By Margaret McCormick

A luminous Meryl Streep looks out from the cover of the January issue of Vanity Fair magazine. Her skin, pale as alabaster, looks as smooth as it, too. Her cheekbones are sculpted, her eyes are a brilliant blue, her lips and cheeks a soft pink.  Her blonde hair, tinged with a touch of gray, is brushed back from her forehead.
Her face shows few lines, just a few fine ones around the eyes, delicate as crazing on a vintage porcelain plate.

Beneath this image of Streep, stunning in its simplicity, is a headline that reads “Meryl’s Magic, 30 Years with America’s Greatest Actress.’’ Above that is a quote that gets your attention, especially if you are a woman of a certain age:

“I’m 60 and I’m playing the romantic lead. Bette Davis is rolling over in her grave.’’

Streep, who follows 23-year-old heartthrob Robert Pattinson, star of several hit vampire movies, on the Vanity Fair cover, is far from an actor in her twilight. Inside the magazine, in a profile by Leslie Bennetts, she gushes about being “bankable’’ at the box office at her advanced age.

The actress follows her role in “Julie and Julia,’’ in which she gives a masterful and memorable performance as American food icon Julia Child during her transformative years in France, with a comedic turn as a divorced woman with three grown children and two suitors (her ex-husband and the architect working on an addition to her house) in “It’s Complicated.’’

Go Meryl!, Go Meryl!, you say to your 50-year-old self after seeing the movie’s trailer and laughing out loud as the star of “Sophie’s Choice’’ and other serious cinematic fare confides to her girlfriends about her affair with a “new” man: “Turns out I’m a bit of a slut.’’

For Streep’s character, the words “It’s complicated’’ are far more than a relationship status update on Facebook, the popular social networking site. Those words describe her relationship with her ex, played by “30 Rock’’ star Alec Baldwin, himself 51, with whom she drinks, dances, carries on and has what she initially thinks is a one-night-stand at the college graduation of their son.

Back home, he turns up at her house and in her bedroom, and they’re sneaking around, unbeknownst to their children, his much-younger wife and her would-be-beau, played by silver-haired Steve Martin.

Complicated also describes Jane’s state of mind — and body. She has everything — a successful bakery and cafe, a beautiful home in California, three adult children who love her and talk to her openly, a trio of loyal women friends — but no man in her life.

Her middle-aged body seems to be sagging everywhere, and she briefly contemplates plastic surgery as a pick-me-up, until hearing an “eyelid lift’’ described in graphic detail. Baldwin’s character, Jake, meanwhile, pats his big “spare tire’’ and has a heart scare while in the throes of passion.

New York Times reviewer Manohla Dargis describes “It’s Complicated’’ as a “September-September’’ romance, a reference to the mutual middle age of the movie’s lead characters, and it is a pleasant change of pace from the “June-December’’ romances often seen on screen, usually with an older man and a much-younger woman.

“This movie turns our stereotypes upside down,’’ says licensed marriage and family therapist Susan Hartman Brenizer, 56, whose practice is in Fayetteville. “A middle-aged woman who is naturally beautiful, not heavy but not skinny, has wrinkles and most of all is absolutely beautiful because she is comfortable on her own skin, even running from the plastic surgeon’s office when told of the brutality of plastic surgery…
“Women were laughing the loudest at the showing I attended. ‘

Call it what you will —  a romantic comedy, film lite, a chick flick — but “It’s Complicated’’  makes you wince a little even as it makes you smile.

A female friend notes that the lead characters were married as long a couple you know (almost 20 years) and divorced just as long (10 years), and points out that in movie land, just as in real life, grown kids have “issues” long after divorce rocks their world and still hold out hope their parents might reunite and live happily ever after.

“As a culture, we completely underestimate the effect of divorce on children, from infancy to adulthood,’’ Brenizer says. “…Yes, 10 years later, children can still be ‘getting over’ their parents’ divorce.’’

