Slayer Players return for another captivating show

The Slayer Players are back looking to captivate their audience with their rendition of Charles Dickens’ classic “A Christmas Carol” on Dec. 15 at the Glen Cove Senior Center. They will also be performing the play at North Country Reform Temple in Glen Cove on Dec. 9.

The Slayer Players Theatre Company, who first formed in November 2016, have performed across the North Shore such as at the Sea Cliff Yacht Club. The original goal was to spread murder, mystery and mayhem to the masses and the Slayer Players did just that when they took the stage for their first show on April Fool’s Day in 2017.

In recent years, the group changed their creative direction with the comedy “The Honeymooners,” a childhood favorite of Fred DiMenna, the group’s director, and the company expanded their reach further.

Not long after the creative change, Eve Lupenko and Kevin Horton joined DiMenna. The three now manage the group.

Last December, Slayer presented “Classic TV Live” to a full house of 186 seniors at the senior center. The feedback was overwhelmingly positive such that the center was eager to have them return. This year, the group will add technology to their performance, including an 86-inch television to help transition scenes for the 30-person cast.

“We have “The Honeymooners” set, but for some of these other things like “A Christmas Carol” there’s so many different places where that takes place, Fred DiMenna explained. “We couldn’t have a set for each of those, so this video backdrop will provide Scrooge’s bedroom or the park.”

Although the group looks to entertain their audience, their shows also bring the community of seniors together. DiMenna, also the group’s manager and treasurer, will be playing Ebenezer Scrooge. But unlike that character, DiMenna’s empathy and generosity are evident in his dedication to bringing seniors together. For three months he balanced rehearsals among the 30-person cast, and devised a system where each cast member came together in their respective to rehearse their scenes.

The cast includes Jim Bilello as nephew Fred, Kevin Horton as Bob Cratchit, Ferrante as Emily Cratchit, John Canning as the Ghost of Christmas Past, Doug Spadaro as the Ghost of Christmas Present and Michael Renga and Dan Bellusci as Scrooge as a boy and Scrooge as a young man. John Kappenberg co-directed the play with DiMenna.

Christine Rice, executive director of the senior center, said in person events like these are essential to seniors, who are more susceptible to isolation, which can cause severe loneliness.

“We appreciate any extra enjoyment that we can give them such as this play,” Rice said. “There’s nothing better in life than laughter and being able to enjoy time with your friends and those around you to kind of forget about the worries of life for a few minutes.”

Steve Frese, a retiree and widower, joined the Slayer Players when he saw them perform “The Honeymooners” and “The Twilight Zone” at The View Grill. After speaking with DiMenna after the show, he knew he wanted to be involved in their next performance. Frese isn’t a stranger to speaking in front of an audience since he conducted training sessions at his former banking job and had once preached sermons.

Frese has been a regular cast member ever since, and will play two roles in “A Christmas Carol,” the ghost of Marly and old Joe. For the 77-year-old, being part of Slayer Players helped combat his loneliness.

“This particular theater group was just something for me to do, and it was great,” Frese said. “It got me back out of the house. It got me involved with other people, and it’s kept me busy. It was definitely part of me recovering from (my wife’s) death, so it’s been a godsend to me.”