Get involved now with these four service outings happening in January and February.

1. Help Provide School Supplies for Neighborhood Children

Monday, January 27, 2 p.m. to 3 p.m.
Lowenstein Center, Room 1004

Join your fellow Rams on the Lincoln Center campus to wrap school supply care packages for neighborhood children. Participants can also include personal notes of affirmation.

2. Create Food Packages for Senior Citizens in Need

Saturday, January 25, 9 a.m. to 11 a.m.
239 West 49th Street

Fordham’s commitment to the Broadway community goes beyond excellence onstage and behind the scenes. This month, the University is joining Encore Community Services—a Catholic Charity partner just a short subway ride from the Lincoln Center campus—to create food parcels that will support neighborhood seniors in need, many of whom worked in the performing arts. Since 1977, Encore has provided seniors with a range of services to help them live independent and dignified lives in the midtown Times Square and Clinton communities. For this reason, and its focus on initiatives such as “aging gracefully through the arts,” Encore has earned a reputation as “Broadway’s Longest Running Act of Loving Care.”

This event is sponsored by the Office of Alumni Relations, as part of its For and With Others Volunteer Day, but it’s open to the entire University community.

3. Fight Food Insecurity in the Bronx

Friday, January 31, 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.
St. Ignatius Middle School

Wednesday, February 12, 11:30 a.m. to 12:45 p.m.
McShane Campus Center Entrance

Among the issues affecting New Yorkers daily, food insecurity is one of the most pressing. According to the New York State Department of Health, about one in four New Yorkers report that they do not have sufficient access to food.

Two upcoming events give the Fordham community an opportunity to promote food security in its own backyard. Students and other volunteers will gather to make up to 200 meal packs for community fridges, and conclude the day with a brief Ignatian reflection. The first of these events will happen alongside students at St. Ignatius Middle School in the Bronx. The second will take place at the McShane Campus Center.

Both events are offered through Fordham’s Department of Mission Integration and Ministry, which is rooted in the Jesuit tradition of balancing reflection and action, a practice developed by St. Ignatius Loyola, the 16th-century founder of the Jesuits.

4. Connect with Those Experiencing Houselessness

Sunday, February 23, 11:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Meet in the Lowenstein Center Lobby

Volunteers will join forces with students enrolled in the Philosophical Ethics course at the Lincoln Center campus and visit Xavier Mission, a nonprofit organization in Manhattan’s Chelsea neighborhood. Together they will share in conversation and serve a hot meal to people experiencing houselessness in New York City. Attendees will take the brief subway trip together, with MetroCards provided.

This experience is presented by Fordham’s Center for Community Engaged Learning, which connects Fordham with dozens of local and global partners to provide students with opportunities for experiential learning, research, and civic engagement.

The “pass the phone” challenge—a trend in which members of a group quip about the next person to appear on camera unbeknownst to them—is normally an occasion for light ribbing among friends. Instead, the Fordham grads, all members of the Class of 1983, used the occasion to speak earnestly of their love and support of one another throughout the years.

“We cannot believe how much attention this video received,” said Cara Rothenberg, who filmed the video and posted it on her TikTok account. “My sister and I spent our lives surrounded by this version of positive masculinity and we are better for it. The Fordham boys, and their wives and children, are all family to us.”

The TikTok has amassed more than 650,000 views and generated more than 150,000 comments so far.

“I’m stunned,” said her father, John Rothenberg. “When we heard the number of views, we said, ‘Is that us? Is it because we keep clicking on it?’’’

The friends met when they were all placed in the same residence hall in the fall of their first year at Fordham. Irv Gonzalez, who had just arrived from Florida, counts sharing the first college meal with those new friends as one of the great blessings of his life.

“It’s more than friendship—I was an only child until August of 1979,” he said. “We’ve been there for all the great stuff in each others’ lives. We’ve seen our kids get married. Who would have thought?”

Campus dining has changed.

The renovated Marketplace opened in the McShane Campus Center at Rose Hill on September 3, unveiling brand-new menus, food stations, and a variety of seating options to create a dramatically improved dining experience. The renovation was supported in part by a $5 million grant from New York state.

Here’s a taste of what students are experiencing.

Vegan and Vegetarian Options

The first thing visitors encounter is the vegetarian and vegan station, which sets the tone for the new Marketplace. By using fresh ingredients that have a low impact on the environment, the station is designed to help Fordham lower its carbon footprint.

