More Music… The Brooklyn band, A Million Years, with my favorite bassist Andrew Samaha, will be performing ‘live’ on RXP 101.9 on your FM dial on Sunday, January 17 on ‘Anything Anything’ with Rich Russo which begins at 9 p.m. and runs until 11 p.m. Read more about this local band in our InBrooklyn section this week…

‘Take Me Out’ is a Grand Slam… Don’t miss this Heights Players classic. Take Me Out has two more weekends, check their website at www.heightsplayers.org and order tickets today. I saw this play on Sunday in its entirety and I was greatly impressed. I had seen it in rehearsal and thought it was exceptional, but it has gotten even better and the cast seems to have taken their performance to another level. Bravo to cast and crew and especially director Fabio Talercio. This production is registered with the New York Innovative Theatre Awards, a new awards program geared for Off-Off-Broadway. So see it and vote… these guys deserve it.

Please, just go away… The more I hear Rudy Giuliani blather on, the more I want him to stop talking altogether and just go away. If he could do that and perhaps persuade State Senator Hiram Monserrate and the Reverend Alfred Sharpton to join him, he would forever have my total and sincere gratitude.

The man, the myth, the legend…

Bay Ridge lost another treasure, David Forsyth, a Bay Ridge icon who brought a smile to everyone he met and always left them laughing... he will be sorely missed. David passed away on Friday, August 7. He was an actors actor, and once starred off-Broadway with Brian Dennehy. He told countless anecdotes, my favorite being the sidewalk encounter he had with Dustin Hoffman. Forsyth was a charter member of Narrows Community Theater and served as their first president from 1971-1973. David was very proud of NCT and well he should be. He was in dozens of productions over the years, and more recently he would always bring the house down before the show even started when he introduced the plays at St. Patrick’s. His wake was a testament to his dedication to his family and friends and the art of performing that he loved so much. Hundreds of mourners, most with their own special remembrance of David were there to share these wonderful stories. His ‘last’ performance, at St. Patrick’s Church for his funeral mass, was to a full house. Father Gerard Sauer gave the homily in true theater-style jargon and began with a joke, in honor of the lead actor. “He loved a good joke.” said Father Gerard; and we loved hearing them, especially from him.

Theatre in the ‘not so rough’…

Last week I went to see a reading of a brand new play that took place at the distinguished Manhattan Theatre Club. Written by local theater maven Michael Coluccio (pictured here at reading), who founded Sts. Simon and Jude Theater in Gravesend, it is a play dealing with priests, seminarians, laymen and plain old regular folk, all looking for some sort of redemption. During this initial reading, Michael was able to secure some of his talented friends from various other Broadway shows to perform. The story is topical and very well written. This was the first full reading of his play called Ordained, and is the first step in the process of getting this play to a theatre near you. You will definitely be hearing more about this very soon.

Matt Long Enters and Completes Lake Placid Ironman

New York City Firefighter Matthew Long was part of the 2009 Ironman Lake Placid Triathalon which took place on Sunday July 26. That means Matt swam 2.4 miles in Mirror Lake, biked 112 miles through the Adirondack Mountains, and ran the 26.2 miles through those same mountains. Matt entered this Ironman, his second, with his group, the I Will Foundation, with fellow Bay Ridge-ite Jonathan Rohl who entered for the first time. Matt’s first Ironman was in 2005, before his near-death injury when he was struck by a bus in Manhattan during the illegal NYC transit strike. At the time of that injury, Matt was given a one percent chance of survival. Since that time, and after many pints of blood, numerous surgeries and strenuous physical therapy, Matt has run a NYC Marathon in 2008 and now, competed in an Ironman Triathalon. This is an amazing story of heart, and determination, and hope. Matthew Long is an inspiration to all who know him, and especially those who don’t, who he has touched through his wonderful foundation with his courage, and his incredible strength of character. Congratulations to you Matt, and your I Will Foundation, and to all who competed in this most arduous event. For more information check www.iwillfoundation.com

Congratulations JR…

My friend and Bay Ridge runner Jonathan Rohl (seen here with Matt Long) was part of the I Will Foundation entourage that competed with Matt in his quest for the Ironman Triathalon in Lake Placid on July 26. It was JR’s first attempt at this swimming, biking and running endurance test of strength and stamina, and he passed with flying colors. His time was 11:06 and he was 244th out of the 2,258 that started the event. Jonathan is a graduate of prestigious Regis High School and the University of Scranton, graduating with degrees in International Language/Business in 2001. He can be seen running through the streets of Bay Ridge in preparation for the NYC Marathon in November and the Boston Marathon in April. During last years Boston Marathon, JR had his best marathon time to date, 2:57, which to me is absolutely incredible. Nicely done, buddy…