCE! MUST END SUNDAY, JULY 13TH! "NATHAN LANE AT HIS BRILLIANT BEST!" WW0R -TV NATHAN LANE LAURIE DYLAN METCALF BAKER NOVEMBER By DAVID MAMET Directed by JOE MANTELLO Tue Wed-Sat Wed Sat Sun 3 Telecharge.com or call 212-239-6200 Groups 212-239-6262800-432-7780 NovemberThePlay.com Barrymore Theatre () 243 West 47th St. Today at 3 WINNER! BEST MUSICAL Outer Critics Circle Award WINNER! Best Book of a Musical Douglas Carter Beane Drama Desk Award Kerry Butler Cheyenne Jackson and Tony Roberts XANADU Broadway's Surprise Hit Musical XanaduOnBroadway.com Telecharge.com or 212-239-6200 Tue Wed-Sat Wed Sat Sun 3 Helen Hayes Theatre (), 240 W. 44th St.

Call to be part of this Directory running every SUNDAY. WINNER! 8 2007 Tony Awards including BEST MUSICAL! Tomorrow at 8 SPRING AWAKENING A NEW MUSICAL Online Telecharge.com Phone: 212-239-6200800-432-7250 www.SpringAwakening.com Mon, Wed-Sat Tues Wed, Sat 2 Eugene O'Neill Theatre 230 W. 49th St. WINNER! BEST MUSICAL NY Drama Critics' Circle Award, Drama Desk Award, Obie Award Today at 3, PASSING STRANGE the new musical Tue Wed-Sat Wed Sat Sun 3 Telecharge.com or 212-239-6200 $25 rush tickets day of at the box office Subject to availability PassingStrangeOnBroadway.com Belasco Theatre 1 1 1 West 44th St. Today at 3 2008 TONY AWARD WINNERS Best Actress Patti LuPone Best Featured Actor Boyd Gaines Best Featured Actress Laura Benanti "THIS IS AS GOOD AS IT GETS." -Terry Teachout, The Wall St.

Journal PATTI LuPONE GYPSY Book by Music by Lyrics by Arthur Jule Stephen Laurents Styne Sondheim Suggested by the memoirs of Gypsy Rose Lee Staring Boyd Gaines Laura Benanti Choreography by Jerome Robbins Directed by Arthur Laurents Telecharge.com or 212-239-6200 Groups (10): 1-800-BROADWAY Tue-Sat8; Wed Sat Sun 3 St. James Theatre () 246 W. 44th St. FINAL 6 WEEKS! MUST CLOSE 817! Today at 3 A CHORUS LINE With MARIO LOPEZ Wed-Sat Wed Sat Sun 1 :30 6:30 Telecharge.com or 212-239-6200 Groups 1-800-BROADWAY AChorusLine.com Schoenfeld Theatre 236 W. 45th St BEST MUSICAL 2006 Tony Award Winner Today at 3 "THE CROWD GOES NY Times JERSEY BOYS The story of Frankie Valli The Four Seasons Book by Marshall Brickman Rick Elice Music by Bob Gaudio Lyrics by Bob Crewe Directed by Des McAnuff Tue Wed- Sat Wed- Sat Sun 3 Telecharge.com or 212-239-6200 Groups (15): 800-223-7565 JerseyBoysBroadway.com August Wilson Theatre, 245 52nd St Previews Begin Saturday, Nov.

