MOVIE QUIZ: LEAPING OFF THE SCREEN
This year, 2024, is a Leap Year, with that extra day, Feb. 29, that’s added every four years. Those “lucky” few born on this day have a quarter of the birthdays the rest of us do, including founder of the Shakers, Ann Lee, who died right here in Colonie.
Let’s see how much you know about the many film folks who claim Leap Day as their own.
1. Superman’s official birthday is listed as Feb.
29. The 2013 reboot of the DC superhero film franchise, “Man of Steel,” starred Henry Cavill as the alien previously known as Kal-el, but also a six-time Oscar nominee who coincidentally starred in a 2010 movie called “Leap Year.” Who was it?
2. Veteran British character actor Joss Ackland — born Feb. 29, 1928 — died in November at the age of 95 after a nearly 70-year career. He worked with the likes of Alec Guinness, Vanessa Redgrave, Maggie Smith and Judi Dench, and originated the role of Juan Peron
in “Evita.” But he’s probably best known for later work in big-budget American films. Which movie was he NOT in: “Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey,” “The Hunt for Red October,” “Lethal Weapon 2,” “The Mighty Ducks” or “Patch Adams”?
3. Rapper Jeffrey Bruce Atkins — sorry, Ja Rule — has had a side career as an actor since his 2000 debut in “Turn It Up.” The next year, though, the 1976 Leap Day baby
had a bit part in the first entry in what turned into an 11-film (so far) blockbuster franchise which is the seventh highestgrossing series of all time. Name it.
4. What famous motivational speaker born on Feb. 29, 1960, played himself in the 2001 Farrelly Brothers comedy, “Shallow Hal”?
5. Phyllis Ehrlich (b. Feb. 29, 1944) became the first deaf actress to win a Tony Award for a play
that was later turned into a movie where its lead became the first deaf performer to win an Oscar. What’s the title?
6. Born that same Leap Day in 1944, former Chicago police detective Dennis Farina switched to acting, playing scores of cops and criminals on the big and small screen. Which of the following movies based on works by the crime novelist Elmore Leonard did he star in: “Be Cool,” “Get
Shorty,” “Jackie Brown” or “Out of Sight”?
7. Director William Wellman was born on Leap Day in 1896 but didn’t have another birthday for eight years because there was no Feb. 29 in 1900. That didn’t stop him from directing the very first Best Picture Oscar winner, then known as Outstanding Picture. Name it.
8. In an eerie coincidence, serial killers Aileen Wuornos and Richard
Ramirez were both born on Leap Day, in 1956 and 1960, respectively. Charlize Theron won an Oscar for playing Wuornos in 2003’s “Monster.” What actor played Ramirez in 2016’s “The Night Stalker,” and also other real-life figures in “Young Guns,” “Young Guns II,” “La Bamba,” “Che” and “The 33”?
9. “Smile 2,” the sequel to the 2022 horror film, “Smile,” was rumored to have recently filmed at the MVP Arena in Albany. No word on whether original cast member Jessie T. Usher returns, but the actor, born Feb. 29, 1992, has played the son or stepson of iconic film characters in two other sequels, played by Samuel L. Jackson and Will Smith. What were the movies?
10. Alex Rocco (b. Feb. 29, 1936) played a mobster based on Bugsy Siegel in “The Godfather,” who is the focus of one of the most iconic scenes in the 1972 crime epic. What’s the character’s name?
— C.J. Lais Jr.
larkhallalbany.com. A live show filled with spoken-word, jazz improv, art rock, folk music, guerrilla theatre, vocal harmonies and loud rock ‘n roll. David Nail, Universal Preservation Hall, 25 Washington St., Saratoga Springs. 7:30 p.m. Saturday. $25.50-$42.50. 518-346-6204 or proctors.org. Country singer.
