21 FEB 2023 · For Video Edition, Please Click and Subscribe Here: https://www.youtube.com/live/DeQ9U_YhcOA?feature=share Mardi Gras refers to events of the Carnival celebration, beginning on or after the Christian feasts of the Epiphany and culminating on the day before Ash Wednesday, which is known as Shrove Tuesday. John Contratti has been an elementary school teacher for over thirty years. He's the author of the children's books Cooking with Mr. C and Mr. C Takes Manhattan. He has cooked on the Hallmark television series Mad Hungry with Lucinda Scala Quinn, which was produced by Martha Stewart. His successful cooking blog, "Cooking with Mr. C." is followed by people from all over the world. With his love for acting, television, and film, he has appeared in the television dramas The Americans and Royal Pains. He is a supporter of Broadway Cares and Keen Company. Mr. Contratti resides in New York. 

17 FEB 2023 · For Video Edition, Please Click and Subscribe Here: https://www.youtube.com/live/A-PguWyqmmA?feature=share Debra Solomon has been creating award-winning animation since 1994, the year her first independent film, “Mrs. Matisse,” debuted in the New York Film Festival’s opening day program. It won the Young Lion Award at the Venice International Film Festival, appeared in over 25 festivals, and was acquired by the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Film and Video Collection. “It’s a little masterpiece of gallows humor,” was Village Voice film critic Molly Haskell’s reaction to “Everybody’s Pregnant,” Solomon’s next animated film (1998). The film declares the fearlessness and compassion with which her works transform extreme personal experiences into shared, universal journeys. Funded in part by a Jerome Foundation grant, it went on to win many awards. Award-winning filmmaker and Emmy-nominated animator Sherene Strausberg combines her experience in film, music and sound engineering with graphic design and illustration to create animated videos for her clients at the company she founded, 87th Street Creative. Having won a national composition competition in high school, she was awarded a scholarship to the prestigious Indiana University School of Music, where she completed two bachelor’s degrees in four years. Film scores she wrote in her first career, as a film composer, have been heard on AMC, Spike TV and Netflix. As a graphic designer for Jewish National Fund, she won two awards from Graphic Design USA. Her latest passion project, the short, animated film “Cool For You”, which she animated and scored, has been accepted to 37 film festivals around the world.

13 FEB 2023 · For Video Edition, Please Click and Subscribe Here: https://www.youtube.com/live/jXHLKM1UDw4?feature=share The difference between successful people and very successful people is that very successful people say ‘no’ to almost everything.” – Warren Buffett Jerry Torre fled an abusive father to tend to the neatly manicured lawns of socialite mansions in East Hampton, New York. He rode his bike a different way than usual one day and approached a house where the hedges in front were so overgrown that only two peaks of the gabled roof beyond it were visible. This house belonged to Mrs. Edith Ewing Bouvier Beale and her daughter Edith Bouvier Beale, aunt and first cousin, respectively, of Jacqueline Kennedy; descendants of a well-bred New York family, whose names were found in the Social Register and on invitations for coming out parties and debutante balls. Today, of course, Mrs. Edith Ewing Bouvier Beale and her daughter Edith Bouvier Beale are more commonly known as Big Edie and Little Edie. And they are known not for being in society, but rather for shunning all of society when high society wouldn’t accept their eccentricities. They chose instead to hole up in a neglected East Hampton mansion for more than twenty-five years, only opening to door to a few guests, one of whom was Torre. They were made famous, along with Jerry, and that rotting mansion called Grey Gardens, by the 1975 Albert and David Maysles documentary of the same name that became a cult sensation. So grab some Cheddar Cheese and join Zachary Ford and I as we celebrate The Marble Faun of Grey Gardens. 

11 FEB 2023 · For Video Edition, Please Click and Subscribe Here: https://www.youtube.com/live/hfAAR2VFYpk?feature=share Once upon a time, a long long time ago, Marian was a Broadway actress - doing supporting roles in “Harvey” with Helen Hayes and Jimmy Stewart, “Company” and “the Women.” In the 60's and early 70's. And Brenda in the movie “Lovers and Other Strangers.” Now she is creating stories about our animal friends. She lives and writes with three rescued kitties on the Upper West Side in New York City.

9 FEB 2023 · For Video Edition, Please Click and Subscribe Here: https://www.youtube.com/live/3yY3SRUPQcg?feature=share Giving Hearts Day falls on the second Thursday in February every year, and takes place on February 9 this year. Do you know that it has been 13 years since Giving Hearts Day was first observed? Giving Hearts Day is an opportunity to donate as much as possible to charity organizations and those in need. The more talented ones realize that it’s largely about giving. Making introductions, offering to help, providing feedback and advice. Give, give, give. They avoid the tit-for-tat mentally and in the process build up so much goodwill that it comes back to them in waves. The whole purpose of Giving Hearts Day is to donate and help others as much as possible. Donate to any charitable organization you trust and help people in need. You can also visit the Giving Hearts Day website and donate online.

