Fort Lee Residents Hold Candlelight Vigil in Wake of Newtown Massacre

The vigil took place Monday evening in Fort Lee’s Monument Park, where people read from scripture, prayed, offered words of comfort and shared personal stories in the wake of the tragic events of Friday, Dec. 14, 2012 in Newtown, Connecticut.

Dozens of Fort Lee residents joined local clergy and community leaders at Monument Park Monday for a candlelight vigil for the victims, family and community members of Newtown, Conn., where a school shooting Friday claimed the lives of 20 children—six- and seven-year-olds—and six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School. Fort Lee resident Kathy Lee, the mother of a six-year-old boy, said her heart was broken, along with those of mothers everywhere, when she heard about what happened in Connecticut Friday, and that no words could possibly comfort the families of the victims. “But we are here for one reason only: to say that we are so sorry for their loss, and that we are so sad for their loss, and that we are crying with them,” Lee said. “Our…

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Revolutionary War Re-enactors March in Washington’s Historic Footsteps

Fort Lee's annual "Retreat to Victory" festivities took place at Fort Lee Historic Park and Monument Park on Saturday and Sunday.

The Fort Lee Office of Cultural and Heritage Affairs sponsored Fort Lee’s annual “Retreat to Victory” event Saturday and Sunday, celebrating the 236th anniversary of Washington’s 1776 retreat from Fort Lee. The event, which took place mostly at Fort Lee Historic Park, included a parade to Monument Park; music, infantry and artillery demonstrations; a battle reenactment and more. Photographer Donna Brennan provided these images of what has become a Fort Lee tradition.

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Arya F. Jenkins

9:45 pm on Monday, November 19, 2012

Nice to see you get the kudos you deserve, Donna!   more ›

From the Archives

A Walk With Washington in Modern Day Fort Lee

The 236th anniversary celebration of General Washington's Retreat to Victory in Fort Lee is Saturday, Nov. 17, with events continuing throughout the weekend.

As Thanksgiving approaches next week, this is a time to reflect on many things in our lives as Americans, from the most recent visit of a superstorm named Sandy and the ensuing havoc, to those things we all have to be grateful for in our Fort Lee of 2012.  Each November, our borough takes on the look of the town depicted in the Ray Bradbury story, Something Wicked This Way Comes. The book and the film based on this story evoke all the darkness and mystery of autumn, and, in a way, if you look from our perch on the Palisades, Fort Lee too takes on a very Gothic look, as the grayness of the days gives way to long crisp nights. This is the climate that is just right for a step back in time, that time being 1776. Fort Lee has changed markedly …

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William Mays

6:24 pm on Monday, November 19, 2012

Boo hoo, I think that 20 minutes of our history is worth businesses being inconvenienced for 20 minutes.   more ›

Hudson Shakespeare Returns to Fort Lee With ‘Cardenio’

Two performances of the “lost” Shakespeare play—on Tuesdays, Aug. 7 and 14 at 7:30 p.m.—bring this summer’s annual Shakespeare in the Park series to a close.

The Hudson Shakespeare Company returns to Fort Lee’s Monument Park Tuesday for the first of two performances of its final offering of the summer in its 21st annual Shakespeare in the Park series. The company will put on what it calls the “lost” play by the Bard of Avon, “Cardenio,” on Aug. 7 and Aug. 14. Directed by Jon Ciccarelli, the production is an adaptation of a play called “Double Falsehood,” which is believed to have been written by Shakespeare and his protégé, John Fletcher, according to Hudson Shakespeare. Based on a subplot from Cervantes' “Don Quixote,” the play follows young lovers Cardenio (played by David Rosenberg) and Luscinda (Noelle Fair) as they try to get their father’s permission to get married. Cardenio's close—and …

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'Comedy of Errors' Hits Mark in Fort Lee Park

The Hudson Shakespeare Company's second performance of its second play of the summer Shakespeare in the Park season was Tuesday at Monument Park.

Written by Arya F. Jenkins with photos by Donna Brennan. This is the Hudson Shakespeare Company's 21st Season of Traveling Theatre, and The Comedy of Errors, a play by William Shakespeare and directed by Michael Hagins, was surely one of the highlights of our summer season in Fort Lee. Hagins' version is set in the 1940s, and a talented cast had raucous fun bringing it to life in Monument Park Tuesday night in what turned out to be a must-see performance. Let's face it, Shakespeare can often be challenging to understand. The 16th century, when he lived, was a long time ago, and the English language has taken many turns since then. But there is no mistaking the story in this wild farce, which involves healthy doses of slapstick, theft, …

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Hudson Shakespeare Returns to Monument Park With ‘Comedy of Errors’

Shakespeare in the Park continues in Fort Lee next week with the second of three plays this summer starting at 7:30 p.m. on July 17 and 24.

