It was a David Bowie/punk rock-inspired children’s theatre show done at The Barn in 1979 (or was it ’80?) that offered a colorful twist on the Cinderella story — Cinderella: A Flash Fantasy.
Set to Bowie, B52s, Blondie and a little Rocky Horror Picture Show music, memories of the show came spewing forward last week as most of the cast reunited at Rossi’s book signing.
It offered a special memory for Rossi, who was quickly adopted by this theatre tribe when she didn’t quite fit in with the status quo at RFH. Her bud Jeni Weber Zeller brought her to The Barn and she never left.
She worked tech crew on the show and made lifetime friends. A lot of people did, including this editor. In fact, Rossi’s book signing/reunion ended much like a typical cast party at Barnacle Bill’s decades later.
So, the Retro Pic(s) of the Day offers a glimpse back to that time at The Barn and that show.
Guess who? Yes, it’s me as the Tina Turner evil step sister trying to cram that glass slipper on. Oh, and that’s Anne Toronto McNamara offering some help.
“We were children doing children’s theater,” said the show’s Cinderella, Andrea Puscell last week. Somehow I don’t think this show would fly as children’s theater in today’s climate. Ironic.
The show also featured many RFHers. Check out the program. Do you know what Bowie song was played for the curtain call?
“I want you to know that I am so sorry I didn’t make the effort to get to know you in high school,” a Rumson-Fair Haven Regional High School (RFH) graduate said to classmate Chef Rossi last Thursday after the reading and signing of her book, The Raging Skillet: The True Life Story of Chef Rossi … at River Road Books in Fair Haven. “I’m ashamed to say that I was one of those girls. And, yes, I was afraid of your Sex Pistols t-shirt.”
That was Lisa Malle Pritchard fessing up — owning who she didn’t even realize she was or if she even was. But who it was didn’t really matter to Rossi. It was what she said and when she said it that mattered.
The comment came in a very modest tone from that one blushing RFH prepster sandwiched in one corner of the room that was filled with RFH grads, the defunct but ever-enduring Barn Theater’s tribe, and a few nouveau admirers from afar and now close up.
In a real turnabout in perspective and persona from RFH 1970s, when she was the one who dropped many a jaw, the comment was met by touched, gape-mouthed Rossi and a demure “Oh, my God. Wow. Thank you so much for that. Moments like this make it all worthwhile. Can I give you a hug?”
And she did.
It was one of those awww/aha moments. For Rossi, the anti-chef, anti-preppy who was and is immersed in both worlds by default and devastating talent, things had come full circle with her homecoming. She was home again and everyone was feeling at home with her.
The moral of the Rossi story, which is one she promises there will be yet another book to explain and cook to, is that, yes, you can come home.
And not only can you come home, but you should, as she sees it.
“The real truth is that I wasn’t all those things that you were so afraid of back then,” the raging anti-chef said, pointing out that there was plenty of “Oreo crack” left to munch on. “I was just a little Jewish girl who liked Barbara Streisand.
” … Luckily, I was blessed with an enormous amount of chutzpah and a filthy mouth.”
Yes, you can come home, according to Rossi, especially this home. The theory is a Wizard of Oz sort of combo. It has something to do with always having had the power and not having to look any farther than your own back yard for what was in your heart all along — or something like that.
As Rossi put it, aside from her life highlight moment of Susan Sarandon eating her sun dried cranberry on the money spot (go ahead, figure that one out) …
“I’ve been going around the country on this book tour, but this is the stop that really pulled at my heartstrings. I graduated from RFH. I’ve got a lot of my buddies here today. So, even though I ran away from (this) home, got sent to live with the Chassids and other stories along the way, you know, every time I come back here I do feel like I’m coming back home. You’ve made that all possible.”
And so Rossi’s story goes, because, as someone in the audience piped up, “We love you,” followed by a usual cast (of characters) party at Barnacle Bill’s.
Home. Sweet … Oreo Crack and sea salt brownies.
Check out the slideshow above for a glimpse into the evening with Chef Rossi.
Yes, Rossi, as we all know her, is coming home to RFH land tonight!
The RFH grad and premier “anti-chef” of the hipster Brooklyn scene has written a memoir about her not so Orthodox Orthodox Jewish upbringing in a preppy Rumson comprised of short stories accompanied by relevant recipes.
Rossi was a kinky-haired, butt-smoking punk rocker with a raucous mouth in a Lilly Pulitzer RFH world in the 1970s and early 80s. Her look wasn’t one that people in these parts were exposed to very often. Neither was her “I am who I am” attitude. She’s still rocking it — in a more staid way, but definitely rocking.
So, it’s only right that the Retro Pic(s) of the Day pay homage to the RFH friend, star caterer, author and master of many other things — like, from day one, being her authentic self and being damn good at it.
Check her out in these priceless pics from her ol’ RFH days. Kids! The middle shot is of her and her infamous not-so-Rumsonite parents, Marty and Harriet. Oh, and by the way, the double shot is her RFH yearbook pic. Yes, we know, most RFH yearbook pics are taken in a natural setting and I can’t recall any, except this one, in which the grad sporting wearing pink feather earrings. It was usually Monet or pearl studs. And, where’s the Fair Isle sweater and turtle neck??
Everyone in the Rumson-Fair Haven area got a taste of spring and then some with a good sun drenching and record-breaking temperatures hitting the mid- to high-70s.
In Rumson, it was so packed at Victory Park this afternoon that there was no parking within a few blocks’ radius. Things were quiet down at the Fair Haven Dock, with a couple of people and their best four-legged friends taking a stroll and a few teens out taking a run and jibing one another about some spring fever flirtations (just a little quibble over which guy “she” said hi to first).
