News Briefs: March 2022

Fun Fact! Parts of HBO’s The Gilded Age Were Filmed in Westchester.

Viewers of HBO’s popular television series The Gilded Age may recognize some familiar Westchester sites. Both Hudson River Museum’s Glenview estate and Lyndhurst Mansion appear in the historical drama, which takes place in 1880s New York City. In the show, Glenview, which was constructed in 1876 for New York financier John Bond Trevor, can be seen in interior views of the character Mrs. Astor’s house. Several rooms from Lyndhurst, including its library and art gallery, were used in the show as well. These scenes include the interior of Mrs. Morris’s house and the site of an art auction for the Red Cross. Emma Gencarelli, the Film, Photography, & Collections Coordinator at Lyndhurst, says of the show: “What was once a static and frozen-in-time space becomes alive with the energy of people, clothing and objects that so arduously reflect the very history that we as a museum strive to recollect for visitors.”

 

 

Local Arts Groups Discuss Ways to Broaden Social Justice Efforts

ArtsWestchester recently facilitated a series of discussion workshops for local arts groups with Donna Walker-Kuhne, a strategist for community engagement, audience development and social justice. The workshops intended to assist arts groups in better integrating the principles of EDIA – equity, diversity, inclusion and accessibility. Between two three-hour sessions, 50 individuals participated. The groups broke into focus groups, discussed their EDIA-related needs, and how they each can improve upon their current efforts, including a desire to include more of these principles into their repertoire, boards and audiences. Overall, the groups, when asked to look to the future, envisioned higher accountability, more diverse representation and reduced barriers to the arts.

Funding Opportunities for Yonkers and Mount Vernon Artists and Arts Groups

ArtsWestchester is now accepting applications for the 2022-2023 Mount Vernon and Yonkers Arts Initiative grant opportunities. These Initiatives are designed to help local nonprofit organizations and artists in Yonkers and Mount Vernon to create new work, build capacity and contribute to their city’s community-building and economic development efforts. Application assistance is available by contacting
grants@artswestchester.org. Application Deadline: April 7.

Three-Time Emmy Winner Cady McClain Joins Axial Theatre as Artistic Director

Axial Theatre has announced Cady McClain as its new Artistic Director. The actress and director is the first woman to win three Emmys for her acting work on three different daytime shows: All My Children, As the World Turns and Days of Our Lives. McClain has also directed six short films and a documentary film, Seeing is Believing: Women Direct. The documentary premiered at the 2017 SOHO International Film Festival, where it won the Audience Award for Best Feature Film. In the summer of 2017 she began moving into theater through the process of working with the founder of Axial Theatre, playwright Howard Meyer, to refine his original play Paint Made Flesh. McClain says that she plans to “honor[ing] the Axial tradition of the development of new plays.”

 

Centennial Celebration: 100 Years of The Picture House

The Picture House in Pelham celebrates the centennial of its building this year with a fundraising event on March 11 at Glen Island Harbour Club.  The Centennial Celebration commemorates both the film house’s 100 years in Westchester as well as the organization’s recent expansion to Bronxville. The honorees include enator Chuck Schumer, who will be given the Second Century Award; ArtsWestchester CEO Janet Langsam, who will receive the Lifetime Achievement Award; and Michaela Jaé Rodriguez, who will receive the Cicely Tyson Award. Other centennial celebrations include a new ambassador program, the solicitation of Picture House stories from the community and a Second Century Campaign that will help the center support and secure “a path to the next 100 years of fulfilling [its] mission— bringing people together around art and ideas, forging bonds, building community, enjoying the arts and each other.”

Marsha on the Move 

The Tender Bar (Amazon Prime)

The Tender Bar is a sweet, heartwarming, feel-good movie…a boy named J.R. was abandoned by his no-good father, but ends up being raised by the most loving, albeit dysfunctional, family. His mother has the highest expectations for her son. His grandparents support him through the armor of gruffness. His loving Uncle Charlie teaches life lessons in simple terms and also protects and cherishes the boy throughout his life. Charlie, a bartender, introduces J.R. to his bar friends who, along with Charlie, become a circle of fathers who provide love, pride and, of course, first drinks. The movie, directed by George Clooney and starring Ben Affleck, is a true story based on J.R. Moehringer’s autobiography.  Be sure to read it (after watching the movie). 

 

 

 

A version of this article first appeared in the March 2022 issue of ArtsNews, ArtsWestchester’s monthly publication. ArtsNews is distributed throughout Westchester County. A digital copy is also available at artsw.org/artsnews.​​​​