Valerie Smaldone
Media Personality, Actress, Producer, Writer
Valerie Smaldone, a 5 time Billboard Magazine Award winner, is perhaps best known for her unprecedented success holding the #1 position in the New York radio market as the midday host of New York’s 106.7 FM. She ended her on air run with the station at the end of 2007. In addition, she was the co-creator, writer, producer and host of 'Spotlight On,' a nationally syndicated program that featured in-depth interviews with top recording artists such as Paul McCartney, Elton John, Sting and Celine Dion, to name a few.
Presently, Valerie can be heard on NBC Network News promos and specialty shows and as the announcer for The Boomer Esiason Show on MSG. She writes a weekly nightlife column for TheThreeTomatoes.com, writes a theater column for Examiner.com, and has an interview program on the Italian American Network. She is an interviewer and feature reporter on Broadway for TonyAwards.com and hosts and produces celebrity portrait unveilings for Broadway stars at famed theater district eatery, Tony’s.
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Change and transcendence
I was staring at the big calendar in my office that had the date August 31, 2010 stamped on it, and realized all the things that we associate September with, when we literally and figuratively "turn the page" to the new month.
Think of all the songs that are written about September: Frank Sinatra's September Song, Wake Me Up When September Ends by Green Day and September from Earth, Wind and Fire.
There is something about the month that is glorious, as the intense heat of the summer begins to wane, the light shifts softly toward the amber hues of Fall, and breezes begin to feel slightly chilly. It's a time for new beginnings as kids start another school year, and at offices everywhere, the summer daze is shaken off as employees buckle down to create new revenue opportunities and sprint towards the finish line of the year.
But there's also something very nostalgic about it. Memories of more relaxed experiences, and the delicious culinary gifts of the season, as well as the knowledge that the year is on it's way to completion, and another one is destined for the history books. But for us, in the New York area, there is also the remembrance of one "clear, blue Tuesday" that will forever change how we think of September.
That phrase is the title of a new independent film that is opening this week and I, for one, am greatly looking forward to seeing it.
I had the filmmaker, Elizabeth Lucas, and executive producer Al Parinello on my radio show on WOR710.com, and was very impressed by story they told me about the path to making this film come alive, the concept behind it, and the talent
involved.
When Elizabeth was unfortunately involved with a car accident when riding her bike, causing her to take time off to recover, she began thinking about traumatic incidents that change people's lives. Of course the 9/11 trauma affected thousands upon thousands of people, and she set out to explore what happened after that clear, blue Tuesday. She wanted to relate a story and tell it through song. The movie incorporates original music and lyrics from the singer-songwriter-actors that she cast. There is a soundtrack available, the film is completed and ready to be seen. It's described as a "wholly unique musical motion picture experience about the persistence of love and the resilient heart of a city in the face of
catastrophe."
As Elizabeth Lucas, the film maker, explains, "This is not a movie about 9/11. This is a tale about what happens after."
And in Clear Blue Tuesday, it's communicated through story and through song.
Check it out at the Quad Cinema, 34 West 13th Street.
Here is a trailer to view, and you can go to www.clearbluetuesday.com for more information.
Enjoy the holiday weekend, and "see you in September".
Valerie