“Students are really gravitating towards more plant-based options,” said Deming Yaun, Fordham’s dining contract liaison. “It’s a statement of freshness that the station is making that is carried through the whole facility.”

Space for Everyone

Seating arrangements are diverse: booths, tall tables, long tables, and benches are situated throughout, welcoming everyone from single diners looking to work through lunch to teams and other big groups gathering for a communal meal. One dining room can be sectioned off for private gatherings. Altogether, the space can accommodate nearly 800 diners.

Chef’s Table

The chef’s table adds a bit of culinary theater to the dining hall, offering a front-row seat to cooking demonstrations and a chance to order from a seasonal menu featuring special tastings.

Restaurant Row

Diners can choose from the Iron Skillet, featuring made-to-order meals all day; Trattoria Italian Kitchen, with hot-from-the-oven pizza; Ignite grill; and Sweet Nothings, with house-made desserts.

Halal Station

New York City is known for its halal carts, and now Rams can get an authentic version of this street food without leaving campus. “It’s nice that it’s going to be an everyday option,” said Andres Perez, a Fordham senior and a pitcher on the baseball team whose go-to halal meal is chicken and rice with a salad. The Marketplace also offers kosher meals upon request.

Sustainable Eating

Several meals in the Marketplace are certified climate-friendly by the World Resources Institute. They’re marked with a badge so students can easily identify items that have a low environmental impact.

“People were like, ‘You’re making a mountain out of a molehill. Relax. The internet needs to be free,’” said the 1994 Fordham Law School grad.

But the article changed the trajectory of Citron’s career. Her groundbreaking scholarship and advocacy on issues involving intimate privacy and online abuse are recognized internationally for their vital importance to an evolving understanding of ethics in the digital age. She earned a MacArthur Fellowship (aka “genius grant”) five years ago, and today she’s a distinguished professor of law at the University of Virginia.

“I was accused of wanting to kill free speech,” Citron said. “But I stuck to my guns. This is important.”

In a world where lawmaking lags behind the rapidly accelerating speed of technology, Citron is aiming to close that gap. She focuses on finding legal solutions to a wide array of online abuses, from cyberstalking and harassment to harmful deepfakes—digitally manipulated videos and images that are becoming increasingly indiscernible from reality. Threats like these disproportionately affect women and minorities, she said, making these issues “the civil rights cause of our time.”  

“That’s the worst—the everyday person who’s targeted. They shut down their LinkedIn, Facebook, X accounts; they literally just go offline,” she said. “When you chase a woman offline, she cannot participate [in society].” 

Since 2013, Citron has been vice president of the nonprofit Cyber Civil Rights Initiative. She has published two acclaimed books, including The Fight for Privacy: Protecting Dignity, Identity, and Love in the Digital Age (2022), and spent more than a decade working with law enforcement, legislators, and large tech companies to create reforms that give recourse to people who are targeted online.

Most recently, Citron partnered with U.S. Rep. Jake Auchincloss to draft a bill that would reform Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act—a law that protects platforms from liability for harmful or false content they host. The proposal includes stricter regulations against digital forgeries, cyber stalking, and intimate privacy violations.

For Citron, the through line across her career is one that was strengthened during her time at Fordham, both as a student and a professor of the law. 

“The work that I do is on behalf of the vulnerable,” she said. “That is so consistent with the Fordham mission.”

A decade ago, Fordham officially became a “changemaker campus.” But the changemaking impulse has been at the heart of a Fordham education for generations. Read more about other Fordham changemakers.

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Amelia Medved, a 2023 Fordham graduate, analyzed how the dead have become part of the landscape of the city in “A Breathing Place: Sanctified Burial Sites in New York City Public Space,” a research project she conducted through a Duffy Fellowship from Fordham’s Center on Religion and Culture. 

Medved, a studio assistant at the landscape architecture firm SCAPE, says that honoring the collective memory of the deceased is a healthy expression of urban life—one that can “enliven our connection to place and engage the dynamic communities that inhabit New York City today.”

Hart Island 

Hart Island, located at the western end of Long Island Sound in the Bronx, has a long and morbidly fascinating history as New York City’s public cemetery, with mass graves stretching back to the Civil War. Described by Medved as a “remote, windy, indeterminate landscape far from the beating heart of the city,” the island had been controlled for many years by the city’s Department of Correction, which used prison labor to bury more than 1 million unclaimed and unidentified New Yorkers. 

