Series: Visions
Program: Star-Crossed Romance of Josephine Cosnowski, The
Date: 1983-01-01
Subject: Drama; Comedy; Teenagers; Thanksgiving Day
Copyright Holder: WGBH Educational Foundation

Clip Description
The work opens with Jean Shepherd, as an adult "Ralph," at the screening of a Polish movie, which brings back memories of Josephine Cosnowski. Jumping back in time to the 1950's the story unfolds. Six weeks before Thanksgiving, a Polish family moves in next door. Ralph, who has a romantic fascination with Polish girls, finds himself pining for the elusive Josephine Cosnowski. The two become close and she invites him to a party, the same night as a big school basketball game. Meanwhile, Ralph's father obsesses over the cars at "Friendly Fred's" used car lot, and his younger brother Randy has been assigned the role of the turkey for the Thanksgiving play. When Ralph picks Josephine up for the party he is confronted by her two "beefy" brothers. The party turns out to be in the basement of a church, and Ralph is slowly introduced to members of Josephine's family. Howie, a former basketball star who married young, is at the party, looking trapped. He advises Ralph to get out of there while he still can, insinuating that Josephine is about to snare him into an early marriage. On Howie's advice he makes a run for it, chased by the brothers, finally escaping to the basketball game. Meanwhile at the pageant, Randy makes a huge splash in his gorgeous turkey outfit. At the end of the piece the whole family settles down to a magnificent Thanksgiving dinner. Produced and directed by Olivia Tappen and Marilyn Greenstein.

"The Star-Crossed Romance of Josephine Cosnowski" was broadcast as an episode of "American Playhouse."

"Visions" was a series showcasing experimental dramas produced by WNET (New York). Fred Barzyk and Olivia Tappan developed a close working relationship with WNET producer David Loxton, which led to the creation of several works, including collaborations with writer Jean Shepherd.

Program Description
The work opens with Jean Shepherd, as an adult "Ralph," at the screening of a Polish movie, which brings back memories of Josephine Cosnowski. Jumping back in time to the 1950's the story unfolds. Six weeks before Thanksgiving, a Polish family moves in next door. Ralph, who has a romantic fascination with Polish girls, finds himself pining for the elusive Josephine Cosnowski. The two become close and she invites him to a party, the same night as a big school basketball game. Meanwhile, Ralph's father obsesses over the cars at "Friendly Fred's" used car lot, and his younger brother Randy has been assigned the role of the turkey for the Thanksgiving play. When Ralph picks Josephine up for the party he is confronted by her two "beefy" brothers. The party turns out to be in the basement of a church, and Ralph is slowly introduced to members of Josephine's family. Howie, a former basketball star who married young, is at the party, looking trapped. He advises Ralph to get out of there while he still can, insinuating that Josephine is about to snare him into an early marriage. On Howie's advice he makes a run for it, chased by the brothers, finally escaping to the basketball game. Meanwhile at the pageant, Randy makes a huge splash in his gorgeous turkey outfit. At the end of the piece the whole family settles down to a magnificent Thanksgiving dinner. Produced and directed by Olivia Tappen and Marilyn Greenstein.

"The Star-Crossed Romance of Josephine Cosnowski" was broadcast as an episode of "American Playhouse."

"Visions" was a series showcasing experimental dramas produced by WNET (New York). Fred Barzyk and Olivia Tappan developed a close working relationship with WNET producer David Loxton, which led to the creation of several works, including collaborations with writer Jean Shepherd.

Series Description
The New Television Workshop originated at WGBH, a public broadcasting station in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1974 to support the creation and development of experimental video art. This experimental programming included dance, drama, music, performance and visual arts on video and film. As early as 1968, WGBH was committed to the development of video art through residency programs, with artists such as Nam June Paik, and the "Rockefeller Artists-in-Television" project. Many of these early works (pre-1974) were broadcast both locally and nationally.

As an umbrella for arts related programming, the Workshop included "Artist's Showcase, " "Frames of Reference, " "Dance for Camera, " "Poetry Breaks," and "New Television," as well as acquired arts programming. Individual works were created for "Visions," a series produced by WNET (New York), and "Alive From Off Center," a series produced by KTCA (St. Paul - Minneapolis). The Contemporary Art Television (CAT) Fund was co-founded by the Workshop and Boston's Institute for Contemporary Art (ICA) in the 1980's, to commission works by video artists. In 1993 the Workshop ceased production at WGBH.

See also: http://main.wgbh.org/wgbh/NTW/FA/TITLES/Star-Crossed309.HTML