Celebrity Readers Revel at the Woman's Club

“Use your hands as they’re intended,” said Emily Zacharias, “for applauding.”

Host and artistic director of the South Orange-Maplewood Adult School’s Celebrity Readers with Revelry, Zacharias noted that the event “celebrates our seventy-eighth spring in this community.” And she reminded the enthusiastic audience that the Adult School has many achievements to celebrate, notably the summer programs for children, the free ESL and GED instruction, “innovative classes, and the provocative Eva Samo lecture series.”

Zacharias, an actor, singer and longtime Maplewood resident, urged listeners to “unplug and reconnect” with the power of story told well. Indeed, the stories told of a woman who “would rather be forgotten than inaccurately remembered,” two ladies of a certain age who recalled “days when respectability was at a discount,” and a modern retelling of Lassie.

Robert Cuccioli’s most recent project, as Norman Rhodes in Bruce Hornsby’s new musical, “SCKBSTD,” wrapped up in early February, leaving him time to prepare for a funny and heart-rending reading of Sherman Alexie’s “Salt.”

Cuccioli’s Broadway credits include “Les Miserables” and “Jekyll & Hyde” (1997 Tony  nomination, Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle Awards and Chicago's Joseph Jefferson Award) and his  off-Broadway credits include “Temporary Help,” “Enter The Guardsman” and “And The World Goes ‘Round” (1991 Outer Critics Circle Award). Cuccioli has also made television and film appearances.

A familiar face from HBO's “In Treatment," Laila Robins read Edith Wharton’s “Roman Fever.” Robins is currently playing Paola Franco in “Dangerous Beauty,” which premiered at the Pasadena Playhouse this February.

She was seen on Broadway in “Heartbreak House,” the Tony-nominated play “Frozen” (Lucille Lortel Nomination), “The Herbal Bed” and “The Real Thing.” Robins’ credits also include off-Broadway and regional productions, as well as film and television appearances that include the series lead in “Gabriel’s Fire” opposite James Earl Jones.

Finally, Isaiah Sheffer, whose “Selected Shorts” program at Symphony Space, and heard on NPR is the inspiration for the evening, read “Heart of a Champion” by T. C. Boyle.

This evening, which included a lavish wine and dessert reception, benefits the educational classes and lectures offered by The Adult School. “It is our only fundraiser,” noted Zacharias, in her fifth year of hosting the event.

Several members of the audience are “regulars,” who come every year. “I don’t mind what they read or who reads,” said one South Orange resident. “I know it’s a wonderful night for a good, local cause.”