Larchmont Playwright Hopes to Make White Plains 'Off-Broadway'

All Felicia Needleman and Laurence Holzmnan wanted was a theatrical home for a full-scale production of "Wallenberg," their musical.

Somehow they ended up with a full-scale theater.

Holzman had read a small blurb in a local paper last spring, noting that the artistic team at the White Plains Performing Arts Center had stepped down. Given that he and Needleman had been spending the past few years hunting for a theater that would produce a staging of their 26-cast member serious musical about Swedish diplomat Raoul Wallenberg, who was credited to have saved more than 100,000 Jews during World War II, the timing seemed fortuitous.

 So now Needleman is the literary manager of the WPPAC Mainstage, while Holzman is the executive director. Adding these production hats to their creative ones is well worth it for these lyricis and book collaborators, who met at Columbia College as undergraduates in a Modern Drama class; both were English majors. The pair also won the Kleban Award for most Promising Musical Theater Librettists in 2006.

Needleman, who grew up in Larchmont and now lives there with her family and three children, and Holzman, a Westchester native who grew up in Rye Brook and now lives with his wife and two children in Dobbs Ferry, were eager to work close to home.

"It's very exciting to have a place in our backyard," said Holzman. "To find this theater, which is a gem, 10 minutes away and have a home for our work, is great."

There are other advantages for this creative team, including Westchester's proximity to the city.

"You have access to the best talent," said Holzman, a non-practicing lawyer (he graduated from Columbia Law School). "The benefit is that we get to do our shows, and shows of other writers. You can give them a Metro-North ticket and they're there. And you can still rehearse in Manhattan."

Added Needleman, a former professional dancer, "There are so many artists here. Our passion is new theater, and there are so few places in the country to develop new work. We want to offer a safe home to writers and artists, and help those pieces move forward."

Their vision for the White Plains Performing Arts Center is to be a creative incubator of sorts—a very close-to-Broadway regional theater—that will "be a proving ground to move that work forward," said Needleman. "We want White Plains to be a place where you get shows off the ground."

That mix includes new musicals as well as plays. "We're positioning ourselves as presenting shows that you can't see anywhere else," said Needleman, noting that their models include regional theaters like the Alliance in Atlanta and the La Jolla Playhouse in California.

The 2010-2011 season launches with "Wallenberg"-- in its world premiere--from October 28-November 21.  Besides the book and lyrics by Holzman and Needleman, the music was composed by Benjamin Rosenbluth and the director is Annette Jolles. Upcoming productions include Holzman and Needleman's holiday show, "That Time of the Year," from December 2-19; "The Passion of the Hausfrau," Feb.3-13; "Renovations", March 24-April 3, and "Enchanted April,"June 2-19.

Holzman and Needleman also will present a Broadway Concert series, a conversation series Sunday evenings with significant figures from the theatrical world, and free Monday night readings of new works five times throughout the year.

The WPPAC also runs the Conservatory Theater, a  youth theater company."One of the things that attracted us was the thriving youth community at the theater," said Holzman. "Actors for the main stage should be able to mentor the younger actors. We want to build that cross over relationship."

And relationship building between the greater-Westchester community and the theater is a key strategy.

"We see this as a place for the entire Westchester community," said Needleman, who's also a proud soccer and hockey mom. Holzman and Needleman intend to offer high quality, professional productions at WPPAC, while providing affordable subscriptions and ticket prices, comfortable stadium seating, and general amenities.

 With the 410-seat theater's location in City Place, "you can buy paper towels downstairs at Target," quipped Holzman.

"We hope people will take a chance," said Needleman. "This is a place where you can make theater a regular part of your life."

 For more information about "Wallenberg", please check: www.wallenbergthemusical.com. For more information about the WPPAC, 11 City Pl., White Plains, 914, 328-1600, please check: www.wppac.com.