The Plaza Podcast: Stories from Manhattan Plaza

For the season three finale of The Plaza Podcast, we are joined by Luigi "Babe" Scorcia and Kelly Specter! Luigi and Kelly share a conversation with our listeners about how it's never too late to find love and pursue your passions. They talk about their relationship, their love of music, and even play some of their songs for us. It's a season finale that you won't want to mis...

For episode nineteen of The Plaza Podcast, we are joined by Annette Joseph. Annette shares a collection of memoirs about the crazy times she had when she was younger. Manhattan Plaza is a residential complex located in New York City. 70% of its residents are members of the performing arts, who have worked in film, television, and on Broadway. Each week we bring you creative works and conversations...

Sandy Nance joins us for episode eighteen of The Plaza Podcast! Sandy has created a piece where she ponders the use of a podcast and what makes a good podcast. Manhattan Plaza is a residential complex located in New York City. 70% of its residents are members of the performing arts, who have worked in film, television, and on Broadway. Each week we bring you creative works and conversations with t...

For episode seventeen of The Plaza Podcast, we are joined by John Tillotson. John shares a piece about his experience living and working in New York City and the journey that eventually led him to Manhattan Plaza. Manhattan Plaza is a residential complex located in New York City. 70% of its residents are members of the performing arts, who have worked in film, television, and on Broadway. Each wee...

Elena Brunn returns to The Plaza Podcast to read her piece, "Dancers in New York," a story about a young woman who gets the opportunity to teach at a legendary dance studio. Retired since May 2021 as an adjunct English professor, Elena's been working on a satirical play about academia and a novel about a dance studio in the late '70s. When she was in high school, her beloved teac...

Betty Graham returns to The Plaza Podcast! For episode 015, Betty shares her piece, Miss Number One Girl, about her adventures when she first moved to New York City, working at Riverside’s Church while desiring to be on a yacht and on the cover of a magazine. Betty Graham is a previous member of ‘The National Improvisational Theater Company. She has performed Stand Up Comedy, created and produced...

For episode fourteen of The Plaza Podcast we are joined again by Sharon Hope. This time, Sharon shares the story of Marie Van Brittan Brown, an American nurse and innovator from Queens who is credited with inventing the video home security system with her husband, Albert Brown. Sharon Hope is a New York based actor with credits in TV, Theater and solo performances,  As an actor moonlighting as a T...

In episode thirteen of The Plaza Podcast, and the Season 3 premiere, we are joined by Joel Jones! Joel shares a short story he has written called "Accentuate the Positive," about a couple who traverses New York City in search of a missing umlaut. Manhattan Plaza is a residential complex located in New York City. 70% of its residents are members of the performing arts, who have worked in...

For the season two finale of the Plaza Podcast, we welcome back Rosemary Hopkins! In this episode, she performs an untitled poem by Laura-Ding Edwards. Rosemary has decided to name it, “More Thought Selfies.” Rosemary Hopkins has been a resident of Manhattan Plaza since the late 1970's. She says "Manhattan Plaza ... New York City and Show Business mixed together triggers true "Thought Selfies,” in...

For episode 11 of the Plaza Podcast, we welcome back Carol Hollenbeck! We interview her about her many years working in the entertainment industry as she shares the ups, the downs, and the movie she was in that has come around full circle. Carol Hollenbeck is a writer who has been nominated three times in the Samuel French one act play contest. She also has a book on amazon, titled True Blondes.&n...

In episode ten of The Plaza Podcast, we are joined again by Betty Graham! She shares a piece based on a true story, which will be presented in Betty Graham’s future new podcast show titled Files in the Cabinet. Betty states, “In my small hometown, most people had faith in only one religion! However, after becoming a parent myself; I can now understand a mother’s heightened emotions and wishes to p...

In episode nine and the season two premiere of The Plaza Podcast, we are joined by Sharon Hope. Sharon shares her short story about the legendary Grandma Moses. “I look back on my life like a good day’s work. I was done and I feel satisfied with it. I was happy and contented, I knew nothing better and made the best out of what life offered. And life is what we make it, always has been, always will...

For episode 8 and the season finale of The Plaza Podcast, we are joined by Carol Hollenbeck, who will be reading an excerpt from her new novella, "A Moment of Blonde Madness." "A Moment of Blonde Madness" takes place in the 1970s, where a retired, yet still beautiful blonde, news anchor turned author is working on her second novel, and suddenly stricken with fear over the project. Carol Hollenbeck...

In episode seven of The Plaza Podcast, we will hear from Elena Brunn and her piece, "Looking in the Mirror," a collection of poems written from the vantage point of age. Retired since May 2021 as an adjunct English professor, Elena's been working on a satirical play about academia and a novel about a dance studio in the late '70s. When she was in high school, her beloved teacher had encouraged her...

For episode six of The Plaza Podcast, we will be hearing "Thought Selfies" by Rosemary Hopkins. In these "Thought Selfies," Rosemary describes some of her earliest memories that led to her pursuing a career in show business.  Rosemary has had a professional career as an actor, comedian and director. She performed at Elizabeth Taylor's Kick Off Fund Raiser for Aids at the Jacob Javits Center,...

For episode five of The Plaza Podcast, we are joined by Allan Stuart, who will be reading a piece he wrote titled, "The Magical Phonebooth." Allan Stuart has been a long-time resident of NYC, living the last forty or so years in Manhattan Plaza. He has been studying the complexity of his life and those around him in an attempt to find the simplicity in it all. His work is a continuation of that pr...

Episode four of The Plaza Podcast features Carl Schmehl and members of the Manhattan Plaza Theatre Project. They will be performing a scene called "Hermione Squared," from a play entitled Dressing Rooms, written by Carl Schmehl.  It is about two, legendary, British actresses named Hermione: Hermione Gingold and Hermione Baddeley. The two women were huge rivals and this is a scene of the last...

Betty Graham joins us for episode three of The Podcast Plaza with her solo performance piece, "Salon Talk." This show was inspired with the thought and need to respect all people as equal human beings, because Betty believes life is so valuable. Betty encourages us to listen to the belittling way the main character treats other characters. And, as a former stand up comedian, Betty continued tweaki...

For the inaugural episode of The Plaza Podcast, we are joined by George Holmes, who will be reading his short story, "The Sea." "The Sea" is based on a real location but the story, though fiction, conveys a sense of uneasiness in the listener. As an actor, George Holmes has recorded hundreds of books in all genres, mainly for the Library of Congress service for the Visually Impaired, all of which...