The Riant Book Club at the Good Restaurant, September 27, 2006

The next Riant Book Club event:

Date: Wednesday, September 27, 2006
Time: 6:00 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.
Restaurant: Good Restaurant, located at 89 Greenwich Avenue, NYC, between Bank Street and West 12th Street. One block west of 7th Avenue. Take the 1, 2, 3, A, C, E train to 14th Street. http://www.goodrestaurantnyc.com/
RSVP: 646-623-3488 or email us at therianttheatre@aol.com

One of the plays we will be discussing is HIDDEN IN THE PAST by Michael Casano. A young girl interviews her grandmother to find out more about her family's history. It's an interview she may wish she never conducted. The second play is THE SQUEEGEE MAN by Nick Vigorito, Jr. A reporter finds inspiration for stories through the squeegee man on the street corner outside her office.

The plays are in the anthology: The Best Plays From The Strawberry One-Act Festival: Volume Two. To order the book go to www.iUniverse.com, www.barnesandnoble.com or you can call us 646-623-3488.

The Riant Book Club at the Piccolo Restaurant

The Riant Book Club had a great time at the Piccolo Restaurant on the Eastside. The food was delicious and the company even better.
















Actress, Sharon Zaslaw and Karen Page, host of Riant! Riant! Arts & Entertainment, get a hug from playwright David Risk who signed copies of his play THE KISSING BOOTH and discussed why he chose to write a play about a girl with multiple myeloma, a form of cancer that's terminal and quick. The carrier usually doesn't show any symptoms and can look perfectly fine. THE KISSING BOOTH is an enchanting story about a young lady named Beckie, who's working at a Kissing Booth to distract herself from the fact that she is dying. Bucky, an exterminator working in the park, decides to stand in the booth and get a few kisses when he discovers the booth is vacant. Beckie returns from her break and his breath is taken away just by the mere presence of her beauty. Bucky, who's wife has recently died is in much need of a distraction too, but is determined to not let life pass him by and to live it with joy and conviction. He describes life as such: "It's all a kiss. Kiss of death. Kiss of life. Kiss of blindness. Kiss of vision. Kiss of ignorance. Kiss of reason. You don't get to pick your kiss, Beckie; it picks you. But sometimes...sometimes there's a kiss of grace. And when it comes...you better be open to it. You're more living than you are dying."

It's a very moving play, in which two wounded souls find each other and learn to take a chance on love, for whatever it's worth. After all, tomorrow isn't promised to any of us. Which reminds me, playwright Vivian Neuwirth was with us again. We'll be discussing her play FUN ON THE BAYOU in October. Stay tuned. That's me with Vivian below.
















But not to be outdone playwright Deborah Greenhut joined us, along with playwright John Baldi who discussed his play MONKEY RHYTHMS. John shared with us the fact that a childhood death of a friend inspired his play. It's a moving story of 3 generations, a loving son who's trying to get his elderly father, who's recently widowed and suffering from Alzheimer's, to leave his home and move in with him. But his father Pop, is determined to stay put even though he knows the house has already been sold. Pop has had a change of heart and wants to pass the house on to his grandson Jessie. It's a heartbreaking story as we read in the end, after Pop has tricked his son and grandson to leave the house only to lock them out and then proceeds to slow dance in the living room as he remembers fonder times with his beloved wife.

We were all able to relate to the two plays chosen for today's event. Love's a powerful potion and we were grateful to make some new friends and share some happy memories with some old friends. Good food, good wine, good friends, what more could you ask for? Well, I'm sure Carol Handwerker would agree a good waiter doesn't hurt as she thanks Antonio for the good service he provided us.