Streep’s character, Jane, is so confused by the turn of events with her ex and concerned about the repercussions that she makes an appointment with her therapist to ask his advice — another reason Brenizer gives “It’s Complicated” her “thumbs up”:

“A very good time to do so (consult a therapist) is when one is about to make a major life-altering decision,’’ Brenizer says. “However, the advice he gave her, in my opinion was off the mark. ‘Let it go Jane’ is what he said, with complete disregard for the consequences to her. (She almost lost what seemed like a great budding relationship because of this, to say nothing about the confusion to the children.)

“OK, this is a comedy,’’ Brenizer continues, “but the most ‘sane’ advice she got was from the Steve Martin character: ‘Come back to me when you have really detached from your ex-husband. This was ‘spot on’, and much better than the advice from the therapist.’’

Take Brenizer’s advice and mine too: If you’re a woman or a man of a certain age, married or single, see this movie in the theater (the shared experience of a room loud with laughter is a mood-lifter) or rent it when it comes out on DVD.

Brenizer, who never misses an opportunity to see Meryl Streep on the big screen, saw the movie with her husband, 64, a matrimonial and family attorney with a practice in Syracuse (“he laughed harder than I did,’’ she says).

“I would absolutely recommend it to women over 40 who are afraid of the very things made comical in the movie: Get a bit older, gain a bit of weight, get menopausal, be invisible to men.

“All of that is too funny,’’ the therapist says, “except that it is also true.’’

By Maggie Burns

In the old Cathedral School in downtown Syracuse, the hallways echoed with the sounds of opera as performers in “The Magic Flute” warbled their parts in the opera.

In another room sat Richard McKee, former artistic director of the Syracuse Opera. McKee retired in 2006, but he maintains his lifelong connection to the world of opera.

When he speaks, you can literally hear the music that has played such an important role in his life.

McKee has been hooked on opera since the age of 12, when he first saw operatic music performed in a movie.

“My parents took me to see a movie called ‘Tonight We Sing,’” he said. “In it was Enzio Pinza. In the movie he sang the ‘Serenade of Faust,’ ‘The Devil’s Serenade,’ and he’s twirling capes with demonic laughter and I thought that was the neatest thing. There was always good music and I started singing operatic music around the house.

“I think there’s always been a bit of the ham in me, so opera interested me more than recitals or concerts.”
Since those early days, McKee has made his passion for opera his life’s work.

“There was music in my life from the early days, and it was classical music. I never had that idea that many people have, that classical music is for sissies and that real men don’t listen to opera. So it was just a convergence between personality and what was out there,” he said.

At first, his decision to become a professional performer didn’t sit well with his father, who expected the young McKee to follow him into business. Eventually, all was forgiven and his father lived to see him perform with the late Beverly Sills at the New York City Opera.

Educated in a Connecticut prep school and later at Yale and the University of Illinois, McKee’s passion for the opera helped create a career that eventually led to a 20-year tenure with the New York City Opera.

Later on, it also led to his position as the artistic director of the Syracuse Opera. He has successfully bridged both worlds on either side of the footlights.

Michael Connor, currently Loretto director of public relations, has known McKee since the late ‘80s. He is quick to praise McKee’s talents . “The opera world is rather small and it quickly learns who’s a good colleague and who isn’t . Richard is one of the best.”

McKee’s reputation in the opera world has been extremely beneficial to Syracuse Opera. According to Connor, “Syracuse Opera was smart to bring Richard in.They were able to get talent that they really couldn’t afford because Richard asked them. He was able to call in favors from friends in the New York and metropolitan operas. We got a caliber of talent at reduced fees because of his professional relationships.”
Connor was first hired by Syracuse opera to work in public relations. It was in that capacity that he first formed his friendship with McKee. He says that McKee is “one of the smartest people I know. When we all worked together in the office, we all called him ‘Webster’’because he knows everything.”

Connor is also an opera singer and his friendship with McKee has opened doors for him. In 1996, Mc Kee as director offered Connor the chance to sing the role of “Ko-Ko” in the Mikado. “He gave me the weekend of my life and helped me to realize a dream of singing that role,” said Connor. “ I feel blessed that we went from being office colleagues to being co-performers and actors. My confidence , writing and singing all improved as a result of my relationship with him.”

