THE CM GEMS SEMI-ANNUAL NEWSLETTER UPDATE – SEPTEMBER 2025
From the Desk of Eileen Cooper, CM Gems Conceirge
Hello GEMS Family,
First, thank you for being a GEM and an essential part of CM Performing Arts Center! We started off August with a great season of shows, hard to believe that it is September already. We hope you have experienced our first amazing mainstage show: Anything Goes! We are very proud of the quality of the shows, the work ethic of our performers, and the teamwork of all of our staff and volunteers at CM Performing Arts Center. We are receiving rave reviews for our pick of shows, talent, and friendliness of our staff. As usual, we always like to hear any type of idea or review (good or bad) because it only helps us to improve!
Some sad news, as many of you already know, the CM community suffered a great loss with the passing of Jon Rivera, our Director of Operations. It was a huge loss for our CM family; a loss that extends way beyond our walls and reaches into our community, friendships, and of course, Jon’s family. Jon will always be remembered at CM for his abundant talent on the stage, as well as his love of his family, friends, and superheroes, and for being a true gentleman, easy going, fun, and an absolute professional. He will be missed more than you know but we will make sure his spirit lives on here at CM.
Due to increased popularity, we have introduced a new VIP area on house right of the theatre that boasts four more VIP tables (three – two person tables and one – four person table). In September, we were happy to welcome Ryan Nolin as the new Director of Operations. He has performed at CM for 20 years! If you speak with him, please give him a warm welcome!
Our LAPAA (Local Artists, Performers, Artisans & Authors) initiative has been met with great excitement and we continue to shine a light on our local talent, as well as giving local artisans a space to connect with others. In the past several months, we held the world premiere of “All That Matters”, an original play by Michael Livoti, a staged reading of the musical “A Shadow of Her Own”, and we travelled to Fire Island to perform “Panzi, Queen of the Pines”. In October we will be presenting “Into Sunlight”, a three day event honoring our veterans. We are so proud to host and celebrate our abundant local talent!
Over the last year, CM has developed several wonderful partnerships with a variety of Long Island Companies such as North Fork Potato Chip Company, Pindar, and Twin Fork Beer to name just a few! Our concession area has some exciting additions to offer our patrons such as: Hedlum non-alcoholic beer, Beachball organic iced tea, and Sail Away cold brew iced coffee. We aim to provide concessions that offer a little something for everyone.
Our current season is fully underway with Anything Goes finishing up this past weekend. Our next three shows are Beautiful: the Carole King Musical, Shrek the Musical, and A Christmas Carol, the Musical. Beautiful is selling very well, so if you have not purchased your tickets, call us soon to get the best seats that are available! Our next season of shows starting in January 2026 include: Legally Blonde, Monty Python’s Spamalot, CATS, and Jersey Boys.
Now for an exciting announcement (See what I did there – you have to read my whole newsletter to get to the good stuff:), I would like to announce our first show of the season that will start in July 2026. As a GEM, you are hearing about it first, before the general public! It will be…drum roll please…HAIRSPRAY!! You can call me on the GEMS concierge line at 631-218-2811 to purchase your tickets!
As your personal membership manager, my job is to make your membership and theatre experience seamless! Any questions you may have, whether it’s about using your GEM benefits, renewing your membership, or anything else, I am your point of contact. I have spoken with many of you in person and on the phone, and I am always struck by how much our GEMS support and love CM. We realize that we are truly lucky to have the most wonderful patrons and GEM members! Please reach out to me if you need help or have questions! And….ENJOY THE SHOW!!
Eileen Cooper
Membership Manager
631-218-2810 ext 1033
631-218-2811 CM Gems Concierge Number
eileen@cmpac.com