The maintenance of the island came under scrutiny in 2012, when Hurricane Sandy unearthed some remains. In July of 2015, the grave sites became accessible to the families of those buried on the island, and in 2019, control of the island was transferred to the New York City Department of Parks.

Hart Island is now open to the public through small guided tours requiring lottery registration. The Hart Island Project, a public charity incorporated in 2011, has worked to destigmatize the burial ground and create an online resource to help families find the locations of their buried loved ones.   

The Enslaved African and Kingsbridge Burial Grounds, Van Cortlandt Park

Consecrated in 2021, this section of Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx was nothing more than a neighborhood ghost story until a chance encounter by Kingsbridge resident Nick Dembowski. After noticing a few broken headstones against a fence, Dembowski went to the Kingsbridge Historical Society. There he learned that the fenced-off area was once home to an 18th-century burial ground, particularly for people enslaved at the estate. Their bones were discovered in the late 1870s, when the New York Northern Railroad Company broke ground in the area. 

Following Dembowski’s efforts, the Enslaved People Project was born—launched by the Van Cortlandt Park Alliance, Van Cortlandt House Museum, and Kingsbridge Historical society to help shed light on the history of the burial grounds.

Medved said this site offers visitors “the chance to encounter the people who walked through the trees or stood beside the lake centuries ago.” 

Prison Ship Martyrs Monument, Fort Greene Park

Just a few blocks from Flatbush Avenue and Fulton Street in Brooklyn, Fort Greene Park is a 30-acre public space, filled with history dating back to the Revolutionary War. In the center sits the Prison Ship Martyrs Monument, a war memorial dedicated to more than 11,500 American prisoners of war. Many of these prisoners, who died on British prison ships in the Brooklyn Navy Yard, were thrown into the bay or buried in shallow graves on the shoreline.

Their remains were left there until the 19th century, when they were collected after funding was secured for a public monument. They were briefly interred in a public tomb before being moved permanently to the newly constructed Fort Greene Park in 1873. The monument that stands today, with its massive doric column and granite stairway, was completed in 1908.

Perhaps the most notable aspect of the monument, according to Medved, is the way it “convenes the living and dead in intimate proximity to the unawareness of most visitors.”

The 9/11 Memorial

Located where the Twin Towers once stood, the National September 11 Memorial & Museum honors the lives lost at the World Trade Center during the terrorist attack on September 11, 2001. The site features two reflecting pools bordered by bronze parapets engraved with the names of 2,983 people—2,977 who were killed on 9/11, and six killed in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. 

The most striking part of the memorial, according to Medved, is the sound—the white noise generated by running water  creates a pocket of “overwhelming silence” in an area bustling with foot traffic. 

The contemplative nature of the space has led to myriad improvised displays, including “missing” posters, flowers, American flags, rosaries, and even unauthorized etchings of additional names on the monument’s surface. 

Medved says that these contributions from visitors are evidence of a vital, dynamic “public grieving process.” 

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Macht sat down with Fordham Magazine to discuss the bawdy production and his whirlwind experience as the show transformed from little-known downtown play to Broadway smash hit.

How did you get involved with the production?

I literally just auditioned. It wasn’t supposed to be this big show. It was supposed to be six weeks off-Broadway, so it was a pretty low-key audition. I was like, “Well, that went fine,” and I didn’t expect to hear about it ever again. Then I lucked out and I got it.

I had actually been in a TV show called At Home with Amy Sedaris, and Cole Escola was in the same episode, but we never met each other. I remember watching it andCole would pop up, and I’d be like, “That person’s funny. If only I could be that funny.” And I still feel that way, because they’re the funniest person that I’ve ever seen. So it is a full-circle thing to be working with them on this.

Can you describe your role in the show and how you approached it?

My character is Mary’s husband’s assistant. Cole plays Mary Todd Lincoln, so you can figure out who Mary’s husband is. I am the assistant, sort of his bag boy. 

How I approach the role is to take it as truly seriously as possible. So, the play is  pure farce. But to allow Cole and the others to be the funniest, I have to pretend I’m in an HBO miniseries about Lincoln, and not this übersilly play. That’s the approach—like, this guy’s life is on the line.

The subject matter is fairly edgy.