New York Folklore presents Pulso De Barro, The Linda WAMC’S Performing Arts Studio, 339 Central Ave., Albany. 3 p.m. Sunday. $10. 518-465-5233 or thelinda.org. Mexican American musicians Maria Puente Flores, Mateo Cano, Víctor Lizabeth, Oviedo Horta Jr. and Adriana Pericchi, explore the tradition of Son Jarocho as Pulso De Barro, a merging of poetry and music as ways of coexisting reciprocally with nature. One Vision of Queen featuring Marc Martel, Proctors, 432 State St., Schenectady. 7:30 p.m. Friday. $29.50-$99.50. 518-346-6204 or proctors.org. Theatrical-style tribute to the classic, operatic British rock band.
Parrots of the Caribbean: A Salute to Jimmy Buffet, Cohoes Music Hall, 58 Remsen St., Cohoes. 7:30 p.m. Friday. $33-$45. 518-434-0776 or thecohoesmusichall.org.
Garnet Rogers, Caffe Lena, 47 Phila St., Saratoga Springs. 7 p.m. Sunday. $14-$28. 518-583-0022 or caffelena.org. Canadian folk singer-songwriter.
Screaming Orphans, The Egg, Empire State Plaza, Albany. 8 p.m. Friday. $25. 518-473-1845 or theegg.org. All-sister Celtic folk and pop band from Ireland.
Veronica Swift, The Egg, Empire State Plaza, Albany. 7:30 p.m. Thursday. $29.50. 518-473-1845 or theegg.org. Jazz and bebop singer.
A Taste of Ireland, The Egg, Empire State Plaza, Albany. 7:30 p.m. Wednesday. $45-$65. 518-473-1845 or theegg.org. “The Irish Music & Dance Sensation.”
TV Doctors, Lark Hall, 351 Hudson Ave., Albany. 10 p.m. Friday. Free. 518-599-5804 or larkhallalbany.com. Psychedelic jazz trio.
Typhoids Takeover: Decades of
See CALENDAR, D5
Divas, Lark Hall, 351 Hudson Ave., Albany. 11 a.m. Saturday. $24.40. 518-599-5804 or larkhallalbany.com. Drag brunch celebrating some of music history’s iconic divas, from Whitney to Britney, Christina, Cher, Ariana and more.
Tanner Usrey, Empire Underground, 93 N. Pearl St., Albany. 8 p.m. Thursday. $20-$25. 518-900-5900 or empirelivealbany.com. Country and Americana singer-songwriter. Also on the bill: JD Clayton.
Yesterday Once More: A Tribute to the Carpenters, Sand Lake Center for the Arts, 2880 NY-43, Averill Park. 3 p.m. Sunday. $22. 518-674-2007 or slca-ctp.org. The music of the brother-sister hitmaking duo of the 1970s. Zep & Co., Colonial Theatre, 111 South St., Pittsfield, Mass. 7:30 p.m. Saturday. $30. 413-997-4444 or berkshiretheatregroup.org. A tribute to Led Zeppelin and Bad Company.
STAGE
10 X 10 New Play Festival,
Barrington Stage Company, St. Germain Stage, Sydelle and Lee Blatt Performing Arts Center, 36 Linden St., Pittsfield, Mass. 7:30 p.m. Thursday; 2 and 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday; 2 p.m. Sunday (runs through March 10). $25-$45. 413-236-8888 or barringtonstageco.org. The annual theatrical festival featuring ten 10-minute plays by 10 playwrights.
24 Hour Play Fest, Charles R. Wood Theater, 207 Glen St., Glens Falls. 6:30 p.m. Thursday. Free. 518-480-4878 or woodtheater.org. Play Fest brings more than 70 volunteers together for a 24-hour race to put on a show. All these volunteers will arrive at the Wood Theater with no idea what will happen in the next day. They will be randomly formed into eight to nine teams, each with one writer, one director and three-four actors. Then a theme for the Fest will be announced and teams will meet for one hour before writers go home to write their ten-minute plays. Writers must email scripts by 5 a.m. on Saturday morning. Teams assemble at the theater on Saturday morning and have until the curtain opens at 8 p.m. to rehearse, memorize and stage eight ten-minute plays.
