Gary Hygom, Executive Director of Riverhead's The Suffolk Theater and Josh Gladstone, Creative Director of LTV Studios in Wainscott share some history, having first collaborated over twenty years ago when Gary was producing his Oak Hill Theater Company's productions at The John Drew Theater in East Hampton. Gary was moonlighting from his gig as Bay Street Theater's master Scenic Designer and Producer, and over the decades he and Gladstone stayed close, comparing notes and sharing resources on venue management in the small but competitive market of East End performing arts venues. Their fraternity has remained solid, leading to a production in 2022 of Love Letters starring Harris Yulin and Mercedes Ruehl produced by Josh and presented by Gary at The Suffolk. The show went well, so it was a no-brainer that when Gladstone, seeking to book six-time Emmy and Tony-nominee Tovah Feldshuh's hilarious and heartfelt one-woman show Aging is Optional ('Cause G*D I Hope It Is!) for LTV's new Hamptons Summer Songbook By The Sea series - to which Tovah responded, "Can you get some more dates? Can I tour?" - it was Gary Hygom who leaped into the center stage spotlight with open arms and cried, "Welcome to The Suffolk!" It's a happy story of co-booking and collegialism in an industry and an area where all too often the knives are out - a friendship with benefits for the wider community, as audiences in Riverhead can now catch this rare and wonderful Broadway-caliber program one evening, after which she'll head east of the Canal for a second night encore. It's a distance that audiences would perhaps be unlikely to traverse in the busy traffic season - but combining resources, Hygom and Gladstone are better serving both east and west, establishing a healthy model of cooperation while building a cultural bridge between excitingly emergent Riverhead and the edgy, industrial neighborhood of East Hampton's Wainscott. For Feldshuh, a part-time resident of East Quogue, it makes solid geographic sense, too.
AGING IS OPTIONAL {'Cause G*D I Hope It Is!} will be performed again on Saturday, July 13th at LTV Studios (75 Industrial Road, Wainscott) beginning at 7 p.m. Tickets range from $65 - $100 for VIP Cafe Table seating. Visit www.ltveh.org for tickets and details.
“Who doesn’t love the Hamptons, especially in the summer? This summer I have the great pleasure of returning to perform for my dear friend Josh Gladstone and beginning my artistic relationship with Gary Hygom in Riverhead. By offering performers the possibility of ‘a double header’, it doubles the pleasure of life! May the cooperation between both venues lead to two sold out houses!” – Tovah Feldshuh