What’s actually so fun about the show is, while it is edgy—we’re making fun of the president, we’re making fun of these revered political figures from American history—the jokes are actually like Three Stooges jokes. So it’s both very subversive but also strangely comforting because it’s a style of comedy that is so ingrained in all of us just from watching any sitcom ever.

Your show has become a bit of a phenomenon. Have you had a favorite moment?

The one that’s the most amazing is, we had only been open off-Broadway for a week, and Steven Spielberg, Sally Field, and Tony Kushner all came as a little trio. That was truly surreal. Even Cole was starstruck, and we were all just like, “This is so amazing.” And I was just thinking to myself, imagining Sally Field, Tony Kushner, and Steven Spielberg—I guess they still have an active group text from filming the movie Lincoln—and they’re like, “Should we go see this silly show?” And they all said yes. That’s so cute to me. 

Any other favorite people you’ve met backstage?

Melissa McCarthy came and was so unbelievably effusive in her praise. She did a classic Melissa McCarthy thing and she literally knelt down before Cole and bowed to them. It was just so funny and you could just tell how much [McCarthy] was touched by it.

Earlier this year, Frank DiLella talked about the multigenerational Fordham posse that exists on Broadway. What has your experience been like as one of the newest members?

I do feel the Fordham presence on Broadway, and the New York theater scene at large. I’m in a fantasy football league with [2017 Fordham grad] Celina Lam, [an associate company manager with Wagner Johnson Productions, co-led by 2002 Fordham grad John Johnson] and I walk by her show The Roommate every night to go home, so I see her all the time. It’s amazing how much stuff Fordham people are producing and acting in and writing. Most of my collaborator friends who I do workshops and things with are still people I met at Fordham. It makes me very proud.

You’ve gone on to grad school, worked in film and TV. Do you feel like your Fordham experience laid a path for the things you’ve done since?

I learned how to act at Fordham. I always had a natural liking of acting, but I had no idea really what I was doing until I came to Fordham. What Fordham was so good at is there’s opportunities to act in front of people constantly. If you don’t get cast on the main stage, you do the studio shows, or you are in class. You just get the reps in. Like an athlete, you just get better by doing it. That’s what allows you to jump in quickly when you get an audition, or when you get a part. That’s the gift of going to a theater school like Fordham.

Interview conducted, edited, and condensed by Franco Giacomarra, FCLC ’19.

The warm, sun-soaked day began early for attendees who took part in the 13th Annual 5K Ram Run, a three-lap race around campus. By 11 a.m., grads and families began to pack the tents on Edwards Parade for pregame food and drinks. Face painters and caricature artists worked the kid-friendly family tent, and as game time approached, the Fordham cheerleaders and pep band helped lead fans to Moglia Stadium. On the field, despite a strong effort, the football Rams lost to Stony Brook 27-21, breaking a two-year streak of dramatic, come-from-behind victories at Homecoming. 

This year featured a strong turnout from Lincoln Center students, including many who helped kick off the weekend at the President’s Ball on Friday evening.  The annual formal dance, held under the Homecoming tent, drew more than 1,500 students. Meanwhile, nearly 500 recent grads gathered for dinner, dancing, and cocktails on the annual young alumni yacht cruise around lower Manhattan.

Save the date: Homecoming 2025 will be held on Saturday, Oct. 18, when the Rams take on the Dartmouth College Big Green at Rose Hill.

Pascrell enjoyed a long life in public service that included a postcollege stint in the military, more than a decade as a high school history teacher, and six years as mayor of Paterson, New Jersey. He was nearing the end of his 14th term in the House of Representatives.

“As our United States Representative, Bill fought to his last breath to return to the job he cherished and to the people he loved,” his family wrote in a statement announcing his death. “Bill lived his entire life in Paterson and had an unwavering love for the city he grew up in and served.”

‘An Opportunity to Help My Community’

A grandson of Italian immigrants, Pascrell was born in Paterson on January 25, 1937. He graduated from St. John the Baptist High School, where he was elected student council president, and enrolled at Fordham in the mid-1950s. He earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism in 1959 and a master’s in philosophy in 1961.

Pascrell talked openly about his Fordham education and how he aimed to put it to use in the service of others.

“My degree from Fordham gave me an opportunity to help my community and make it better, and that is the way I looked at it,” Pascrell said in a 2023 interview with The Fordham Ram.

