The gang's all there

By Meredith Deliso

It’s one thing to believe in the story of the Three Wise Men, Mary and Joseph, and the little baby that they birthed in a manger, but it’s another thing to see it live.

So as it has done for decades, the New Utrecht Reformed Church will mark the Christmas holiday this Saturday with its annual living nativity — a recreation of the manger scene using live actors and animals.

Save for the electric floodlights and a CD blaring holiday music, the tableau of the Virgin Mary, Joseph and the shepherds presents a peaceful Biblical scene — the only one of its kind.

“It’s a very nice gift to the community,” said Susan Hanyen, vice president of the church’s Consistory. “It’s really what Christmas is all about. It’s not about the shopping, but about what the gift was.”

For three hours that day, actors will be dressed in Biblical clothing to portray the scene ­— with baby Jesus “played” by a plastic doll (hey, it’s cold outside). Live animals — a cow, two sheep, and two goats — will also create a temporary petting zoo that’s sure to stand out on the church’s lawn.

“Eighteenth Avenue is a busy street, so people are sometimes taken aback to see this scene in the middle of a busy street,” said Hanyen.

Living nativity at New Utrecht Reformed Church [18th Avenue between 83rd and 84th streets in Bensonhurst, (718) 256-7173], Dec. 18 from 3-6 pm. Free. For info, visit www.historicnewutrecht.org.

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Brooklyn's Little Italy - changing, but still Italian

In a borough that’s constantly changing, it’s comforting to know that at least one neighborhood can maintain most of its old-school charm.

Bensonhurst is still very much the Little Italy it has been since the 1950s. And some of the best classic Italian-American eateries and shops are between 70th and 80th streets on 18th Avenue, also known as Cristoforo Colombo Boulevard — another nod to the neighborhood’s Italian heritage.

There’s a bakery with the best cannoli in town, a record store with the latest in Italian pop music and a meat market that makes all its sausage in-house.

“We’re still here, doing what we’ve done for the past 20 years, but the neighborhood is changing,” said Frank Gassoso, owner of Frank and Sal’s Prime Meat Market near 80th Street.But just because the Italian-American standbys are still going strong, that doesn’t mean there isn’t room on 18th Avenue for other internationally flavored businesses.

The strip is also home to great Chinese restaurants, a Polish grocery store and even a Mexican buffet. You can basically eat and shop around the world in 10 blocks, which is just what this paper did. Check out our guide to Bensonhurst here.

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Is this the hottest pot in Brooklyn?

By Alex Rush

At the Bensonhurst Sichuan restaurant Spicy Bampa, pleasure is pain.

The 18th Avenue eatery specializes in hot pots, a bubbling cauldron of oil, chilies and peppercorns that isn’t too common in South Brooklyn — though that could change now with the emergency of the 18th Avenue Chinese scene, with Spicy Bampa at the forefront.

The four-year-old restaurant’s hot pot special is a real steal at $15.95 per person on weekdays ($18.95 on the weekends). It’s served with a platter of raw meats, fish and veggies to dip in the boiling oil, including sliced lamb, beef, head-on shrimp, eggplant and even noodles. There are also three cooling sauces: a soy and fish sauce-based concoction, sesame sauce with tofu, and minced garlic with oil.

Hot pot is popular all over China, as it’s essentially the country’s version of fondue.

“Just dunk in the meat or vegetables, wait five minutes and then it’s done,” said Carmen Ng, a waitress at Spicy Bampa who was kind enough to give us a hot pot lesson.

The oil is hot, but it’s nothing compared to But the fire of the Sichuan peppercorns, which burn like drops of Tabasco on your tongue — if you’ve first pricked it all over with a pin.

Some of the Spicy Bampa staff can’t even take the heat. 

“I don’t like the spice,” Ng said. “I just get the soup broth.”

The restaurant also offers a more mild, savory hot pot and a full menu, including its $4.95 lunch specials.

Spicy Bampa [6920 18th Ave. between 69th and 70th streets in Bensonhurst, (718) 236-8088]

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Where to shop this weekend

Lots of exciting market news this week, so let’s get right to it.

Jodi Arnold

High-end boutique Jodi Arnold just loves sharing great, local finds with it shoppers. That’s why the Boerum Hill store has curated artisanal products on sale in its store this month, featuring high-quality, handmade goods for a celebration of craft. 

