Programs
Music, Theatre & Movement
Debra offers a variety of programming for senior audiences in Independent, Assisted Living, Long Term Care and Memory Care Communities. These include LIVE PRODUCTIONS with your seniors and interactive programs about film, Broadway and celebrities.
INTERACTIVE FILM/ THEATRE PROGRAM
1-hour interactive programs in which we discuss plot, theme, characters and music in Broadway shows and Academy Award winning films.
Fiddler on the Roof
In the village of Anatevka, Tevya, a poor dairyman, tries to instill in his five daughters, the tradition of his tight knit Jewish community, in the face of changing social mores and Czarist Russian pogroms. Family relationships will be examined.
Show Boat
This 1927 musical follows the lives of the actors, singers and dancers on the Cotton Blossom, a Mississippi River showboat, juxtaposed with the lives of the black dockworkers and cotton pickers in the deep South when the Jim Crow laws were in effect.
Guys and Dolls
This oddball romantic comedy revolves around the uptight missionary Sarah Brown who sets out to reform the evildoers of Time Square, NYC including Sky Masterson, with whom she falls in love. Can love reform people?
Some Like It Hot
Tony Curtis, Jack Lemmon and Marilyn Monroe star in director Billy Wilder’s 1949 ground-breaking comedy that defied the rules of Hollywood’s Hayes Code! Two male jazz musicians accidentally witness the St. Valentine’s day massacre in Chicago. They cross-dress to join an all-women band traveling to Florida in order to escape Spats Columbo (played by George Raft) and his mob.
Jews as Portrayed in Film
Beginning with Eastern European immigration of Jews into New York’s lower east side before WW2 , we will analyze “Hester Street” and continue to analyze the portrayal of Jews in the 1980’s coming of age films “Marjorie Morningstar,” ”Avalon,” “The Chosen,” and “ Crossing Delancey Street.”
(A series)
Grease
Named after the 1950s working-class youth subculture known as greasers, the musical is set in 1959 at fictional Rydell High School and follows ten teenagers as they navigate the complexities of peer pressure and personal core values.
West Side Story- Romeo & Juliet
In Manhattan’s Upper West Side, two young idealistic lovers are caught between two warring street gangs, the Jets and the Sharks. Staged and choreographed by Jerome Robbins, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, music by Leonard Bernstein, the movie was inspired by Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet.” We explore the similarities and differences between “West Side Story” and “Romeo and Juliet.” (2 sessions)
THAT’S ENTERTAINMENT
1-hour interactive programs in which we examine the personal and professional lives of Hollywood’s most beloved celebrities.
Frank Sinatra & The Rat Pack
We will examine the lives, loves, songs and films of Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis and Dean Martin, three charismatic members of THE RAT PACK. (2 sessions)
Bogie and Bacall
“You know how to whistle Steve? Just put your lips together and blow.” Lauren Bacall played Slim in “To Have and Have Not” starring Humphrey Bogart. Though she was 20 years younger, the beautiful, young model won the heart of her sex symbol leading man.
Judy Garland & Liza Minelli
We view Judy through the lens of her oldest friend, Mickey Rooney, and her daughter, Liza Minelli. We study the different performance styles of these two talented women whose lives were very complex. (2 sessions)
Sophie Tucker & Al Jolson
She was coined “The Last of the Red-Hot Mamas” and he was referred to as “The World’s Greatest Entertainer.” Sophie’s timeless narrative songs contained messages of self-acceptance at all stages of life. “Jolie” was perceived as a hero by some and a villain by others.
Disco
The Bee-Gees. Their beginnings, their successes, and their impact on John Travolta and Stayin’ Alive!
Tin Pan Alley
Many of the world’s most beloved songwriters got their start at Tin Pan Alley in the lower East Side of Manhattan during the late 1800’s to the mid 1950’s. We will discuss the music referred to as the American Songbook written and composed by Irving Berlin, and the music of Cole Porter noted for its witty lyrics and syncopated melodies. (2 sessions)
Hullabaloo
The 1950’s, 60’s dance-music shows American Bandstand, Shindig, and Solid Gold were all precursors to modern day music/dance competitions American Idol, the Voice and Dancing with the Stars. This program will be appreciated by the baby boomer generation!
Elizabeth Taylor: Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Her violet eyes, incredible beauty, memorable film roles, eight marriages, and billion dollar jewelry collection define this “golden age” actress. Her relationship to James Dean, her marriage to producer Mike Todd, an interview with Richard Burton all reveal who she really is as a person.
NEW: The Irishman
This year’s academy award nominated film directed by Martin Scorsese about the hitman for the Bufalino crime family who claims to have killed union boss Jimmy Hoffa. We’ll learn about the film and its stars Robert DeNiro and Al Pacino.