For him, plain speaking wasn’t just a way to communicate—it was essential to getting things done. And it was tied to his Fordham education and Catholic faith.

“Those values include saying it like it is,” he told The Ram. “Don’t camouflage what you’re trying to get across. Say it; don’t be afraid. We say at Mass many times—in fact, we sing it, ‘Be Not Afraid.’ You go to Fordham, you’re not afraid. It seems that everyone at Fordham knows how to speak their mind.”

A Fordham Sports Superfan

Pascrell was also a passionate supporter of Fordham athletics, his son Glenn Pascrell, FCRH ’90, said in a eulogy during a funeral Mass at the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Paterson on August 28.

“He had a great sense of loyalty to institutions, and one of them was Fordham University,” he said. “I will always cherish going to Fordham games with my dad in the Bronx.”

A basketball and football season ticket holder for more than 30 years, Pascrell was a fixture in the stands at Rose Hill and frequently traveled to away games when his Capitol Hill schedule allowed. He didn’t play for the Rams, but he had been an all-state baseball player in high school and at one point tried out for the Philadelphia Phillies.

For many years, he served as a coach during the annual congressional baseball game. His uniform of choice at those events? The maroon and white of the Fordham Rams.

“Bill was an exceptionally devoted alumnus and the biggest Fordham basketball fan. Whenever we needed him, he was always there for us,” said Fordham President Tania Tetlow. “We will certainly miss Bill’s impact on Fordham and the communities he served. Our prayers are with [his wife] Elsie and the entire Pascrell family.”

A ‘Beloved Bridge Builder’ Who Fought ‘Relentlessly’ for His Constituents

After grad school at Fordham, Pascrell served in the Army and the Army Reserve for much of the 1960s. He received an honorable discharge in 1967 and spent 12 years as a public high school teacher and college professor in New Jersey before entering local politics in Paterson.

He was elected to the New Jersey General Assembly in 1988 and was twice elected mayor of Paterson, where he served from 1990 to 1996, when he ran for Congress.

In Congress, Pascrell served on the influential House Ways and Means Committee and focused on issues such as tax reform, environmental protection, and funding for public safety and education.

His signature achievements include helping to establish programs like the Fire Grants and Safety Act that directly fund first responders across the country. He also played a key role in establishing the Paterson Great Falls as a national historical park.

Frequently described in the media as “brash,” “blunt,” and “feisty,” Pascrell was a passionate advocate for issues that affected everyday community members in New Jersey’s diverse 9th congressional district.

“Yeah, I live in Paterson,” Pascrell was known to respond when others questioned his lifelong residency in his hometown, the country’s first planned industrial city. “You want to make something of it?”

Pascrell was also regarded as an affable presence noted for his ability to connect with people from all walks of life. In a statement, President Joe Biden praised Pascrell as a “beloved bridge builder” and a “champion for working-class people” who “fought relentlessly to ensure their voices and needs were at the center of policymaking.”

In his eulogy for his father, Glenn Pascrell quoted an oft-repeated line that underscores the philosophy by which his father lived.

“My dad held many public titles. When he spoke in front of a group, he always opened with the following line: ‘Titles come and go. In the end they don’t matter,’” he said. ‘What matters is how we treat each other.’”

Pascrell is survived by his wife, Elsie Marie (Botto) Pascrell; his three sons, William J. Pascrell III, and twins Glenn and David, both 1990 graduates of Fordham College at Rose Hill; two sisters; and six grandchildren.

We asked DiLella, a 2006 Fordham graduate who’s also an adjunct professor at the University, for his top summer Broadway picks. He threw in an off-Broadway recommendation and even gave us an insider’s peek at what’s coming this fall.

Merrily We Roll Along

Photo by Matthew Murphy

The critically acclaimed Broadway revival of Stephen Sondheim’s Merrily We Roll Along—once an infamous flop—is now the winner of four Tony Awards, including Best Revival of a Musical. Merrily centers around the turbulent journey of three friends: Franklin, Charley, and Mary—played by Jonathan Groff, Daniel Radcliffe, and Lindsay Mendez. Groff and Radcliffe took home the Tony Awards for Best Actor in a Musical and Best Featured Actor in a Musical, respectively, for their performances.

