Huntington Alums Take on the Fringe Festival

When Huntington High School alum Elyssa Rabinowitz  (Class of 2000) started ELR Productions to produce her fellow classmate Dan Fingerman’s first play, she asked for her hometown community’s support and wasn’t disappointed.

Scores of former classmates, teachers, administrators and area business owners came out in full force to support the duo. The critically acclaimed play, The Austerity of Hope sold out its run at the 2011 Fresh Fruit Festival, transferred the next year to an off-Broadway run at the Abingdon Theatre and was published by Indie Theatre Now. 

This summer the duo has been accepted to participate in the 17th annual New York International Fringe Festival. The prestigious festival, which runs over 20 days in lower Manhattan, was the launch-pad for such Broadway shows as Urinetown: The Musical and the event counts among its notable alumni stars such as Bradley Cooper, Morgan Spurlock, Mindy Kaling and Michael Urie.

The former Huntington classmates have been friends “since before we were born” Ms. Rabinowitz said. Following her high school graduation, Ms. Rabinowitz earned a degree from West Chester University while Mr. Fingerman graduated from the University at Albany.

The new play is Stranded on Motor Parkway, a poignant family drama set on Long Island during the 1986 World Series. Focusing on a working class Italian family, the show focuses on two siblings, Johnny and Angie Frishetti. Their mom has died and left them in the care of their estranged father. They hate living on Long Island, they miss their mom and they miss Queens, but if the Mets win the World Series ... maybe things will be okay.

“This play is very different in tone and structure from Austerity, but I’m very excited about it,” Mr. Fingerman said. “I believe it’s extremely important to keep challenging yourself as an artist.”

This time around Mr. Fingerman and Ms. Rabinowitz aren’t the only Huntington High School alums on the team. Andrea Wozny (’00), an emerging documentary filmmaker, has filmed promotional material for the show and Maggie Schuster VanDyne (’00), a leading talent manager at MKS&D helped cast the main character.

“It was very difficult to find a kid who could carry such a heavy role and who was also available to do a show at the Fringe, but Maggie sent us a terrific actor, named Joseph Paul Kennedy and really helped us out,” Mr. Fingerman said. “It’s always great to work with old friends like Maggie and Andrea.”

“I was in awe of the quality, insightfulness and sheer talent of the play,” said Leslie Mitek, a retired Huntington High School business teacher educator who attended Austerity with several teaching colleagues. “It is always so heartwarming to see former students achieve their goals. I am so very proud of both of them and look forward to Dan’s next play.”

“The response from the Huntington community to our last work was really astounding,” Ms. Rabinowitz said. “Every night we had Huntington staff and alums in the audience cheering us on and it really reminded me of what a special place Huntington is.” said Rabinowitz.

Stranded on Motor Parkway will be directed by Christina Roussos and perform at the Teatro SEA (within the Clemente Soto Velez Cultural Center). Performances are: Friday, August 9 at 5 p.m.; Saturday, August 10 at 9 p.m.; Tuesday, August 13 at 9:30 p.m.; Thursday, August 15 at 4 p.m. and Friday, August 16 at 9:15 p.m.  For more information visit www.strandedonmotorparkway.com.