Not just
‘Another’ wedding

By Tom Waring
Times Staff Writer

Alan Helzner has attended plenty of wedding receptions over the years, mostly while playing in a band.
Helzner loved to play classy, classic music to entertain folks at receptions.
Nowadays, when he attends a wedding reception, he complains that the band or disc jockey plays music at one volume — loud.
"You’ve got to put cotton balls in your ears," he said.
Helzner, 68, has decided to come out of retirement from the music business to plan a wedding and reception the way he likes. And, he’s betting that a lot of other people will want to join him.
Billed as a journey back to the "Golden era of Jewish weddings," Another Bride Another Groom is a stage show that will play in the 400-seat theater at the JCC Klein Branch. There will be four shows — on Dec. 1, 2, 7 and 8.
The two-hour show will feature music, dancing, memories and stories told in a series of vignettes.
Helzner wrote the script and is serving as promoter, director and producer. He’s the storyteller and is also playing Jack Rosenfeld, an orchestra leader. He promises a "simcha" — the Hebrew and Yiddish word for festive occasion. He expects audiences to laugh and cry.
Michael Onori and Louisa Haggerty will play the bride and groom. There will also be a six-piece band, three female singers and two dancers.
"The talent that I have grouped together is absolutely amazing," he said. "We will perform this in a spectacular way."
Helzner, born in Baltimore, moved to Strawberry Mansion as a kid. He grew up in Oxford Circle, attending Woodrow Wilson Junior High School and Abraham Lincoln High School. He lived for years in Somerton before a move to his current home on Philmont Avenue in Huntingdon Valley.
As a teenager, he played in an 18-piece orchestra led by his father, Jules. He played in the U.S. Air Force band from 1962-66, then in a band of his own.
"I loved it," he said. "It was exciting, I played with wonderful musicians. It was a time before heavy amplification."
By 1990, he put away his clarinet, saxophone and flute after 35 years of performing.
Helzner has also spent time teaching music and fine-tuning pianos.
So, how did he decide to dive back into the music world with a full-length musical?
About a year and a half ago, he was working on a piano at a local theater that was preparing for opening night of a show. He put on one of those stylish hats Frank Sinatra wore and sung My Way.
"I get so energized when I perform," he said.
Originally, Helzner pitched his idea for a show based on a wedding to a producer. In the end, he decided to do everything himself, including the financing.
Rehearsals have been held in his home recording studio, with full-dress rehearsals taking place on Nov. 28 and 29 at the theater.
Though he has no background in writing, directing and producing, he says he’s been in a "creativity zone" as he’s put together Another Bride Another Groom.
"It has substance," he said of the show. "The timing is right. It will connect with people. It’s a magic carpet ride."
After the show’s run at the Klein Branch, Helzner plans to take it to his native Baltimore and to local senior citizens organizations as fund-raisers. He’d also like to present the show in Florida, home to the highest number of retirees in the country.
All of that is contingent on having a successful run early next month.
Helzner has been promoting the show in posters and mailings and in an appearance on a radio show hosted by former state Sen. Bob Rovner.
"We’re getting a heck of a response," he said.
When planning the show, he decided to set the wedding on the East Coast on a Saturday night from 1930-60.
There will be no rock music. The sounds will come from the 1920s to the 1950s.
"We’ll play everything from big band to jazz to Latin to waltzes and show tunes," he said.
The audience, he said, will observe it all, from the "I do’s" to the cocktail hour, blessing, first dance, cake-cutting, garter and bouquet toss and the traditional crowning of the mom for marrying off her last child.
"The only thing they don’t get to do is eat and drink," he said.
During the show, Helzner will sing an upbeat version of Schein Vi Di Lavone, an old Yiddish love song.
In describing the show, Helzner likes to say it picks up where Fiddler on the Roof left off. Fiddler was set in Russia in the early 1900s, and Another Bride Another Groom will feature a symbolic ocean crossing to mark the massive migration into the United States.
"It will bring back wonderful memories for an older audience," he said. ••
Reporter Tom Waring can be reached at 215-354-3034 or twaring@phillynews.com

Enjoy the marital bliss . . .

Alan Helzner Productions will present Another Bride Another Groom at the JCC Klein Branch, at Red Lion Road and Jamison Avenue.
Show times are 7 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 1; 1:30 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 2; 7 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 8; and 1:30 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 9.
Tickets cost $25 apiece, with group rates available. Visa, MasterCard, American Express and Discover are accepted.
There is plenty of free off-street parking, and the building is wheelchair accessible.
Call 215-947-0409 or visit www.anotherbrideanothergroom.com