Oh, and there was a swan taking a quiet swim.
Take a look. Ahhhhh. Serenity and sun now! Enjoy. Good night, R-FH area.
Once upon a time, in a Rumson-Fair Haven world overrun with preppy pink and chartreuse, Lilly Pulitzer, alligator shirts, Fair Isle sweaters, khakis, topsiders and duck boots, there was a pint-sized butt-smoking, brash-talking punk rocker with kinky hair and a Cheshire cat grin who packed a punch full of wild on the status quo.
A Fair Haven mom has passed. She passed away early this morning, leaving behind a loving family and community.
She was a staple in the community for nearly 50 years. Her name: Ann Mauger.
So, our Retro Pic of the Day honors this mom.
Ann lived in Fair Haven from 1957 to 1985. She liked gardening and cooking. She liked spending time with family and friends. She enjoyed bike riding in her healthier years and she loved the beach and she loved camping, her son Peter reminded us.
Ann has been retired and living in Florida since 1985.
She loved a new snowfall and sunsets.
RIP, Ann Mauger! Thank you for being a great R-FH area mom and friend to the community.
As a testament to his decades-long service to the borough, Rumson Mayor John E. Ekdahl has been inducted into the Elected Officials Hall of Fame.
The honor was bestowed upon him recently by the New Jersey State League of Municipalities during the 24th Annual Mayors Legislative Day on Feb. 24 at the State House Annex in Trenton.
“The Elected Officials Hall of Fame recognizes these officials who have selflessly guided their communities through the good times and difficult times, often with little recognition of their public service,” State League of Municipalities President Joseph Tempesta, Jr., also mayor of West Caldwell Township, said. “This small token of appreciation focuses a light on their sacrifices over lengthy tenures, demonstrating how much they care and serving as excellent examples of civic pride for all citizens to emulate.”
The honor is reserved for local municipal governing body members who, as of December 2015, served for more than 20 years in elected municipal office. And that length of public service for Ekdahl has been nearly double that — or roughly 38 years.
Mayor Ekdahl began his formal service on the borough’s Zoning Board of Adjustment in 1978, serving as its chairman from 1991-95. He was elected to the Rumson Borough Council in November of 1996 and was appointed mayor in 2004 when Mayor Charles S. Callman stepped down. Since then, he has been re-elected three times. His current term ends on December 31, 2019.
There are currently 566 inductees in the Elected Officials Hall of Fame.
Congratulations, Mayor Ekdahl! And thank you for your service!
RFH Ski Club of the 1970s with club director Hal Lorme on the slopes. Photo/RFH yearbook
With all the recent talk about skiing champ and RFH senior Alex Perkins claiming the gold at the 2016 NASTAR Eastern Regional Championship for the second consecutive year and heading to compete in the national NASTAR championship round this month, visions of the old RFH Ski Club were conjured up.
Yes, there was an RFH Ski Club, now a Jurassic memory. While there weren’t too many people in the club, it existed. It’s members took trips and, well, skied the winters away in between mods (remember them?) and studies at RFH — sort of.
So, the Retro Pic(s) of the Day honors Lorme and those renegade conquerers of the slopes.
The guys in the top featured shot all still live in the Rumson-Fair Haven area. One is a Rumson dad and couple of the others are well-known businessmen. One actually handled memorial services for Lorme last year.
RIP, Hal Lorme. You are remembered.
Recognize any of these preppy ski attire-donning ladies and dudes?
Mark Hughes in Bye Bye Birdie at The Barn
Photo/Elaine Van Develde
Nan Hughes in The Sound of Music at The Barn Theater
Photo/screenshot of Red Bank Register article
Oliver, featuring Nan, Patrick and Paul Hughes at The Barn Theater
Photo/The Barn archives
Mimi Hughes performs at The Barn Theater.
Photo/The Barn archives
Paul and Nan Hughes rehearse Fiddler on the Roof in 1978.
Photo/RFH yearbook outtake
By Elaine Van Develde
When it comes to show biz, sometimes in the RFH area, sometimes it’s a family affair. Sometimes it just is.
Sometimes people just catch the bug at an early age. Sometimes it happens in high school or even a little later. Then it spreads rampantly — through the family.
Some Rumson-Fair Haven Regional High School (RFH) grads took to the basketball courts at Knollwood and Sickles schools in Fair Haven recently to shoot hoops for a good cause.
The cause: Covenant House, a non- profit organization which provides much needed services for at-risk and homeless youth in America and abroad. The organization helps roughly 50,000 young people a year.
The fundraiser, which brought in $4,000 for the cause, was dubbed The 1st Annual Fair Haven Covenant House 3v3 Basketball Tournament and it took place at Knollwood and Sickles schools on Feb. 22.
There were a total of 24 teams and 95 players, many of whom were RFH grads. RFH classes 2003-12 were represented and players ranged in age from 22 to 60.
The tournament was run by Fair Haven natives D.J. Breckenridge, Jim Laufer, Ben Miller, Dan Miller,Will Miller, and Dan Ryan, who will all be participating in The Covenant House Young Professionals Sleep Out coming up on March 18.
At this coming event, more than 300 young professionals will sleep out on the streets of NYC in an effort to raise funds and awareness of youth homelessness. The Sleep Out is expected to raise more than $300,000.
Locally, there are Covenant House branches in Asbury Park, Atlantic City, Newark, Philadelphia and NYC. Covenant House President Kevin Ryan, also a Fair Haven resident, made a surprise appearance at the Feb. 22 fundraiser.
Take a look at the above slideshow for a glimpse into the event.
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