The Messenger-Press THE MESSENGER-PRESS
AU G U S T 2026 F R E E
Sweet new chapter
Lasting notes Composer Andrew Rudin finds harmony in Allentown
Bruno’s One Sweet Ride begins a new chapter inside Village Pharmacy
By R.H. Schmitt, Jr.
One approaches through the side door of a historic home on Main Street with a certain restraint, as one might at the entryway of a sacred place. Inside the 1840 house lives Andrew Rudin, an 87-year-old composer and pioneer of electronic music whose career has stretched from experiments with Robert Moog’s early synthesizer to music used by legendary Italian filmmaker Federico Fellini. The well-kept home sits quietly in Allentown’s Historic Village, not far from Conine’s Millpond and the Old Mill. It’s a casual stroll to Heritage Park or up South Main Street to the high school. Rudin has lived in Allentown since 1992, after a career at the forefront of electronic and avant-garde music. He worked with synthesizer pioneer Robert Moog, saw his music used by Fellini and taught generations of young composers at institutions including the University of See RUDIN, Page 8
By Bill Sanservino
Young cast members step into the world of “Newsies Jr.” during an Aug. 5 dress rehearsal at Allentown High School, where the production brought together theater, teamwork and a story built around the power of the press.(Photo by Suzette J. Lucas.)
Extra! Extra! ‘Newsies Jr.’ puts local news center stage By Jenna Rittman
When young performers took the stage for “Newsies Jr.” this summer, they carried a piece of their own community with them: The Messenger-Press. Copies of the local newspaper were featured in the production, an especially fitting choice for a musical in which newspapers, the people who sell them and the
power of the press are central to the story. The play was hosted by the Cornerstone Community Arts Project in collaboration with The Songbird’s Gift. Both nonprofit organizations aim to engage young people in music and the performing arts and help them pursue their artistic passions. CCAP hosts summer music and theater arts camps for rising
second-graders through rising fifth-graders in its Rising Stars program and rising fifth-graders through rising ninth-graders in its Broadway Bound program. The Broadway Bound group, consisting of 27 kids, spent three weeks preparing for “Newsies Jr.” “It takes a lot of trust and teamwork,” Kara Unger, the lead of See NEWSIES, Page 14
For nearly 30 years, generations of Allentown customers have walked into Bruno’s One Sweet Ride for homemade chocolates, old-fashioned candy and the kind of small-town conversation that comes with both. Soon, they will be making that stop somewhere new. Heather Saracen, who runs the candy side of Bruno’s, is moving her chocolates from the longtime shop at 19 S. Main St. into Village Pharmacy at 1278 Yardville-Allentown Road after a rent increase made it impossible for the business to remain in its current space. The change is significant, but Saracen does not see it as an ending. “This is not the end,” she said. “It’s just a new start for something that’s going to be even better.” Village Pharmacy’s owners See BRUNO’S, Page 4