As a performer, McKee has specialized in operatic comic roles. He says that his favorite role has been that of the servant Leperello in Mozart’s “Don Giovanni.”

With self-deprecating humor, the other role McKee says he enjoyed playing was that of Falstaff in Verdi’s opera.

“Everyone said that Falstaff was fat, Falstaff was a great spirit and Falstaff was a dirty old man, so I was born to play the part,” he said.

His interest in directing opera arose from what he saw as a lack of faith in the performers.

“I always felt that a lot of us were pretty good actors and if we just worked on building up characters and realistic plots, we didn’t have to do a lot of the stuff that they do in Europe,” he said.

McKee also admits that one of the reasons he likes directing is that the director gets to make up the rehearsal schedule. But even as a director, he sometimes indulges his urge to perform by singing in small roles.

“If it’s too big a part, you really can’t expect to sit there and talk all day and then get up and sing well. I miss performing, but I really do love directing,” McKee noted.

When most people retire, they often never return to their work in their previous profession. And then there are people like McKee, whose passion for their work keeps drawing them back.

Said McKee, “To be able to do something I really loved doing and to be able to do it while I’m ‘retired,’ is really special. I know a lot of people when they retire from their job get the chance to do something they always wanted to do. For me, it’s just a continuation.”

Although he’s officially retired, the phone still rings with requests for his talents, most recently in “The Magic Flute.”

“I was asked if I could step in and assist with this show and help out with some of the dramatic, non-puppet elements, so I’ve been busy and I’ve obviously kept a close connection with the company so it’s not like I’ve been put out to pasture,” he said. Connor says that McKee continues to sing and do voice-overs.”He’s almost busier than ever even in his retirement.”

He’ll tell you that the decision to retire was a matter of finances. He realized that he could be “retired” but still be involved with opera and maintain a similar salary.

It was also the freedom of being “retired” that appealed to him. He has discovered as many retirees do that they want to stay involved with their passion but they don’t want the daily obligations of a full-time job.
“I’ve worked all my life on a freelance basis so I’m used to the idea that sometimes you can go three weeks without working,” he said.

“Now, I don’t have to go to the office everyday and deal with some of the things an artistic director has to deal with that aren’t as much fun as directing or singing,” he added. Mc Kee and Connor were both recently part of a full cast recording of “Fairest“a novel by Gail Carson Levine who also wrote “Enchanted“ the work that was the basis of the recent Disney film.

In some ways, one might think that McKee has the best of both worlds. He gets to do the things that he’s always loved without all of the daily schedules and responsibilities.

“It’s wonderful in rehearsals when someone comes up to me to ask a question like, ‘Richard, I have a question about my accommodations where I’m staying. I just keep saying, ‘It’s not my problem, it’s not my problem. I’m a guest artist just like you.’”

After “The Magic Flute” is over, he’s free for a while, until The Mikado is performed at Syracuse University in January.

“It comes and goes but it also means that I have Thanksgiving and Christmas free so I can spend a lot of time visiting my children and grandchildren, which is always nice,” he said.

“As with any life path, there are almost always choices to be made about the direction one chooses. It is a rare individual who can look back upon their life and know they did everything exactly the way they believed it should have been done.”

Sometimes circumstances provide the reason for life’s choices. McKee is no exception. When asked if there was anything he might have done differently, he cites the desire to be more fluent in Italian.

“I specialize in comic roles and people like at the Metropolitan Opera will pretty much only hire Italians to do Italian comic opera. They want someone to whom the language is native. I think I would have become much more proficient in Italian than I am and gotten into a small European or international house. But with a family, that was hard to do and it would have meant uprooting my family. But I’m not complaining.

“I was complaining a few years ago at a Yale reunion and I said that all those guys who were there were making money hand over fist who were more successful. This friend of mine said, ‘You’re successful. You may not be a huge international success, but you’ve made a living as a singer and there are an awful lot of people who can’t do that.’”

