“This One’s for Jack” takes place Nov. 2 at The Cutting Room in New York.
Steven Van Zandt will act onstage for the first time — appearing with his “Sopranos” co-star Vincent Pastore in a scene from the play “Lamppost Reunion” — at The Cutting Room in New York on Nov. 2. A total of seven “Sopranos” cast members will actually be at the This One’s for Jack benefit, acting in various scenes.
“It’s kind of a reunion for us,” said Van Zandt’s wife Maureen, who played Gabriella Dante, the wife of his character Silvio Dante, on the hit HBO series. “Tony Sirico’s going to come and introduce ‘Lamppost Reunion,’ so it’s actually eight, with maybe more in the audience. But onstage we’ll have seven. So it’s a nice reunion; we’ve all stayed very close.”
The evening honors the late Jack Ferry, who was a member of the Renegade Theater Company, which Maureen Van Zandt and Pastore co-direct. Proceeds will go to the John Augustus Ferry College Fund. “He was a wonderful person and we all loved him so much,” said Maureen Van Zandt. “That’s why we decided to do this for his family.”
In addition to the Van Zandts and Pastore (who played Big Pussy Bonpensiero), the “Sopranos” actors who will participate are Dan Grimldi (who played twin brothers Patsy and Philly Parisi), Robert Funaro (Eugene Pontecorvo), Anthony Ribustello (Dante Greco) and Lou Martini Jr. (Anthony Infante).
The evening will start with about an hour of music by members of the Renegade Theater Company, young musicians from the Rockit program at the Count Basie Theatre in Red Bank (where the Van Zandts are on the board of trustees) and others. It will then shift to scenes from different plays that Ferry performed in, with acoustic musical performances by people such as Tommy James, Eddie Brigati of The Rascals, Willie Nile and Ryan Star in between, Maureen Van Zandt said.
The “Lamppost Reunion” scene will come last. The play, which received a Tony nomination for Best Play in 1976, is about Frank Sinatra returning to one of his old haunts in Hoboken as a star.
“Lamppost Reunion” will be the one show of the evening that Ferry didn’t act in. “But Jack loved it; it was one of his favorites,” said Maureen Van Zandt. “We thought it was a great role for Steven, and it’s a play that Steven may end up doing with these guys.”
The Cutting Room is at 44 E. 32nd St., and the show begins at 7 p.m. Visit thecuttingroomnyc.com.
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