Kind of a rough weekend show-wise. The audiences enjoyed the show, but a fellow actor was having an off-day yesterday, and he kinda threw me a little. Hey, it happens. Then the Patriots lost. And this morning, word is out about David Wright, a local community theatre actor in Greensboro who died Friday night. A really nice guy, very congenial. … Read More
Anatomy Of A Brainfart
Scene: A group of Klansman storm the lodge where Charlie, an Englishman pretending to be a foreigner, is staying. The robed and hooded men are armed with rifles, bats, crowbars, etc. The leader of the racist Klan, Owen Musser, raises a bullhorn to his mouth and addresses Betty (the owner of the lodge) with the following line: Are you prepared … Read More
Some Pre-show Publicity: The Foreigner
Nice article, I guess. Not sure if it’s gonna pack ’em in. Well, then again, all publicity is good publicity.
“And Then Out Of Nowhere, Heath Ledger Appeared, Ran Into My Burning House And Saved My Kitten” (and Other Stories)
I’m sure he was a nice guy, but… come on: Dena Michnowich of Glen Cove, New York I was walking in the lower east side of Manhattan one day and I noticed a really cute man holding his little daughter on his shoulders. She looked just like him. He told her that they had to make a right and asked … Read More
RIP Heath Ledger
It’s always sad when they die young. And always the cliche — young successful male actor, dead in his New York apartment [UPDATE: apparently is was Mary-Kay Olsen’s apartment], drugs likely to blame, yada yada yada. Still, it’s no less of a shock.
RIP Suzanne Pleshette
How can you not feel at least a little sad about this? Suzanne Pleshette, the husky-voiced actress who redefined the television sitcom wife in the 1970s, playing the smart, sardonic Emily Hartley on “The Bob Newhart Show,” died Saturday at her home in Los Angeles. She was 70. Ms. Pleshette died of respiratory failure, her lawyer, Robert Finkelstein, told The … Read More
RIP Bobby Fischer
An odd man, rabid anti-Semite (even though he was most likely Jewish, despite his denials), but a hell of a chess player, is dead. Hen notoriously dropped off from the face of the earth around 1975, leading to much speculation in the chess world, and the foundation for the movie Searching for Bobby Fischer. A Bobby Fischer quote: "This is … Read More
The Seventh Sense Is Operating On A Two-Hour Delay
Not really, but everything else around here is. Came across two accidents on my way in to work this morning — both of them rather bad.
Mount Saint Helen’s Warming Up Again
It’s been 28 years… Geologist John S. Pallister was flying over Mount St. Helens when he spotted something unusual. Pallister, a private pilot who works in the hazards section of the U.S. Geological Survey’s Cascades Volcano Observatory, noticed a line of steam coming from a zipper-like fracture line atop the growing lava dome in the crater of the southwest Washington … Read More
Blogging Like Molassas
Been kind of busy lately. Also got ingested by, of all things, a book. Yes, it’s true — I found time to read. (Well, actually, I don’t have the time, which is why there is light blogging and a pile of dishes in the sink. But I digress). It’s Dark Tide: The Great Boston Molassas Flood by Stephen Puleo. I’m … Read More
Breaking News: Richardson Bows Out Of ’08 Race; 6.5 Magnitude Off Of Oregon Coast
The two are not apparently related.
Tuna Christmas
From The Winston-Salem Journal, on the subject of Winston-Salem Theatre Alliance’s production of "Tuna Christmas" Once again, director Jamie Lawrence knows just how to tap body language and voice inflection to convey character after character. Sometimes it’s hard to believe that the same actor can inhabit so many different personalities. Well, credit is certainly due to Jamie Lawson for his … Read More
RIP Dan Fogelberg
I admit it — "Same Auld Lang Syne" always made me cry…. Actually, "Leader Of The Band", too… Come to think of it, you really should download "The Innocent Age" (it’s not an entire downer)…. UPDATE: His website, announcing the news…..
Liveblogging “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever”
Well, why not? I’ve directed it, and I’ve seen every performance. This is the 4th performance in front of a paying audience. 7:50 — Pretty full house. A little bit older than usual. Very cold night. Nobody in the church balcony, so I feel free to type to my heart’s content. 7:53 — Pre-show music is nice. We have a … Read More