Participants include a variety of handmade goods, including Krystal Bennett Designs’s vibrant, statement making necklaces created using beads and strips of magazine pages (pictured); Little Soap Shop’s body butters and bath salts, including body bars for dogs; Soapwalla’s all-natural body products; and Ugly Duckling Presse’s poetry books from emerging writers. 

Warm up with a freshly brewed cup from the Williamsburg-based Brooklyn Roasting Company, which hand-roasts its coffees daily.

Jodi Arnold [347 Atlantic Ave. at Hoyt Street in Boerum Hill, (718) 858-5580]. For info, visit jodiarnoldnyc.com/features/category/artisanal.

Brooklyn Designers Showcase

You won’t find the Brooklyn Designers Showcase in a hip venue or gallery; rather, local talent shows off its wares at a Brooklyn Heights church. On Nov. 6 at St. Ann’s Church, find one-of-a-kind items such as handmade recycled shopping totes by Old Bag Ladies, as well as stained-glass art and homemade lotions and soaps. So you can wash away your sins?

Brooklyn Designers Showcase at St. Ann’s Church [157 Montague St. near Clinton Street in Brooklyn Heights, (718) 875-6960], Nov. 6 and 27 and Dec. 11 and 18, noon-6 pm. For info, visit www.saintannandtheholytrinity.org.

Module R

There’s a new pop-up in town. In the wake of ModulA.R.T., a temporary design store in DUMBO this past spring, comes Module R, a sister brand featuring modular products and furnishings for the home and office, including wine racks, shelving units, room dividers and housewares that are all customizable. Get yours starting Nov. 5, when Module R pops up.

Module R [400 Atlantic Ave. between Bond and Hoyt streets in Boerum Hill, no phone], Nov. 5-Jan. 9, open Wednesday-Sunday, 11 am-7 pm. For info, visit www.art-rethought.com. 

Yankee Fair  

This one’s fun for the whole family. The Yankee Fair returns to Plymouth Church on Nov. 6, with handcrafted items, antiques, collectibles, and vintage and designer clothing to peruse, as well as children’s rides and games, from pony rides to face painting to a magician providing entertainment. Try your hand at the 50-50 raffle, and you might wind up with even more dough to spend.

Yankee Fair at Plymouth Church [75 Hicks St. near Orange Street in Brooklyn Heights, (718) 624-4743], Nov. 6, 10 am-4 pm. Free admission for adults. Admission to children’s activities $16 for one child, $30 for two, and $40 max per family. For info, visit www.plymouthchurch.org.

Flea markets and sales

These ones are pretty self-explanatory:

• It’s called “$5 on Fifth,” and it’s on Nov. 5 on Fifth Avenue. There’ll be lots of special $5 deals and discounts at participating shops, restaurants and bars. For a merchant list, visit www.parkslopefifthavenuebid.com.

• Flea Market at St. Finbar Center [Bath Avenue and Bay 20th Street in Bensonhurst, (718) 236-3312], Nov. 7, 9 am-3 pm. Free to enter.

• Flea Market Bazaar at the Flatbush Dutch Reformed Church [Flatbush Avenue at the corner of Church Avenue in Flatbush, (718) 451-4764], Nov. 6 and 13, 9 am-3 pm.

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'Romeo and Juliet' in Verona? Fuhgeddaboudit! How about Brooklyn?

By Meredith Deliso

The only thing Shakespearian about Genesis Repertory’s “Romeo and Juliet” is the text itself.

The Bensonhurst theater company’s telling of the British bard’s famous tragedy is not what you read in your high school English class.

Rather, the star cross’d lovers are a Russian-Jewish Romeo from Sheepshead Bay and a Palestinian Juliet from Bay Ridge, the cast wears baseball caps, sneakers, and even hijabs instead of Renaissance style garb; the Montagues and Capulets wield guns instead of swords; and the everyone delivers the iambic pentameter with a Brooklyn accent.

For those familiar with Genesis Rep, this shouldn’t come as much of a surprise; the company takes Shakespeare’s classics out of their usual theatrical context — a previous production of “Romeo and Juliet” was set in a trailer park — to make them more familiar and, hopefully, more accessible.

“It’s not boring, it’s not prohibitive, it’s not elitist,” said Jay Michaels, who is not only the president of Genesis Rep, but also plays a Montague in new production, which opens tonight. “It’s how Shakespeare meant his plays to be.”

Still, Shakespeare probably didn’t have Nelson Gonzalez in mind when he wrote his Romeo. The 16-year-old Dyker Heights resident didn’t really picture himself in the role either at first.