Free Scene Night, Charles R. Wood Theater, 207 Glen St., Glens Falls. 6:30 p.m. Thursday. Free. 518-480-4878 or woodtheater.org. A night of scenes presented by members of the first Wood Theater Acting Workshop. For the final class, participants will present five short scenes from various works to culminate their new or improved skills.
“The Minutes,” Albany Civic Theater, 235 Second Ave., Albany. 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday; 2 p.m. Sunday. $10-$18. Tracy Letts’ (“August: Osage County”) Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-nominated comedy that unfolds in real time at a town council meeting of fictional Big Cherry.
“Peter Pan: A Musical Adventure,” Spa Little Theater, 19 Roosevelt Ave., Saratoga Springs. 7:30 p.m. Thursday and Friday; 2 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday; 2 p.m. Sunday. 518-587-4427 or homemadetheater.org. Homemade Theater performs a modern musical version of the story about a boy who wouldn’t grow up, pirates, fairies, lost boys and a sister and two brothers.
“Stage Kiss,” Albany Masonic Temple, 67 Corning Place, Albany. 7:30 p.m. Thursday-saturday; 2 p.m. Sunday. $10-$15. 518-334-9132 or confettistage.org. Confetti Stage presents Sarah Ruhl’s play about two theater actors with personal history who lose touch with reality when they are thrown together on stage
in a forgotten 1930s melodrama.
“Ten Transcendental Etudes,” MASS MOCA, 1040 MASS MOCA Way, North Adams, Mass. 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday. $15-$49. 413-662-2111 or massmoca.org Bennington College Professor Nicholas Brooke brings his creative collaborators to MASS MOCA for a week-long residency to work on his latest piece. Culminating in a work-in-progress sharing, the work is an evening-length piece for six performers that melds sampling, sound design and physical theater, and looks at how songs dominate how we talk about each other.
COMEDY
Bored Teachers: We Can’t Make This Stuff Up Comedy Tour,
Palace Theatre, 19 Clinton Ave., Albany. 7:30 p.m. Saturday. $40-$71. 800-745-3000 or palacealbany.org. Standup comedy.
“Funny Women of a Certain Age,” Funny Bone Comedy Club Restaurant, Crossgates Mall, Guilderland. 7:30 p.m. Thursday. $47-$60. 518-313-7484 or albany.funnybone. Three female comedians inspired by the 2019 Showtime comedy special.
Shuler King, Funny Bone Comedy Club Restaurant, Crossgates Mall, Guilderland. 7:30 p.m. Friday. $32. 518-313-7484 or albany.funnybone. Standup comedy.
Kurt Metzger & Friends, The Comedy Works, 388 Broadway, Saratoga Springs. 8 p.m. Friday; 7:30 and 9:30 p.m. Saturday. $25-$30. 877-565-3849 or thecomedyworks.com/ saratoga. Standup comedy. “Letterkenny” Presents: A Night of Standup, The Egg, Empire State Plaza, Albany. 8 p.m. Friday. $48.50-$98.50. 518-473-1845 or theegg.org. Standup comedy from cast members of the cult Canadian sitcom.
Theatresports, The Mopco Improv Theatre, 10 N. Jay St., Schenectady. 8 p.m. Saturday. $7-$15. 518-577-6726 or mopco.org. A fast, silly, high-stakes show where 2 teams of improvisers face off. “The Water is FINE!,” The Mopco Improv Theatre, 10 N. Jay St., Schenectady. 8 p.m. Friday. $7-$15. 518-577-6726 or mopco.org. A participatory, interactive improv show.
“We Ain’t Done Yet Wild ‘N Out” Comedy Tour, Funny
Bone Comedy Club Restaurant, Crossgates Mall, Albany. 6:30 and 9 p.m. Saturday. $32. 518-313-7484 or albany.funnybone. Standup comedy from Jay “Big JJ” Lewis and Mope Williams, veterans of the Nick Cannon-created MTV improv comedy show. Women Are(n’t) Funny: Meghan Hanley, Universal Preservation Hall, 25 Washington St., Saratoga Springs. 7:30 p.m. Wednesday. $18-$25. 518-346-6204 or proctors.org. Standup comedy.