“Some of the people we’ve imported have to get time off from their jobs in order to make a living. When the artistic job opened up in 1990, I said, “It’s the perfect job, but it’s five years too soon.”

“I was still doing a fair amount of singing, but I knew that being an artistic director, planning and casting the operas and picking the designers of sets was something I wanted to do and these jobs don’t come along very often so I figured it was better to jump in five years too soon than never have it happen. I feel very fortunate.”

n the future, as might be expected, McKee plans to stay involved with opera.

“I hope to do a little more singing and I’d like to be directing. I sometimes get asked to do master classes. I don’t particularly want to go into teaching. I don’t want the regular schedule. A couple of years ago, I was asked to come to the University of Hartford and direct a couple of one-act operas. While I was there I did a master class for the voice students on choosing a repertoire, auditioning and stuff like that. The directing will keep on happening. In this business a lot happens because of who you know and how you audition as a director,” he said.

These days he admits that he doesn’t play as much golf as he used to. McKee says he’s also an avid collector of recordings.

“I have a huge library of singers and operas and I work on cataloging the collection. I’m particularly interested in acquiring live recordings,” he said.

He also cherishes his free time that allows him to spend more time with his family, who still live in Connecticut. He remembers fondly his retirement party where he was feted by the Syracuse Opera’s chorus, and received a proclamation from Senator John De Francisco.

But McKee is blessed. He may be officially retired, but his talents and passion are such that he can keep in his life the music he’s always loved.

By Patricia J. Malin

It is hard to describe Richard Enders, never knowing what character will reveal itself. By day, you might bump into a mild-mannered attorney specializing in estate and elder law who occupies a quaint office on West Park Row in the village of Clinton.

If his clients should chance to return here at night, they might spy the esteemed novelist and lecturer Charles Dickens coming down the staircase. Perhaps Mark Twain will pop in, accompanied by his outrageous nest of white hair and razor-sharp wit.

Then again, you might find Enders, a playwright and actor, out on the town giving a light-hearted performance to a group of senior citizens. He is also a traveling salesman, of sorts. Instead of delivering a physical product, he “sells” the Mohawk Valley, albeit in words. He scouts out regional attractions and highlights them on a local, weekly television show.

The talented Enders was among 10 people named to the Oneida County Historical Society’s Hall of Fame recently.

Enders was chosen as a Richard W. Couper Living Legend along with businesswoman Benita “Be” Denemark; former state Supreme Court Justice Robert F. Julian; state Supreme Court Justice John W. Grow and television executive Stephen P. Merren.

It’s easy to think of him as “Clark Kent” who has an incredibly wide range of likeable disguises. But let’s start at the beginning with his conventional role.

Legal eagle

He is a robust 66-year-old man who has been practicing law for 40 years. His office, however, looks as it might have been a century and a half ago. Antique books and items decorate a large picture window, including a plaque that reads: “If there’s a will, I want to be in it.”

His office strikingly resembles a scene from a Dickens’ novel (dare we say The Old Curiosity Shop?) Visitors will find Victorian, wood-paneled décor, a gray-haired lawyer sitting alone at a large antique desk (a replica of one used by Dickens on his lecture tours), surrounded by books and papers. A nearby table displays a photograph of his Irish immigrant grandparents.

As much as enjoys practicing law, Enders has a twinkle in his eye and a storyteller’s manner that makes it hard to differentiate his occupation from his hobby. Over the last 20 years, he has toured throughout New York state and neighboring states with seven one-man plays, including five he has written personally.
Enders is arguably best known to local theater-goers as Ebenezer Scrooge, whom he has performed over the last two decades. Last Christmas, though, with the Stanley Theater dark for its long-awaited expansion, Scrooge was homeless. That’s not to say Enders was idle. He has been working on the script for a new play adapted from Mark Twain.

