Beauty and
brains!
INSIDE
Twice upon a time
Two fairy tale musicals swing into Brooklyn
By Adam Fillmore We’re a city of two tales!
Two different fairy tales musicals flitted
into the County of Kings last weekend. In
Park Slope, the Gallery Players presented “Once Upon a
Mattress,” while in Brooklyn Heights, Theater 2020 performed
“Into the Woods.” Both shows run through March
17 — but which is the most magical show?
“Once Upon a Mattress” is a downy bit of fluff.
Based on “The Princess and the Pea,” it offers a bright
and charming story about a gung-ho princess who rescues
a prince with the power of spunk and indefatigable
This production makes the kingdom a primary-colored
playground, with gay and straight couples among the court
color-coordinated for convenience, and the big dance
scene of “the Spanish Panic,” which uses every character
— and every popular dance move of the last 40 years — is
terrifically fun. In the role of Princess Winnifred, Alyson
Leigh Rosenfeld has enormous appeal, and she can belt
out a tune with the best when she needs too — but in too
many songs, I strained to hear the lyrics.
This production tries to update the frankly dicey
gender politics of the script, which dates from 1959, but
there’s only so far it can go, and remnants of the lascivious
original — like the king “groping his way in the dark”
are left to flounder. And a few scenes felt unmotivated,
Panic at the disco: The cast of “Once Upon a
Mattress,” including, at center, Gerardo Vallejo
as Prince Dauntless and Alyson Leigh Rosenfel as
Princess Winnifred, throw themselves into a joyous
dance called “The Spanish Panic.” Steven Pisano
But witch way?: In the Theater 2020 production of “Into the Woods,”
the Baker’s Wife (Elizabeth Kensek), the Baker (Rudy Martinez), and the
Witch (Julia Goretsky) square off. John Robert Hoffman
and slowed down the fun, like the five minutes of quiet
stomping at the top of the second act, and a soft shoe that
comes from nowhere.
In contrast, “Into the Woods,” the Stephen Sondheim
mash-up of Little Red Riding Hood, Jack and the
Beanstalk, and a half-dozen other Grimm fairy tales, is
decidedly darker and more intimate, with a much smaller
cast and just a piano to provide the music.
Producer and director David Fuller sets the play in a
refugee camp “somewhere in the world,” which, honestly,
does not make even a little bit of sense. These refugees are
living in the house the Baker’s father made? And they’re
going to fancy dance parties? But the t-shirts and the wire
fences fall away once the music starts. The characters fill
the room, and the actors find the humor and the pathos
of the show.
Especially funny are Alexander Coopersmith and
John Jeffords, who double as the blowhard Princes and as
Cinderella’s evil stepsisters, sometimes switching parts
multiple times in the course of a line. The Witch (Julia
Goretsky) wrings every bit of humor out of harrying
the Baker and his Wife (Rudy Martinez and Elizabeth
Knesek) who both ground the play with real emotion.
And as the Wolf (and a half-dozen other animals) Torian
Brackett steals every scene.
Of the two, I think you can sleep on “Mattress,” and
direct your steps “Into the Woods.”
“Once Upon a Mattress” at Gallery Players (199 14th
St. between Fourth and Fifth avenues in Park Slope, (718)
595–0547, www.galleryplayers.com). Through March 17;
Fri at 7:30 pm; Sat at 2 pm and 7:30 pm; Sun at 3 pm. $25
($20 seniors and kids).
“Into The Woods” at Founders Hall at St. Francis
College (180 Remsen St. between Court and Clinton streets
in Brooklyn Heights, www.theater2020.com). Through
March 17; Thu–Sun at various times. $40 ($30 students
and seniors).
Your entertainment
guide Page 47
dancing.
Police Blotter ..........................8
Now on Brownstoner .......... 18
Letters .................................... 26
The Right View ....................28
Standing O ............................44
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BY COLIN MIXSON
The Diocese of Brooklyn must
release the criteria its leaders
used to determine the credibility
of sex-abuse accusations
against the dozens of Catholic
priests included in a list of alleged
predators church offi cials
unveiled last month, according
to a lawyer for abuse victims.
“Many of my clients are
looking at the list with skepticism,”
said Mitchell Garabedian,
a Boston-based attorney
with local clients alleging
abuse at the hands of Kings
County Catholic clergymen.
“The Brooklyn Diocese has not
stated what criteria it has used
to determine if a priest should
be listed as a perpetrator, or sex
abuser.”
The Catholic Church’s
166-year-old Kings County diocese
on Feb. 15 published a list
of 108 clergymen — a whopping
5-percent of its borough priests
— facing sex-abuse accusations
that diocesan offi cials believe
“may be true.” The list features
additional information including
the named priests’ past parish
postings and their current
status within the church, according
to the diocese, whose
leader said he published the
list in an effort to help victim’s
heal.
“I have met with many victims
who have told me that
more than anything, they want
an acknowledgment of what
was done to them,” said Bishop
Nicholas DiMarzio. “This list
gives that recognition and I
hope it will add another layer
of healing.”
But Garabedian — whose
role in exposing sex abuse
within the Archdiocese of Boston
was featured in the 2015
fi lm “Spotlight” — doubts the
thoroughness of the local diocese’s
list, due to the church’s
history of covering up sex
abuse within its ranks, and its
strong opposition to the Child
Victims Act, legislation extending
the statute of limitations for
sex crimes, which Gov. Cuomo
signed into law this month after
the bill languished in Albany
for 13 years .
“We’re looking with skepticism,
since history has taught
us the Catholic Church cannot
self police,” he said.
The lawyer suggested the
diocese’s list — and the settlement
program for abuse victims
it launched in 2017 — is
more spin control than sincere
apology, and said a more honest
expression of remorse would
be naming priests who helped
cover up the alleged abuse in
addition to identifying the purported
predators.
“It’s damage control by the
church,” Garabedian said. “If
they were really interested in
healing, they would release
all information related to the
cover-up and abuse of children.”
Whatever criteria diocese
leaders used resulted in the
list including the late Mgsr.
Thomas Brady , who beat accusations
of sexual abuse against
two teen boys when a grand
jury failed to indict him due to
lack of evidence following his
2011 arrest .
But even if the diocese released
the criteria it used to
separate credible accusations
from non-credible ones, there
is no reason to assume that information
would be accurate,
according to another lawyer for
local abuse victims, who said
the only true measure of guilt
will come from litigating the
many sex-assault claims currently
waged against Brooklyn
priests.
SORRY: Diocese of Brooklyn
leader Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio
expressed remorse for victims.
File photo by Paul Martinka
Drag queen Cholula Lemon applied
makeup to Jonathan Hamilt,
who invited the performer
to host a cosmetics tutorial for
teenagers at the Brooklyn Public
Library’s Courtelyou Branch
in Ditmas Park on Feb. 21. The
cosmetology class for 12- to
18-year-olds sprung from the
library system’s ongoing partnership
with Hamilt’s do-good
group Drag Queen Story Hour
— which brings queens to borough
book lenders to read to
youngsters. For more from the
absolutely fabulous gathering,
see page 14.
Photo by Caroline Ourso
Seeking Catholic clarity
Lawyer: Diocese must release more details about its list of predatory priests
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