WORDS & IDEAS
“A Black Woman Speaks,” Zankel Music Center, Skidmore College, 815 N. Broadway, Saratoga Springs. 6 p.m. Thursday. Free. 518-580-5321 or skidmore.edu/zankel. Skidmore’s Intergroup Relations and Black Studies Programs are joining forces to bridge Black History Month and Women’s History Month with an annual event amplifying the voices of Black women. This year features 2023 National Women’s Hall of Fame inductee, Loretta J. Ross, who founded the first center in the U.S. to innovate creative human rights education for all students transforming social justice
issues to be more collaborative and less divisive.
Sandra Foyt, The Book House of Stuyvesant Plaza, 1475 Western Ave., Albany. 3 p.m. Saturday. Free. 518-489-4761 or bhny.org. The author, blogger and photographer signs and discusses her new book, “100 Things to Do in Albany before You Die.” Prachi Gupta, New York State Writers Institute, Multi-purpose Room, Campus Center West, University at Albany, 1400 Washington Ave., Albany. 7:30 p.m. Tuesday. Free. 518-442-5620 or nyswritersinstitute.org. A reading and conversation with the author of “They Called Us Exceptional: And Other Lies that Raised Us.” There is a 4:30 p.m. craft talk at the same location.
“Hear Them Now: Stories of the Enslaved at Schuyler Mansion,” Schuyler Mansion State Historic Site, 32 Catherine St., Albany. 2 p.m. Thursday. Free-$7. 518-434-0834 or parks.ny.gov/historic-sites/ schuylermansion. Over the course of their lifetimes, the Schuylers enslaved more than 60 people of African ancestry. On this tour, visitors will gain insight into the lives of some of these individuals, including Silva, who was likely the cook and a fortuneteller, and Claas, a cart driver who escaped bondage by joining the British during the Revolutionary War. “History Is Her Story,” New York State Writers Institute, Performing Arts Center, University at Albany, 1400 Washington Ave., Albany. 2 p.m. Sunday. Free. 518-442-5620 or nyswritersinstitute.org. Four storytellers spinning yarns about strong and influential historic women. Features Marni Gillard, Aya Mahmoud, Claire Nolan and Stephanie Ward. Nina Katchadourian, Zankel Music Center, Skidmore College, 815 N. Broadway, Saratoga Springs. 5:30 p.m. Monday. Free. 518-580-5321 or skidmore.edu/zankel. The interdisciplinary artist gives the Malloy Visiting Artist Lecture. Local Author Spotlight Multi-author Signing, Northshire Bookstore, 424 Broadway, Saratoga Springs. 1 p.m. Saturday. Free. 518-682-4200 or northshire.com. Featuring RR Holzhauer (“Gunner’s Island”), Jamie Strait (“Last Place Lexi”), Carlos Guitierrez (“Bus Stop”) and JT Mcgee (“Thrall”).
Molly Guptill Manning, New York State Writers Institute, Alumni House Conference Room, University at Albany, 1400 Washington Ave., Albany. 7 p.m. Wednesday. Free. 518-442-5620 or nyswritersinstitute.org. A reading and conversation with the author of “When Books Went to War: The Stories that Helped Us Win World War II.” Richard Mirabella, New York State Writers Institute, Performing Arts Center, University at Albany, 1400 Washington Ave., Albany. 4:30 p.m. Thursday. Free. 518-442-5620 or nyswritersinstitute.org. A conversation and Q&A session with the author of the debut novel, “Brother & Sister Enter the Forest.”
FAMILY FUN
Little Folks at Caffe Lena: Deb Cavanaugh & Dandelion Wine, Caffe Lena, 47 Phila St., Saratoga Springs. 3 p.m. Saturday. Free. 518-583-0022 or caffelena.org. “Psychedelic folk band.”
Lake George Winter’s Dream, Fort William Henry Historic Fortress, 48 Canada St., Lake George. Various times after sunset Thursday-sunday (runs through March 31). $22.90-$29.90. lakegeorgewintersdream.com. An interactive multimedia attractions turns the fortress into a walk-through winter paradise.