Seth Grugle

The Reviews are in! The Great Pie Robbery is Adoughrable!

Tue, 21 Aug 2012 11:48:14 -0400

Crusted custard! The Great Pie Robbery ... or, We Really Knead the Dough is a smash!

Audiences are critics alike are loving the hilariously original melodrama, part of this summer’s 2012 New York International Fringe Festival.

Check out the glowing review from NYTheatre.com:

Ben Tostado’s debut play The Great Pie Robbery…Or, We Really Knead the Dough, premiering at this year’s New York International Fringe Festival, was inspired by the students he teaches at the Rodeph Sholom Schools on the Upper West Side. This is not surprising, as the show feels like a children’s storybook sprung to life on stage. Tostado, who also directs this production, paints his characters with broad, highly stylized strokes; they are admittedly familiar archetypes and include a hero named Chicken Farmer John (Seth Grugle), a coquettish, blonde pig-tailed love-interest and heroine named Clementine (Jennifer Bissell), and a black-caped villain with a dark mustache named Vincent Von Villanueva (Mike Quirk). The ensemble, which includes a medley of characters that inhabit Skunk Valley, U.S.A., successfully delights, and the actors are appropriately cast to type. And, just in case we forget who is who, we are instructed with large cue cards to cheer the hero and boo the villain. Predictability and familiarity in this case are enjoyable, and there is pleasure in knowing what will come next.

For a show perfectly suited for a PG audience, there were surprisingly few children in the house, yet it seemed it was the adults who were laughing and enjoying the fun. To his credit, Tostado has written a clever script about a small town, near the turn of the century, trying to protect a cherished pie shop with a rich tradition and history. He leaves generous room for his characters to flop and exhibit unique and quirky traits, as they navigate the all too familiar territory of their archetypes. For instance, Vincent Von Villanuevea (Mike Quirk) manicures his nails and carries coupons for mustache trims; Junior, the only son of Pa and Ma Baker, dreams of being a baton-twirling, tap-dancing show boy, and the town gossip/music teacher Anne Chovie (Lorinne Lampert) prefers to sing in F minor.

Sound designer Neal J. Freeman has chosen swell music for the piece; Ben Rauch plays keyboard live. Memorable moments include a climactic fight sequence between Chicken Farmer John and Villanueva, a vocal standoff between Villanueva and his Gypsy Sidekick, Madame Fusilli (Marilyn Oran), as well as an attempted marriage proposal from Chicken Farmer John to Clementine, who, held hostage to a chair, giddily accepts and delivers an undecipherable, yet undeniably charming monologue with a handkerchief still stuffed in her mouth. The Great Pie Robbery is children’s theater at its best, yet Tostado has created something that the whole family can enjoy.

Part of the Fringe Jr. series in the 2012 New York International Fringe Festival, The Great Pie Robbery ... or, We Really Knead the Dough is a family show appropriate for ages eight and up. The show runs approximately 60 minutes and opens on Monday, August 13 at Theatre 80 (80 St. Marks Place). Tickets are $15 and are on sale now.

For more information or to purchase tickets, check out the shows page or visit fringenyc.org.

Seth Rejoins Cast of “50 Things I Love About Frank” for Off-Broadway Run

Wed, 1 Aug 2012 18:33:47 -0400

Boy meets boy. Boy tells mom. Mom ... freaks out.

Seth has just been asked to rejoin the cast of 50 Things I Love About Frank in the roles he originated in two previous incarnations of the original play for its Off-Broadway run at New York’s Theatre for a New City.

Directed by Jesse Marchese, 50 Things I Love About Frank will play a limited engagement at Theater for the New City (155 1st Avenue between 9th and 10th Streets); performances begin Saturday, September 1 and continue through Wednesday, September 5.

Frank Stampoli can't catch a break: between business class, dance callbacks and coming out, freshman year is tough. When he tells his family he has a boyfriend, his mother blames it on the fact that he hasn't found the right Italian girl. His father doesn't know what to say. And then there's Anthony ... and those 50 things he loves about Frank. In the great tradition of Patti LuPone and Neil Simon comes an Italian-American, Brooklyn born-and-bred story about family, friendship, first boyfriends and pasta sauce.

In addition to Seth, the production also stars Gaspare Diblasi (A Chorus Line, Nat’l Tour) as Frank Stampoli, Margo Singaliese (Louis LaRusso’s Sweatshop; “Sopranos”, “Law and Order”) as Josephine Stampoli, Tommaso DiBlasi as Joey Stampoli, Vince Bandille as John Stampoli, Christian Castro (“Law and Order”) as Anthony and Alyson Leigh Rosenfeld (Voice of Nurse Joy on the animated series of “Pokémon” on Cartoon Network) as Nadine.