“The beauty of Mark Twain is that he was a master of the language,” Enders said. Oddly enough, Twain couldn’t make money off his classics because there were no copyright laws in the 19th century, so Twain was forced to make his living as a lecturer and humorist. Incidentally, Enders said that Twain once lectured in downtown Utica and the building still stands. Still, Enders’ modern rendition is not an archetypal piece audiences expect from the author of “Tom Sawyer.”

In “A Tale Told To Me,” Twain chooses to narrate the life of Rachel, a former slave. “It’s a very powerful piece about slavery,” explained Enders. “It’s the most moving piece I’ve ever done. The only thing the experts say about it is that there is absolutely no humor in it.”

With painstaking research into the lives of Twain and Dickens, Enders has an ability to transform his characters into flesh and blood. His career, as well, goes hand-in-hand with two giants of world literature. “Law is performance by nature,” he pointed out.

Native Utican

Born in 1941 and raised in the Cornhill area of east Utica, Richard Moran Enders always possessed a political bent, but art was a close second interest. While attending Catholic University in Washington in 1960, he had an opportunity to work behind the scenes on the presidential campaign of John F. Kennedy (Note the Irish-American and Catholic connection.)

By “working” on the campaign, Enders admitted that his job involved stuffing envelopes only. On election night, he and a friend talked their way into campaign headquarters at the Mayflower Hotel. As they whiled away the hours chalking up the vote on the large tote boards, though, they felt they were symbolically lifting Kennedy to a narrow victory over Richard Nixon.

After getting his degree in political science in 1963, Enders enrolled at Cornell University Law School. He graduated in 1966 and took a job as a law clerk with the U.S. Court of Claims. Most of the time he spent in the archives, which was nonetheless “exciting” work, he said. He recalled that Abraham Lincoln (whose portrait also hangs in Enders office) began his career as a law clerk.

In 1967, Enders contracted mononucleosis and returned home to recuperate. In the meantime, he continued to do legal research. He attracted the attention of then-Oneida County District Attorney Arthur Darrigrand, who named him assistant D.A. In 1970, Gov. Nelson Rockefeller appointed Enders to fill Darrigrand’s shoes. At 29, Enders became the youngest D.A. in county history.

A popular prosecutor, Enders remained in office until 1981 when he went into private practice. His father wanted him to aim higher and try for a judgeship. “About four or five people I appointed as attorneys went on to become judges,” he said. But he preferred the sidelines. That is, until he discovered theater.

“If I did (become a judge), I never would have gone into stage work and playwriting,” he pointed out. “I believe in serendipity.”

All the world’s a stage

In 1985, he earned his first walk-on role in a Utica Players Theatre production of “On Golden Pond.” Peter Loftus, his director from day one, is still Enders’ trusted adviser and close friend. In 1987, Loftus encouraged Enders to perform Dickens and later, Scrooge. The duo still teams up to produce “Mark Twain Live.” Enders is now considering writing a play about Franklin D. Roosevelt.

In June 2007, Enders debuted his one-man play, “Bluetooth Diaries”—the musings of an old man in a nursing home, to an audience at Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute. As veteran director Jane Metzger introduced her friend, she recounted Enders’ initial performance with the Players of Utica. “Little did we know back then that we created a monster,” she quipped.

In August 2008, he loaned his talents again and performed in “The Wizard of Was,” a local play written by Cassandra Lockwood-Harris and loosely based on “The Wizard of Oz.” Enders played the inept “Wiz,” who in this case grudgingly grants favors to a group of characters from Utica’s Cornhill neighborhood.

In addition to his stage work, Enders hosts a weekly show on Sunday mornings on WKTV called “Mohawk Valley Living.” Produced by Lance and Sharry Whitney, Enders said it is meant to show the “positive” side of life in central New York, not necessarily for tourists, but for locals who might not be aware of this area’s treasures.

Finally, Enders is a family man. He and his wife, Eileen, a teacher, have four children, Kathleen, Jennifer, Susan and John, ranging in age from 26 to 37. Though slightly disappointed that all of them turned to teaching instead of law, Enders observed with a laugh that teachers are also performers, only on another stage.

