ENGLEWOOD, N.J.—It’s been over 30 years since Charles Gross wrote his first theatre review for the now defunct Englewood Press Journal. At this year’s United Solo Festival, Gross, who grew up in Englewood, is trying the other side of the footlight in his one-man play, “How I Found An Affordable Apartment on the Upper West Side of Manhattan Without Really Trying.”
It is the story of how he moved out of his parents’ Englewood home to an apartment on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, almost found romance in an elevator, and managed, at least for a time, to hold on to his beloved 1979 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme. Gross describes it as a Jerry-Seinfeld-meets-Mike-Birbiglia take on New York life in the 1990s.
“It’s become a real family affair,” Gross notes, “as my daughter, Miriam, is directing. She is definitely putting me through my paces.”
To Gross’ surprise, he still lives in Manhattan.
“I thought I would come to the city, meet a nice girl, and move back to Englewood,” he explains.
But as the play shows us, it didn’t work out that way. He and his wife, Margie, remained in the city and raised their two daughters there.
“It’s a give and take,” Gross notes. “In Manhattan you don’t have a backyard, but you do have Central Park.”
Gross, who graduated from the Moriah School of Englewood and Englewood’s Dwight Morrow High School (“An unusual combination, I know.”) is a frequent visitor to the town he grew up in.
“My parents still live here,” he notes. “And,” as he points out in the play, “the Englewood ShopRite is a great place to buy groceries.”
While the Press Journal is no longer around, Charles Gross has continued covering the Broadway Theatre as the co-host of “Two On The Aisle,” which can be seen on Manhattan Neighborhood Network and YouTube.
“How I Found An Affordable Apartment On The Upper West Side of Manhattan Without Really Trying” will be performed at the United Solo Festival on Oct. 10 at 9 p.m. For venue information, pricing and tickets go to: http://unitedsolo.org/us/2019-howifound.