Swine Flu hits Brooklyn U.S.A.

At lunch time yesterday, Good Shepherd in Marine Park closed and parents were picking up their  children... today they closed Bishop Kearney High School... stayed tuned...

Xaverian Awards Gala Next Week

On Tuesday, May 5, 2009, the Xaverian High School's 2009 Joe DiMaggio Awards Gala will take place at the Sheraton New York Hotel & Towers in New York City. 6:00 pm Cocktail Hour, with a 7:30 pm Dinner, Award Ceremony & Silent Auction with Master of Ceremonies, Jim Ryan, Legendary Television Reporter and Anchorman.
2009 Joe DiMaggio Award will honor the legendary Rock and Roll Hall of Famer, Neil Young, his lovely wife, Pegi and Major League Baseball Hall of Famer, Reggie Jackson.
For more information see www.xaverian.org

Ft. Hamilton Students Perform 'Rent'This Weekend

If there was ever a ‘must-see’ high school production, Fort Hamilton’s Rent is it. Not since Xaverian’s 2004 Les Miserable and Ridge Chorale’s 2008 Fame, has a theater production had this many talented school kids on one stage.
Rent is a rock opera based on Puccini’s La Boheme and tells the story of a group of young artists and musicians and their struggle to survive in our city — dealing with problems of creativity, poverty, drugs and AIDS. It is a powerful piece and in the hands of these fine actors it keeps all of its impact.
With cast members Michael Squiteri (Mark), Nicole Alexeva (Maureen), Dylan Nagler (Roger), Jennifer Arias (Mimi), Tyler Van Brussel (Tom Collins) and Mark Diaz (Angel), these kids rock the house. The entire ensemble, more than 30 actors, is a joy to watch and listen to. The band, made up of faculty and students, were right on target. The energy generated by this group of actors was amazing and was only matched by their singing. Musical highlights for me were Tango Maureen and La Vie Boheme in Act I, Seasons of Love brought tears to my eyes, Without You was incredible and I’ll Cover You so emotionally charged you could feel the pain of each character. If you are a fan of live theater, you are not going to want to miss this chance to see a group of this talent put on a show of this caliber.
Performance dates for Rent are Thursday, April 30 at 7:30 p.m., Friday, May 1 at 7:30 p.m., Saturday, May 2 at 2 and 7:30 p.m., and Sunday, May 3 at 2 .pm. Tickets are $10 at the door.

Baseball and AARP… On Friday, June 26th at 7 p.m. and Thursday, August 20th at 7 p.m. the Staten Island Yankees will welcome all AARP members. Tickets are $10 & $16 (for all you can eat) + Yankee caps and PlayBall game program. Please call the box office at (718) 313-1336 to order your tickets. On Sunday, July 19th at 5 p.m., the Brooklyn Cyclones will also welcome all AARP members to KeySpan Park in Coney Island. AARP members can call Joyce Huang (718 382-2619) with their AARP numbers and purchase tickets at a discounted price of $12 with a credit card, over the phone and each member will also receive a Cyclones hat. Limited tickets!

‘A Playwright Grows in Brooklyn’ Kids Edition… Set for May 15 and 16 at St. John’s Church in Bay Ridge. BrooklynOne Theater, under the direction of Anthony Marino, will host this inaugural event using playwrights between the ages of 10-16 years of age. The winning authors were announced last week. They are Alexandra Capellini, Nicholas Bravata, Alexandria Ferrantelli, Margot Cole, and America Casallas. There stories will be told by a cast of young actors, including Joe Barone, Michael and Krista Borst, Rosanna Corrado, Ed Rodriguez and Jimmy Alexander, among others. The Greenhouse Band, Florgent Agolli on drums, Will Fisher on lead guitar and Arian Selmani on bass guitar, all 12 years old, are scheduled to open up the evening. This is a free event. St. John's is located at 461 99th Street and the shows will begin at 7:30 p.m. For more information see www.brooklynone.org

Father Joe Fitzgerald

Way to go, Father Fitz… My friend and former St. Patrick’s parishioner Joseph Fitzgerald, who now has a flock of his own as the Associate Pastor of St. Kilian Parish out in Farmingdale, Long Island, organized a men’s conference on Saturday that was very well attended. Close to 1000 gathered at Holy Trinity High School in Hicksville where Fr. Joe and the Rockville Centre Diocese had a great line-up of New York legends and heroes; former Giant Mark Bavaro, St. John’s Lou Carnesseca and NYPD Detective Steven McDonald all spoke to the crowd. Father Fitz is a hero/legend of mine, taking his Ithaca team to a DIII Championship as their quarterback in ’91 and representing the U.S. in Team Handball (along with his brother, Thomas) during the ‘96 Olympics in Atlanta, and now, as a spiritual leader with a huge following of his own. We are truly blessed to have this young man as a role model…