8 DreamWorks Theatricals Neal Street Productions present SHREK THE MUSICAL Book Lyrics by Music by David Lindsay-Abaire Jeanine Tesori Directed by Jason Moore For Tickets, visit ShrekTheMusical.com or www.Telecharge.com or call 212-239-6200 800-432-7250 Groups: 212-239-6262800-432-7780 Broadway Theatre, Broadway at 53rd St. Today at 3 WINNER! BEST MUSICAL Outer Critics Circle Award The New MEL BROOKS Musical YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN Book by Mel Brooks Thomas Meehan Music Lyrics by Mel Brooks Starring Roger Bart Megan Mullally Sutton Foster Shuler Hensley Andrea Martin Fred Applegate Christopher Fitzgerald Direction Choreography by Susan Stroman Tues Wed-Sat Wed Sat Sun 3 YoungFrankensteinTheMusical.com or call 212-307-4100 Groups (15): 1-800-251-2979 Hilton Theatre () 42nd St. at 7th Ave. FINAL 3 WEEKS! Today at 3 "A LOVE LETTER TO THE ART OF STAGE ACTING!" -NY Sun Morgan Frances Peter Freeman McDormand Gallagher THE COUNTRY GIRL Written by Clifford Odets Directed by Mike Nichols 212-239-6200 or Telecharge.com Tue-Sat at Wed Sat at Sun at 3 Bernard B. Jacobs Thea() 242 W.

45 St. Tonight at 7 CHICAGO The Musical Tues- Sat at 8, Sun at 7, Wed Sat 2 Telecharge.com or 212-239-6200 order online: chicagothemusical.com Ambassador Theatre () 219 49th St. "A mega-hitr Wall Street Journal Today at 2 7 Order Online atTicketmaster.com or call 212-307-4100 Groups 1-800-BROADWAY LEGALLY BLONDE The Musical Wed-Sat Wed Sat Sun 2 7 LegallyBlondeThe Musical.com Palace Theatre Broadway 47th St. 7 TONY AWARDS Including BEST MUSICAL REVIVAL! Today at 3 "FOUR STARS! SPINE TINGLING! IT SOARS!" -USA Today Lincoln Center Theater presents Rodgers Hammerstein's SOUTH PACIFIC Directed by Bartlett Sher Tue Wed Sat Wed Sat Sun 3 Telecharge.com 212-239-6200 Groups(20): 212-889-4300 Vivian Beaumont Thea() 150 W. 65 St.

www.SouthPacificMusical Today at 3 SEE GEORGE WENDT, ASHLEY PARKER ANGEL AND JENIFER LEWIS! "SO MANY NUMBERS BRING DOWN THE HOUSE, IT'S A WONDER THE THEATRE IS STILL STANDING!" New York Magazine HAIRSPRAY Tue, Thu Wed, Sat 2 Fri 8, Sun 3 Ticketmaster: 212-307-4100 800-755-4000 Order online: HairsprayOnBroadway.com Groups: 212-302-7000 800-BROADWAY Premium Tickets Available: 212-220-0500 Ltd. $25 Tix By Lottery 3 Hours Before Curtain Neil Simon Theatre 250 West 52nd St. Tomorrow at 8 THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA Celebrating 20 Years As Broadway's Most Haunting Love Story Mon Tue Wed-Sat Wed Sat 2 Telecharge.com or (212) 239-6200 (800) 432-7250 Groups: (800) BROADWAY or 212-239-6262 www.thephantomoftheopera.com Majestic Theatre, 247 West 44th St. DISNEY ON BROADWAY MARY POPPINS Tues-Sat at Wed Sat at Sun at 3 New Amsterdam Theatre B'way 42 St THE LION KING Tues-Sat at Wed Sat at Sun at 3 Minskoff Theatre B'way 45 St THE LITTLE MERMAID Tue-Sat at Wed Sat at Sun at 3 Lunt-Fontanne Theatre B'way 46 St. (212) 307-4747 DisneyOnBroadway.com Today at 2 7 "AUDIENCES ARE RETURNING NIGHT AFTER NIGHT TO RELIVE THE THRILL!" NY1 Benny Andersson Bjom Ulvaeus' MAMMA MIA! The Smash Hit Musical Based on the Songs of ABBA Telecharge.com or 212-239-6200 Groups: mammamiagroups.com Wed-Sat Wed, Sat, Sun at Sun at 7 www.mamma-mia.com Winter Garden Theatre 1634 BWay () This sign when following the name of a theater indicates that the show is equipped with an infrared system.

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