Falco Named to Northport Board

Edie Falco, star of the HBO series "The Sopranos," has been named to the Northport Performing Arts Center (NPAC) advisory board. NPAC Founder Jerome Vivona announced her appointment Saturday evening at a fundraising event for the Center, where $6,500 was raised.  

 

NPAC, a not-for-profit performing arts company with an objective to "bring Broadway closer to home," is on a mission to create a thriving center for the arts by revitalizing and preserving the old Northport Movie Theater at

250 Main Street

. The advisory board includes highly-regarded directors, choreographers and actors who share this goal.

"We are so very proud to call Edie Falco a member of our advisory board," said Vivona. "The respect she has garnered from her peers and the incredible caliber of performances she offers each and every time mirror the high-quality theatrical experiences we plan to offer the community at the Northport Performing Arts Center."

Originally from Northport, Long Island, Falco is the only actress to ever receive an Emmy, Golden Globe and SAG Award for lead actress in a dramatic series all in the same year for her performance as Carmela Soprano in "The Sopranos"' debut season. She was subsequently nominated for each award for each eligible television season, winning two additional Emmy Awards and another Golden Globe Award, as well as the American Film Institute's award for Female Television Actor of the Year. She has also had recurring roles in the HBO dramatic series "Oz" and the acclaimed NBC series "Law and Order" and "Homicide."

 

Falco made her Broadway debut in the Tony Award winning play "Sideman," and earned a Theatre World Award and a Drama Desk nomination for her performance. She went on to make her London stage debut in the West End premiere of "Sideman," and thereafter opened the London production of the highly successful play "The Vagina Monologues." Her run last season in the lauded revival of "Frankie and Johnny in the Claire de Lune," broke house box office records at Broadway's Belasco Theatre.

Falco has amassed an impressive catalogue of film credits and awards as well. For the feature film, "Cost of Living," Falco received the American Film Institute's Best Actress Award, and her performance in John Sayles' "SunshineState" in 2002 earned Falco the Los Angeles Film Critics Association and New York Film Critics Online Awards for Best Supporting Actress. Some of her other film credits include "Laws of Gravity," "Bullets over Broadway," "Random Hearts," and the title character in the award-winning film "Judy Berlin."

 

NPAC's advisory board also includes Tony Award winning theater and television stars John Lithgow and Brian Stokes Mitchell, Tony Award winning director/choreographer Kathleen Marshall, television, film and theatre actor Ralph Macchio, Tony Award winning choreographer Rob Ashford, Circle in the Square theater co-founder Emily Fabella Stevens, Broadway and television actress/singer Susan Egan, Tony Award winning choreographer Wayne Cilento, award-winning Broadway and film actress Marla Schaffel, choreographer/performer Phil LaDuca, Broadway actor Joe Machota, award-winning Broadway and television actor David Garrison, internationally-recognized dance educator Elsa Posey, noted Broadway actress Patricia Ben Peterson and attorney/Councilman Edward Ambrosino.

NPAC was founded by producer, director, choreographer Jerome Vivona, and other dedicated theatrical professionals, who wish to enrich the cultural and artistic enjoyment of Long Island theater audiences by bringing the Broadway experience closer to home. The goal is to reconfigure the existing Northport Movie Theater into a multi-purpose, state-of-the-art live performance facility, while maintaining its historic character. The center will house a professional acting company, an art gallery, facilities for screening major films, and a focused theatrical apprentice training program. A fundraising campaign to acquire the aging theater and complete the revitalization is ongoing, with numerous naming opportunities available. The goal to open NPAC by the fall of 2005 has the support of elected officials and residents who feel this extraordinary theater would be a boon to Northport and the Long Island economy. More information on NPAC can be found at www.northportpac.org.