Throughout the years, he has loaned his presence and talent for countless other charitable and community events. He is available to speak to or perform for any local group. To book “Mark Twain” or “Charles Dickens,” call Enders at 853-8691.

By Meredith T. Thomas

Our Town Tappers have been dancing their way into the hearts of Upstate New Yorkers for almost two decades.

The senior tap dance group was started in 1990 by director Joyce McLaughlin and is home to 25 ladies ranging in ages 60 plus to 80 plus.

“They were taking lessons and they needed an outlet and a reason to learn the dances,” said McLaughlin, a ballet teacher from the Town of Onondaga.

That outlet began with 10 women and has since grown to two groups that perform all over Central New York.
“What we realized is that there were a lot of unhappy people in nursing homes,” McLaughlin said. “We thought this might brighten their day.”

Not only was the group benefiting those in the audience, but it was contributing something to the performers as well.

“I started the group to give the girls inspiration, to keep learning and better their technique,” McLaughlin said. “It’s also great for their minds.”

McLaughlin refers to the group’s effort as “an extension of their lives.”

“They’re like my family. They’re fun to be with and they’re all intelligent women who for the most part have all had careers,” she commented.

But in this business, there is no money to be made. The group takes donations for the shows and money they receive goes toward making of costumes, hats, canes, bats, and other accessories. The costumes are made by the women in the group, with extra help from Marge Naples and Martha Byrne.

As with most things in life, people come and go, and that’s one thing this group has learned to adjust to.
“A lot of the girls have left due to health reasons and injury and some have died,” said Byrne, one of the original group members.

Byrne, 86, started tapping in 1992 but due to an injury in 2005 had to step off the stage. She has remained behind the scenes with the group working as its master of ceremony, public relations officer, and helping with costumes.

“When I started with the group, we wore a men’s white shirt, sequin tie and a black derby hat,” Byre said. “We used that for all of our numbers. As we got into more dances I said, ‘We look good but we should look more fancy.’ I suggested we get a black pant and black top to dress up for the various numbers.”

In between routines, the ladies change accessories such as scarves, jackets, sequin vest, hats, holiday costumes and various pieces to suit the dance.

“The crowd likes a little bit of history and they love costumes that shine,” Byrne said.

As master of ceremony, Byrne is responsible for making sure the crowd is engaged in the performance.
“I introduce the girls, give their name, age and where they’re from,” Byrne said. “The audience likes to see people their own age dancing and doing things they might then feel they could do too.”

The group practices on Mondays from 1-3:30 p.m. at the senior center at Onondaga Hill.

It was there that another original member, Charlotte Tooley, 77, heard about the group.

Tooley had just moved to Onondaga Hill when she heard about the free tap class. According to Tooley, she decided to get into it and it stuck with her.

“It’s been a great group,” Tooley said. “We do nice numbers and go to nursing homes and senior places, or whoever wants to see us perform. They seem to enjoy it a lot.”

Tooley said the people are what make the group.

Byrne agrees.

“I enjoy being with the girls and they enjoy having me,” she said. “I feel very grateful that I can still be with them and they’re very gracious that I still come.”

Members of the group, most of whom only had basic knowledge and skill when joining, come from Solvay, North Syracuse, Jamesville, Syracuse and Onondaga Hill to practice and perform.

“My experience was mainly that I tapped when I was young in grammar school,” Byrne said. “It’s basic steps you don’t forget.”

Recently, Our Town Tappers took part in their 18th year at the New York State Fair. “We’ve done the state fair every year since we started,” Tooley said. “It’s the biggest event we do.”

Tooley, who is retired from the nursery at Community General Hospital, said the group tries to accommodate anyone who asks to see them perform.

“When someone requests us, I go to the girls and find out how many can make it, since we need partners for most of the numbers. That way, we have enough girls to make a show,” Byrne said.

As director, McLaughlin spends her time going over the dances multiple times with the group and does all the choreography except for the solo dances that are choreographed by individual dancers.

Our Town Tappers were the recipients of the Arts & Humanities Award presented by the Central New York Parks and Recreation Society in February 2006.