Tickets are $15 and are now available online at smarttix.com. Tickets may also be purchased in-person at the theatre box office one-half-hour prior to each performance

For more information, visit 50thingsiloveaboutfrank.com.

Cast of “Next to Normal” Nominated for 2012 Ostrander Awards

Thu, 26 Jul 2012 17:57:59 -0400

It’s “Just Another Day” for Seth and the cast of Playhouse on the Square’s production of Next to Normal as the show picks up numerous 2012 Ostrander Award nominations, including an “Ensemble Acting” nod.

The show’s eight nominations include:

• Best Musical Production
• Best Acting, Small Ensemble
• Best Direction of a Musical (Gary John La Rosa)
• Best Music Direction (Renee Kempler)
• Best Leading Actress in a Musical (Leah Bray Nichols, “Diana”)
• Best Leading Actor in a Musical (David Foster, “Dan”)
• Best Supporting Actor in a Musical (Ben Laxton, “Gabe”)
• Best Costumes (Amie Eoff)

Congratulations to the entire company and Playhouse on the Square team!

Next to Normal ran from January 20 through February 12, 2012 in Memphis, Tennessee. Be sure to check out the gallery for show photos!

For more information, please visit http://www.playhouseonthesquare.org.

Seth Saves the Day in “The Great Pie Robbery”

Mon, 9 Jul 2012 13:58:58 -0400

Crusted custard! The pies are a missin’!

Seth has just nabbed (honestly, of course) the heroic leading role of Chicken Farmer John in a new play premiering at the 2012 New York International Fringe Festival this summer – The Great Pie Robbery ... or, We Really Knead the Dough.

The hilarious spoof of turn-of-the-century melodramas – complete with a dashing hero, a mustache-twirling villain and a slew of wacky characters – is as American as ... well, you know.

Seth plays Chicken Farmer John, a humble dairy farmer who wants nothing more than to marry his sweetheart, the delicate and beautiful Clementine. But, when a strange character tangoes his way into the quiet and peaceful small town of Skunk Valley and threatens to take over The Baker Family Pies and Goodies Shop, Chicken Farmer John has no choice but to leap to action and save the day! But will his plan be foiled by the evil Vincent Von Villenueva ...?

Part of the Fringe Jr. series in the 2012 New York International Fringe Festival, The Great Pie Robbery ... or, We Really Knead the Dough is a family show appropriate for ages eight and up. The show runs approximately 60 minutes and opens on Monday, August 13 at Theatre 80 (80 St. Marks Place). Tickets are $15 and are on sale now.

For more information or to purchase tickets, check out the shows page or visit fringenyc.org.

Put Your Paws Up and Wag that Boot-el with G-I-B-B-S the Theradoodle™!

Fri, 18 May 2012 23:35:22 -0400

It’s here!

The music video for the self-penned “G-I-B-B-S the Theradoodle™” theme song has finally arrived. The two-minute romp celebrating the work of Registered Therapy Dog Gibbs the Theradoodle™ sees Gibbs bringing his own brand of doodle magic to the dog-tired students of Hillside Academy in Garland, Texas.

Watch what unfolds as the students’ regimented classroom instruction is suddenly interrupted by the boundless energy and canine mischief of Gibbs. The toughest question you’ll have to answer for yourself after watching the full video is who is cuter, Gibbs or the adorable students of Hillside Academy ...?

Seth wrote and recorded “G-I-B-B-S the Theradoodle™” with his multi-talented younger brother Brandon Grugle (who also engineered and produced the track) earlier this year.

Gibbs is an award-winning goldendoodle who loves the water and swims everyday in the backyard pool. He's smart, sweet and loving with everyone. Gibbs earned the AKC Canine Good Citizen award at only 10 months old. At 12 months, he became a Registered Delta Society Pet Partner Therapy Dog and followed that by becoming a Reading Education Assistance Dog® (R.E.A.D.®). Gibbs stays very busy helping with character education and reading with the children of Hillside Academy in Garland, Texas. He loves learning new tricks at his weekly Hollywood Dog class, and hopes to be a model or work in the movies someday. He's already appeared in the three issues of American Dog Magazine!

Check out the music video below and become a “fan” of Gibbs on Facebook today!