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The slide show had photos of Jimmy Durante, Ella Fitzgerald Sophie Tucker, Peggy Lee and all the beloved entertainers the cast had just finished saluting. Part of the finale, it was performed first at the dress rehearsal for Jerry's Ponte Vecchio Players All Star Revue. They then did the traditional run-through the night before the show to make sure the microphones worked and everyone knew their lines and cues.

Like most of the adult developments, residents in this community west of Boynton Beach, put on a show, usually song parodies .The PV players have theirs in the spring. But it was producer Joe Oliveri's idea to do a fall production too and Ponte Vecchians were invited to perform their favorite show biz legend.

Joe used to have a recording studio in New York city and the shows playbill listed The Capri's There's a Moon Out Tonight  a rock and roll classic as one of  companies hits. He has an all Digital-production studio and has orchestrated and recorded all the music for all 24 acts. So what started out as a recruiting tool for the theater troupe mushroomed into a full scaled production. " We are lucky to have him" said Sheila Alper the groups president.



Marci Shatzman writes about the adult gated Communities west of Boynton Beach & Lake North and in Wellington You can reach her at granddame@adelphia.net

 

     
Joe Oliveri creating the Ponte Vecchio Garden Clubs logo utilizing the Power Mac G5 & two 20 inch Cinema Displays . A dedicated professional in the service of Community Cable graphic arts. Joe leads a team of artists in keeping  the channel graphically appealing. Joe is also providing his graphics to Bellaggio, Tuscany Bay and Wycliffe Golf and Country Club in addition to his local and national clientele. With over 35 years of advertising and production experience. Joe Oliveri also creates, orchestrates and records sound clips using his musical talents as a professional musician to enhance the channels appeal
Marci Shatzman Marci Shatzman
Stage shows pitched to join reality TV		  
Published April 22, 2007

There's no summer stock in the adult communities that stage shows, so the footlights in the theaters and ballrooms are dark from Boca Raton to Wellington.

Writers use the down time to come up with a script for next season, so they're ready to cast a show in October when the first snowbirds show up.

But backstage at Ponte Vecchio, they're making a movie of This Is Your Life, the show they performed three times last month, and a 30-minute pilot for a possible reality TV show.

Joe Oliveri calls it Community Idol.

Here's Joe's concept: "With a gated community clubhouse as the stage and a group of relentless over-55 retirees as the cast and crew, there's never a dull moment."

Pitching a TV pilot about how Palm Beach County's adult communities write, produce, cast and mount their shows every year grew out of a DVD that Jerry's Ponte Vecchio Players decided to make this year, instead of their usual video.

They've had a professional videographer, and more recently a resident, stand behind a camera in the back of the room to videotape their show every year, said Sheila Alper, the players' producer and president.

"We sell it at a nominal fee, mostly to the performers. They bring it up North. All of our families can't come and see the show, so we bring it to them," Sheila said.

But this year, they had a few extra bucks and decided to have a professional DVD made, like the kind people have done for a wedding or bar mitzvah. Joe, who does the digital music for the shows as a professional music producer, brought his friend Ted Cosmos, who has a video business in Deerfield Beach, in for the project. They paid him $2,500.

"This is a combination of compensation and donation," Ted said, laughing.

Ted had three dress rehearsals and two performances in Ponte Vecchio shot with three cameras and is still shooting interviews with everyone involved. That night, he interviewed music director Steve Gilbert and Joan Scherer, vice president of the players and the vocal coach.
 		  

"It's unscripted, because it's real," Ted said.

He expects to hand Joe 40 hours of tape he'll have to edit. Sheila is looking at a September wrap for the project.

Joe has contacts in about 30 developments, including Delaire and Bocaire country clubs, Bellaggio, Buena Vida and the Lakes of Delray, from doing business with them. His company provides a package of graphics for communities' public access TV stations. He hopes the DVD they're making will catch on.

"My guess is this will be an inspiration to other communities," Ted said.

They have more than 55 DVDs pre-sold, Sheila said. She plans to offer them to area nursing homes.

But Joe wants to take it further.

"I have the cast, and I have the music," he said, and the connections in show business through his longtime profession in New York.

He envisions a reality show that goes from community to community. Although he hasn't nailed down the specifics, he's thinking of this season's show that picked the leads for the Broadway revival of Grease.

Although in Ponte Vecchio reality, everyone gets a part or a role in the show.

"We find a spot for everyone," assistant director Marla Kurzban said.

Marci Shatzman writes about the adult communities west of Boca Raton, Delray Beach, Boynton Beach and Lake Worth, and in Wellington. Her column appears every Sunday in Community News. You can reach her at granddame@adelphia.net

09/19/2007 01:43 PM
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