The Hudson Shakespeare Company returns to Fort Lee’s Monument Park next week for the second of three summer offerings in its 21st annual Shakespeare in the Park series. The company will put on two performances of “Comedy of Errors,” one on Tuesday, July 17 and another on Tuesday, July 24, taking the “absurd farce” from its traditional ancient Greek setting to 1940s-era New York with “a Looney Tunes edge,” according to Hudson Shakespeare. “The show's over-the-top and frenetic comic pace lends itself to a cartoon-like setting,” said director Michael Hagins. “Chase scenes, exaggerated physical comedy and pies-in-the-face action pepper the play.” According to the Hudson Shakespeare Company, the plot of “Comedy of Errors” is as follows: The …

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Company to Kickoff Shakespeare in (Monument) Park Series with ‘Othello’

The Hudson Shakespeare Company, not in its 21st season, will be performing three Shakespeare plays this summer in Fort Lee’s Monument Park. The series starts Tuesday with a performance of “Othello.”

The Fort Lee Office of Cultural and Heritage Affairs is once again sponsoring its summer "Shakespeare in the Park" series starting next week and continuing throughout the summer on Tuesday evenings in Monument Park. The Hudson Shakespeare Company will kick off the season with a performance of “Othello” on Tuesday, June 19 at 7:30 p.m. and then again on Tuesday, June 26. Now in its 21st season of traveling Shakespeare performances, the company describes “Othello” as being set in mid-1800s Italy and Cyprus. “The company presents the portrait of a perfect couple in the celebrated warrior general (Michael Hagins) and Desdemona (Melissa Meli), daughter of a powerful Venetian senator (Tom Cox) whose love is destroyed by a jealous and sociopathic…

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From the Archives

From the Archives: The Revolutionary War Ghost of Fort Lee

The Spirit of '76 is alive and well in Fort Lee's Monument Park.

Fort Lee’s Monument Park has had many residents over the years. Originally Parker’s Pond, it saw the army of General George Washington erect huts around the pond in the summer of 1776 when the army encamped there to fight the British from atop the bluffs of Fort Lee’s nearby Palisades. More than 2,000 soldiers, including patriot Thomas Paine, encamped on the land adjacent to Parker’s Pond. Today that area includes the Fort Lee Museum, the Church of the Good Shepherd and the high-rise buildings from River Ridge to the Colony. Parker’s Pond was ultimately filled, and in 1902, Fort Lee residents began the work of erecting a monument to commemorate Fort Lee’s Revolutionary War history.  On Sept. 26, 1908, the statue of the two soldiers of the …

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Zuccotti Park In Monument Park: 'SVU' Returns to Fort Lee

Wednesday night’s new episode of "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" includes footage shot on location at Monument Park in Fort Lee last month.

Donna Brennan of the Fort Lee Film Commission was at Monument Park in December and captured these images of the production. The episode aired Wednesday night, Jan. 18, on NBC.

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Footage Shot in Fort Lee Part of ‘Law & Order SVU’ Episode Wednesday

Those who tuned into NBC at 10 p.m. Wednesday, may have caught a glimpse of Monument Park.

The Fort Lee Film Commission announced that Wednesday night’s new episode of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit includes footage shot on location at Monument Park in Fort Lee last month. The latest episode of the long-running series that once shot regularly in the borough aired on NBC (Channel 4) at 10 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 18. “This footage was shot back in December and includes Emmy Winning series star Mariska Hargitay,” executive director Tom Meyers of the film commission said in an email. “The Fort Lee Film Commission is proud to have this Universal/NBC hit TV series back in the borough where Universal Studio was born one hundred years ago.” In case you missed it, full episodes of the show can be found here. The scene shot in Monument …

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Tom Meyers

10:16 pm on Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Hey Van, did you fill out a permit for the shoot in Fort Lee with the Fort Lee Film Commission as we require that to keep track of production for the borough and the state film commission - visit us at www.fortleefilm.org to contact us as we help filmmakers who shoot in Fort Lee but we need to keep track of production.   more ›