Syracuse Post Standard – Syracuse, NY
Oswego grads pair up
Feb, 10, 2005
Former Syracusan Richard Jay-Alexander and Cazenovian Robin Curtis teamed up Monday to teach classes and participate in a panel on the arts at their alma mater, the State University College at Oswego.
Jay-Alexander, a New York-based producer and director, and Curtis, an actress who appeared in the feature film “Star Trek: The Search for Spock” and the TV series “Star Trek: The Next Generation,” attended the college at the same time.
Recently, they have revived their friendship and expanded it to a partnership. Curtis has written a play about her life experiences in which she wants also to act. He plans to direct.
The work is being shopped around, but the pair would like to premiere it in Syracuse before any further decisions are made regarding a New York engagement.
The producer-director also remains attached to a project with his longtime friend, actress Amy Irving, whom he met when both appeared in the original cast of Broadway’s “Amadeus.”
“A Safe Harbor for Elizabeth Bishop” was tested last summer at the 20th annual New York Stage and Video Festival on the campus of Poughkeepsie’s Vassar College. Broadway producers have signed on, but no starting date has been set.
Meanwhile, Jay-Alexander is headed for California to stage a benefit for the Motion Picture Home’s relief fund. It’s a return gig for the director who staged the 2002 gala. Also, while there, he expects to attend the Academy Awards.
Next month, the Solvay-raised producer-director rejoins Bette Midler in Australia and New Zealand for the next leg of her tour, which he directed in this country last year.
