Actors, director draw upon own life experiences in play

FREEHOLD - The production of "Visiting Mr. Green" by Jeff Baron at Center Playhouse, South Street, Freehold Borough, draws on the personal life experience of Jack Rosmarin, of the Morganville section of Marlboro, co-starring as Mr. Green, and co-director Michael Quirk, of South Amboy, co-starring as Ross Gardiner, and Bernice Garfield-Szita, of Manalapan, president of Center Players and co-director of this comedy-drama.

"Visiting Mr. Green" is about the friendship that develops between the elderly widower Mr. Green and 29-year-old corporate executive Ross Gardiner. The two are thrown together when the younger man is assigned community service in the form of helping the recently widowed Mr. Green after nearly running him over in New York traffic.

There are many parallels between the actors' and directors' lives that add to the depth of performance and production of "Visiting Mr. Green."

The character, Mr. Green, is a retired dry cleaner in the upper west side of Manhattan. Rosmarin has had a dry cleaning business in Manhattan for the past 23 years. His parents were survivors of the Holocaust and he dedicates his performance to his father Leo, who died two years ago.

"Although Mr. Green and my father are very different men, I draw on the memories of the kindness of my father's personality to give Mr. Green warmth and empathy," Rosmarin said.

Though of differing faiths (Rosmarin is Jewish, Quirk is Catholic), both men have a respect and affection for one another that transcends the differences in their faiths and provides a fertile ground for learning and gaining understanding of how people from such different backgrounds can come to know and respect one another.

Garfield-Szita said, "The material of this production resonates very personally for me. I am the granddaughter of Jewish Russian immigrants who escaped Tsarist Russia during the pogroms at the turn of the 20th century. In my professional work as a psychotherapist, I help people make peace with who they really are, their experiences in the past, and to choose directions that will help them live the most fulfilling life possible. 'Visiting Mr. Green' touches on these themes and much more with great sensitivity, humor and compassion."

"Visiting Mr. Green" will run through Nov. 18. Show times are 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and 2 p.m. Sundays. Tickets are $24 and $22 for seniors (60 and over), students, and groups of 10 or more. Price includes complimentary beverage and desserts during intermission of each performance. Tickets are available at www.centerplayers.org or by calling the box office at (732) 462-9093, option 1.

There are special dining packages made possible by arrangements with the Metropolitan Café and Solo Trattoria.