“I totally pictured Romeo looking like Leonardo DiCaprio,” said Gonzalez, who, with an Italian-Puerto Rican background, also stretches a bit to play a Russian Jew. “Now that I’m Romeo, I feel like I have truly taken on this part, especially since it’s set in Brooklyn.”

Helping set the scene here is the use of video projection on the stage throughout the play, featuring the actors in character on the streets of southern Brooklyn, walking near the Marlboro Houses and the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge.

By trading Verona for Brooklyn, director Mary Elizabeth MiCari is striving for authenticity.

“I don’t want the audience to say, ‘Oh, that’s phony Brooklyn, that’s make-believe gangster stuff,’ ” said MiCari, who lives in Bay Ridge.

MiCari’s been working with the cast, which consists of both native and non-native New Yorkers, on authenticity in accents and body language.

“There’s a certain toughness about people in Brooklyn. It’s not in Park Slope, but here, where it’s still middle class, native New Yorkers.”

With that streetwise element, you might start seeing Shakespeare’s poetry all around you.

“My ultimate goal is that when you leave the theater and are walking home, you look up and see people in the street and say, ‘That could be Romeo, that could be Juliet,’ ” said Michaels. “Shakespeare is still very viable.”

Genesis Repertory’s “Romeo and Juliet” at The Block Institute [376 Bay 44th St. off of Shore Parkway, (347) 492.0534], tonight through May 22 on Fridays and Saturdays at 8 pm. Tickets $15. For info, visit www.genesis-repertory.org.

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Evacuate the dance floor – it’s Tony Ferrante!

By Meredith Deliso

You may know him as Tony Disco. Now get ready to meet Tony Mambo.

Gravesend resident Tony Ferrante made it to the small screen this past summer, showing off his dance moves on “American’s Got Talent” and making it as far as the finals.

Now, the 75-year-old retired barber is looking for his second shot at fame.

The dancer has been in talks with the “Talent” folks about another run, this time, breaking out his mambo moves.

After wowing over the crowd with his disco freestyle, set to Sylvester’s “You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real),” in “Talent’s” last season (see clip below), Ferrante was called back before the judges again recently to audition for the next one. This time, he did a mambo number.

“One of the judges remembered me, says, ‘Oh, you’re back, how are you, you look sharp,” says Ferrante.

A natural performer, Ferrante doesn’t have any formal training, and he does all his dancing freestyle.

“No rehearsals, no choreography, everything I do comes natural,” says Ferrante. “My new steps now, I don’t know where I’ve got them from. It just comes to me.”

When his stage moved from Brooklyn to before a TV audience of millions, the pressure didn’t faze the Brooklynite one bit.

“When (‘Talent’ host) Nick Cannon asked me, ‘You’re not nervous?’ I said, no, I’m not nervous at all,” remembers Ferrante. “The more people I see the more I want to perform. For other people, it’s usually the opposite. I just love it.”

Before his TV debut, Ferrante honed his skill on the Brooklyn dance floors, tearing it up in Bay Ridge at places like the Greenhouse Café and Griswold’s Pub.

“Tony would come into my gigs at Griswold’s Pub years ago and with his flair for style, dress and dancing would catch everyone’s eyes,” says Frankie Marra, who fronts a Bay Ridge rock and roll band. “Tony is what Brooklyn is about — character. We are friends and he often comes to see me and I specifically pick songs out to highlight his unique dancing moves. As a lifelong Brooklynite, (I am) proud to have Tony represent us in any dancing contest.”

Since appearing on TV, Ferrante’s picked up some new fans too.

“I had a wild experience on 86th Street and Bay Parkway,” recalls Ferrante. “I walked into the store, and three teens walked in. One said, ‘You’re from America’s Got Talent. Oh my God!’ She was jumping up in the air.” Like a pro, he took a photo with them.

Ferrante’s hoping to get a call back from “Talent,” and, after catching the TV bug, is looking for more outlets. His girlfriend, Marianne Marciante (pictured above with Ferrante at Goodfella's), who encouraged him to audition for the show in the first place, has sent a video of Ferrante to Oprah. They may also contact another dancing fiend, Ellen DeGeneres. Though regardless of the outcome, he’s pleased with his success.

“God’s been good to me,” says Ferrante. “I’m very happy about this whole thing.”

Photo by Stefano Giovannini

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