The Garibaldi-Meucci Museum Presents SONGS FOR A SUNDAY AFTERNOON On the Lawn, 7/27

On Sunday, July 27 at 2 p.m. on the museum's Great Lawn, John Gatti will present "Canzoni di Domenica Pomeriggio" ("Songs for a Sunday Afternoon"). Introduced by Professor Louis Leonini, Gatti and his company-Broadway veteran PJ Nelson, and community theater veterans John Mangini, Charles Milo and Al Pica-will perform songs in tribute to Dean Martin and Connie Francis, along with Broadway classics, excerpts from operas, and a preview of Gatti's upcoming cabaret show, "PJ Plus 4."

Over the last 35 years, veteran performer/director John Gatti has been involved in more than one hundred community and regional theater productions, at local venues such as the Staten Island Civic Theater, Seaview Playwright's Theater and Monsignor Farrell High School. He has played leading roles in everything from "Hamlet" and "Requiem for a Heavyweight" to "That Championship Season" (which won him a Staten Island Register Acting Award), "Grease," "Bye Bye Birdie," "Fiddler on the Roof," and most recently in the acclaimed production "Friction," at the Producer's Club in Manhattan.

Gatti is credited with introducing the musical revue to Staten Island audiences on the high school level with the 1977 production of "You And The Night And The Music," and to community theater audiences with the 1978 production of "Gotta Sing, Gotta Dance." Since then he has produced and directed numerous revues and cabarets at several Island venues including the Ocean Breeze Theatre, Saint Simon's Church and Lorenzo's @ the Hilton. He has also directed local productions of "West Side Story," "Jesus Christ Superstar," "Lost in Yonkers" and "Italian American Reconciliation." As resident producer/director of the Farrell Players from 1982-1995, he staged 30 musical and improv productions, including the rarely-produced "Runaways" by Elizabeth Swados, "Fame," and "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat."

Broadway veteran PJ Nelson has appeared in six productions of "Hello Dolly" with Carol Channing, as well as "The Music Man" with Dick Van Dyke, and appeared Off Broadway in "Company" and "Godspell." She made her debut as a 15-year-old Annie Oakley in the 1967 St. Peter's Boys High School production of "Annie Get Your Gun." She has appeared in "Gypsy" and "Follies," as well as several musical revues directed by Gatti, including "An Evening with Gershwin" and "That's Amore."

"PJ plus 4" will make its debut on August 8 at the Little Shop Theater on Post Avenue in Port Richmond, Staten Island. The cabaret show features Nelson, Mangini, Milo, Pica and Gatti, and is directed and staged by John Gatti, with musical direction and accompaniment by veteran Island musician Dave Dragos. The show combines the talents of these five long-time friends, tracing their collective and individual friendships through anecdotes and songs including "Beautiful Girls." (Follies), "Small World" (Gypsy), "World Take Me Back" (Hello Dolly) as well as "It's Today" (Mame) and "It's Not Where You Start It's Where You Finish" (Seesaw).

"Canzoni di Domenica Pomeriggio" is free to the public, and will feature a champagne reception. Attendees are asked to bring their own lawn chairs. Tickets for "PJ Plus 4" will be available to reserve or purchase.

What better way to spend a summer afternoon?

The Garibaldi-Meucci Museum, located at 420 Tompkins Avenue, Staten Island, NY 10305, was the home of Antonio Meucci, the true inventor of the telephone, and a refuge to Giuseppe Garibaldi, the legendary hero who championed the unification of Italy. For over 50 years the museum has fulfilled its mission to preserve the legacies of these great men, and to promote understanding of the Italian-American heritage through cultural, artistic and educational programs and classes. The historic Italian landmark on Staten Island, the Garibaldi-Meucci Museum is owned by the Sons of Italy Foundation and administered by the NYSOSIA?GMM?Board of Commissioners.

Regular museum hours are 1 p.m.-5 p.m., Wednesday through Saturday. Admission is $5 per person, members and children under 10 are free. Call ahead for groups of 10 or more. The first floor of the museum is wheelchair accessible, but the restroom is on the second floor. At press time, program funding has been provided through the Order Sons of Italy in America; by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council; Richmond County Savings Foundation; Northfield Bank Foundation; Coccia Foundation; JP Morgan Chase Regrant in partnership with the Council on the Arts & Humanities for Staten Island (COAHSI); The Staten Island Foundation; The Lois and Richard Nicotra Foundation and by grants allocated by New York City Council members Vincent Ignizio and James Oddo.

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