Hell’s Kitchen

Photo by Chelcie Pary

The Alicia Keys musical Hell’s Kitchen is loosely based on her experience of growing up in Manhattan, and features her famous tunes like “Empire State of Mind” and “If I Ain’t Got You.” The show stars Broadway regulars Brandon Victor Dixon and Shoshana Bean, alongside newcomer Maleah Joi Moon. Moon is making her professional debut as the Keys-inspired character, Ali, and recently took home the Tony for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical.

Oh, Mary!

Photo by Emilio Madrid

Comic genius Cole Escola, widely known for playing characters in television shows like Search Party and Big Mouth, is now tackling Mary Todd Lincoln in the new play Oh, Mary! It’s opening on Broadway in July after a sold-out off-Broadway run. In the show, written by Escola and directed by Sam Pinkleton, Mary Todd Lincoln will do anything to fulfill her one big dream. The production features an ensemble cast, including Fordham Theatre grad Tony Macht, FCLC ’17.

Cats: The Jellicle Ball

Photo by Evan Zimmerman

Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Cats is now playing off-Broadway at the Perelman Performing Arts Center like you’ve never seen it before. In this new, immersive restaging of the 1982 Broadway mega-musical, audiences are welcomed into the Jellicle Ball, which is inspired by the ballroom culture that burst onto the queer, gay, and trans scene in New York City more than five decades ago. Cats: The Jellicle Ball stars Tony Award-winner André De Shields as Old Deuteronomy; ballroom icon Chasity Moore, who goes by “Tempress,” as Grizabella; and Hamilton alum Sydney James Harcourt as Rum Tum Tugger.

A Look Ahead at Broadway’s Fall Lineup

Sunset Boulevard

Photo by Marc Brenner

Nicole Sherzinger’s acclaimed performance as film diva Norma Desmond is making its way across the pond from London’s West End. Sunset Boulevard arrives on Broadway this October in a stripped-down, minimalistic version of the Andrew Lloyd Webber classic. The show features direction by British sensation Jamie Lloyd, known for his radical reimaginings.

Gypsy

Photo by Allison Michael Orenstein

One of Broadway’s greatest works and greatest performers join forces this fall when Audra McDonald stars in Gypsy at the historic Majestic Theatre. Widely considered one of the best musicals of all time, Gypsy is the story of how far a determined stage mom will go to turn her daughter into a star. The show features a legendary creative team with a book by Arthur Laurents, music by Jule Styne, and lyrics by the late Stephen Sondheim.

Reopening: The Broadway Revival debuted in early 2022 as part of PBS’ Great Performances series, with DiLella as host and executive producer.

It was another high point in his nearly two-decade career as an entertainment journalist, one that began with an internship at Spectrum News NY1 when he was a Fordham student. Today, he’s best known as the host of On Stage, NY1’s acclaimed weekly theater show. His numerous celebrity interviews and in-depth reporting have endeared him to artists and fans alike, and earned him 11 New York Emmy Awards.

Since 2013, he’s also been sharing his knowledge and experience with students. He teaches a course, Theater Journalism, at the University’s Lincoln Center campus, and has been mentoring a new generation of Fordham-educated Broadway professionals.

He sat down with Fordham Magazine just before the Tony Awards to reflect on his career path and share one of his most memorable celebrity stories.

You are a huge cheerleader for all things Fordham. What initially drew you here?
Fordham was my first choice. I grew up in Philadelphia, and both my parents went to Saint Joseph’s University, which is the Jesuit university there. So we were very familiar with Jesuit, liberal arts education—the idea of coming to college and exploring, and truly having this university journey of figuring out what you want to be and what you want to do.

And at Fordham, you marry that with the greatest city in the world, New York City, which has always felt like my home away from home—and has now been my home for 20-plus years. It doesn’t get better than Fordham.

You achieved great success by blending your passion for theater with a new one that you found here. What kind of mentorship did you receive?
I came into Fordham thinking that I was going to pursue acting, but I took an intro to communications course, and my professor, Lewis Freeman, polled the class: “How many of you have thought about being a reporter?” I remember raising my hand. I grew up loving shows like Dateline NBC and 20/20.

He said, “If you are lucky enough, get yourself an internship at Spectrum News New York 1—you can explore and learn what it takes to be in the business and they have an amazing internship program.” That summer, I applied. I was also up for a role in a professional production of Hair in Brooklyn. And I kind of told myself, “Whatever is meant to be is meant to be.” I got NY1 and never looked back.