8 FEB 2023 · For Video Edition, Please Click and Subscribe Here: https://www.youtube.com/live/FsPOEdeo9bI?feature=share Musical Theatre Guild’s 2022 -- 2023 Season Concludes With Tony Award-winning GREY GARDENS Musical Theatre Guild’s final production for the 2022 -2023 Season – and MTG’s final show at the Alex Theatre after 20 seasons - is GREY GARDENS, a musical as haunting and strange as the two women at its center. This one-night-only event will take place on Monday, February 27th, 7:30PM, at the Alex Theatre in Glendale, CA. GREY GARDENS, The Musical, is inspired by the Maysles Brothers’ famous documentary of the same name. GREY GARDENS was nominated for ten Tony Awards, winning three. Leading the artistic staff of GREY GARDENS is Director Kirsten Chandler, veteran Director of many Musical Theatre Guild shows, including SUGAR, CHESS, and LITTLE WOMEN. Chandler will be teamed with Musical Director Anthony Zediker. Julie Garnye serves as the show’s Production Coordinator. Starring in GREY GARDENS are MTG members Eileen Barnett (“Big” Edith Bouvier Beale), Trisha Rapier (Edith Bouvier Beale/”Little” Edie Beale), Zachary Ford (Joseph Patrick Kennedy, Jr./Jerry), Tal Fox (Young “Little” Edie Beale), Robert Yacko (J.V. “Major” Bouvier/Norman Vincent Peale), and Glenn Rosenblum (George Gould Strong). Joining them are Guest Artists Phillip Brandon (Brooks Sr./Jr.) and Sophie Petersen (Jacqueline “Jackie” Bouvier). 

5 FEB 2023 · For Video Edition, Please Click and Subscribe Here: https://www.youtube.com/live/Fj_qCSoi6ws?feature=share The bright, full moon in February is commonly called either the Snow Moon or the Hungry Moon. February is typically the snowiest month in northern North America, and, as a result, some Native Americans found it to be the most difficult month in which to hunt, prompting the name Hungry Moon. The Snow Moon will take place in the zodiac sign of Leo. Leos are generally known for their passion, creativity and, often, vanity. Full moons mark the completion of the lunar cycle and the Snow Moon is thought to be particularly pressing for four zodiac signs : Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius, and Pisces. Tune in with your questions, comments, suggestions!  

30 JAN 2023 · For Video Edition, Please Click and Subscribe Here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hGi8utTr3e0&t=94s Charles Kirsch is a podcaster and theater critic who at 13 years old was already a show business veteran. Kirsch created Backstage Babble on YouTube and serves as one of a panel of Kids Critics for the Broadway World website. We will be joining forces to celebrate some of the best books out there today on Broadway! The Book of Broadway Musical Debates, Disputes, and Disagreements By Peter Filichia: The Book of Broadway Musical Debates, Disputes and Disagreements is purposely meant to start arguments and to settle them. Broadway musical fans won’t always agree with the conclusions musical theater judge Peter Filichia reaches, but the best part of any drama is the conflict. Among lovers of musical theater, opinions are never in short supply, and Filichia addresses the most dividing questions and opinions in one book. What will you say when he asks, “What is the greatest opening number of a Broadway musical?” Will your answer be “The Circle of Life” from The Lion King, “Heaven on Their Minds” from Jesus Christ Superstar, or “Beautiful Girls” from Follies? Designing Broadway: How Derek McLane and Other Acclaimed Set Designers Create the Visual World of Theatre by Derek McLane & Eila Mell: In this richly illustrated and information-packed celebration of Broadway set design, Tony Award-winning designer Derek McLane explores the craft while reflecting on some of the greatest stage productions of the past few decades. Together with other leading set design and theatre talents, McLane invites us into the immersive and exhilarating experience of building the striking visual worlds that have brought so many of our favorite stories to life. Ethan Mordden

27 JAN 2023 · For Video Edition, Please Click and Subscribe Here: https://youtu.be/RqtfeuloARo National Big Wig Day is an annual celebration occurring on the last Friday of January. This year it falls on January 27. It’s a special day that allows anyone not only a place for special recognition as a “big wig” but also for them to showcase their fun sides by donning their favorite silly wigs. Just as people show off those wigs, the goal is to encourage as many people as possible to donate to the activities of the American Cancer Society, to fight the scourge of cancer. People are encouraged to donate as little as $1 for this cause. National Chocolate Cake Day celebrates the cake more people favor. And more often than not, we celebrate our special occasions like anniversaries, birthdays and weddings with cake. Why not enjoy chocolate cake on January 27th every year? It's also National Fun at Work Day! As if Fridays couldn’t get any better around the office, National Fun at Work Day falls on the last Friday of January! Whether you work for a small office or a large organization, injecting fun into the workplace is a great way to bond with coworkers, boost team morale, gain inspiration, and even increase productivity. National Fun at Work Day was created to foster happiness and humor in the office and bring employees together. So, rally your coworkers and bosses and brainstorm ways to best celebrate.  Tony Maietta will be stopping by! Tony Maietta arrived in Los Angeles in the 1990s as a fresh faced twenty-something, eager to discover the “classic’ Hollywood that he fell in love with as a child. 

14 JAN 2023 · For Video Edition, Please Click and Subscribe Here: https://youtu.be/t4NLj7jOjFc U.S. National Vision Board Day is celebrated annually on the second Saturday in January, on January 14 this year, to encourage us to set our goals visually. The day seeks to help us to reimagine and achieve goals in every area of life by effectively visualizing them to life. One of my favorite guests is returning! This time to discuss some of her favorite self help books! Danielle of DsEnlightenedEdits! A self-help book is one that is written with the intention to instruct its readers on solving personal problems. The books take their name from Self-Help, an 1859 best-seller by Samuel Smiles, but are also known and classified under "self-improvement", a term that is a modernized version of self-help. promise a few surprises!