Photo courtesy of Frank DiLella

You came here with dreams of breaking into the theater world, and now you’re such an integral part of it. What is it like to be part of the Fordham community on Broadway?
We’re called the “Fordham Posse.” When it’s revealed to someone that you went to Fordham, it’s like, “Oh, we’re part of the same family.”

I think of John Johnson, who is a celebrated theater producer who graduated in 2002, the year I started, but would always come back—again, this family mentality. He’s someone I definitely looked up to. Van Hughes, who has gone on to be in various Broadway shows, was part of my crew. Taylor Schilling from Orange is the New Black. Kelley Curran was my close friend. Paul Wontorek too—he’s the editor-in-chief for Broadway.com, and we are very much working colleagues. There is definitely a lot of Fordham love to go around.

You’ve interviewed just about every famous actor that has come through Broadway over your time at NY1. Do you have a favorite story?
I got to know Elaine Stritch very well. She had a residency at the Café Carlyle for years, and like clockwork, every spring I would sit down with her. Towards the end of her life, I got a call saying, “Elaine would like to speak to you to do a story.” I went to her residence, and she couldn’t sit up, so she said to me, “Frank, get in bed with me. Just talk to me about my life.”

Now, this is a woman who was very close to Judy Garland. She went on a date with JFK. She was close friends with Ethel Merman. To me, she is what we think of when we think of legends of Broadway, absolute legends of entertainment. I mean, the stories that she had, I’ll never forget that. We had so much fun. We had so many laughs.

There’s a clip of Hugh Jackman ending an interview with you saying, “Thanks Frank, you’re the best.” How does it feel to be such a trusted figure among these incredible artists?
Having access and trust with these artists—for them to open up to me and feel comfortable opening up for me—that is a true gift. And that’s one of my favorite things about this job. I’m so grateful to get to be with these people to tell the stories.

Interview conducted, edited, and condensed by Franco Giacomarra, FCLC ’19.

Related Story: What to See on Broadway This Summer
Frank DiLella shares his recommendations—from the latest Tony winners to the next big hits.

“It’s a really great opportunity that I never even thought was possible,” she said.

Rochetti unveiled her piece alongside seven other student musicians at the Fordham Composers Concert, held on May 1 at Fordham Lincoln Center’s 12th-Floor Lounge. The annual event is the culmination of a semester’s work, where students develop their new pieces with top professionals who rehearse, provide advice, and ultimately perform the compositions for a live audience.  

Working at a Professional Level 

The Fordham Composers Workshop is a one-of-a-kind combination of theory and practice designed to give undergraduate students the experience of creating an original concert work at the professional level. Each student is assigned a different ensemble of three instruments to write for, culminating in a five-minute piece played on some combination of flute, clarinet, oboe, violin, or cello. 

The students then workshop the piece through multiple drafts which are read and played throughout the semester by members of the Exponential Ensemble —a chamber music collective made up of some of the most in-demand musicians in the New York City region.

“We’re working with professional musicians,” said Daniel Ott, D.M.A., associate professor of music theory and composition and chair of the art history and music department, who teaches the class. “It’s a really rare opportunity to get that hands-on experience when you’re a student.”

The format of the class is both lecture and workshop, as Ott spends half of the class time outlining classical composition principles and techniques. The other half allows students to engage directly with the instrumentalists, who offer insights and critiques on everything from the sonic impact of a key change to the proper way to notate specialty sounds like a flute growl.

“It’s not like any other regular class,” said Elena Smith, a senior music major at Fordham College at Rose Hill. “The structure of it is really different. It’s more interactive.”

Opening New Possibilities

The first Composers Workshop class was held in 2013. Since then, the small performances in the 50-seat Veronica Lally Kehoe Studio Theatre have grown to become an integral and vital part of artistic life on campus. In 2018, the final concert had its largest attendance to date when the student composers’ pieces were inspired by artworks from Fordham visual arts students. In 2020, during the pandemic, student works were still performed by the musicians despite their having to do so online —a monumental task that involved separate recordings of each part for every piece.

The class continues to be a highlight for students who relish the opportunity to combine academic rigor with personal expression.

“You just have complete creative freedom to create whatever you want with your music,” said Henry Domenici, a senior music major. “I really have enjoyed the opportunity to get to do that for a class.”