F**k You, Very Much

I've been feeling a bit down of late. The show closing has a bit to do with it, but there are other factors (which I won't go into right now) that have me a little more than blue. Truth be told, I've been battling depression most of my adult life. Luckily, I've usually been able to work through it without the use of medication (though occasionally therapy helps a lot). As I am sure you have been able to tell from my most recent posts, it's been creeping back up on me.

Anyway, here's something I meant to post a while ago, but didn't for some reason. I was looking for something less maudlin to write about and went into my files and found this music video from "The Big Gay Collab" that cheered me up a bit. My sister will hate it (she won't watch movies with swearing -go figure), but the rest of you may enjoy it quite a bit. It's probably NSFW, but I don't particularly care...

Oh, and at least this did not happen to me, today.

More, anon
Prospero

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Betty Bowers Explains It All 4 U

My friend Ken saw my show (twice!) and thus thought of me when he saw the video below. I'm also emailing a link to my cast. It's possibly the funniest comment on Biblical marriage I've seen in a long time. Apparently, 'Betty Bowers' is the self-proclaimed "Best Christian in America." I may have to subscribe to Betty's thread. She's pretty freakin' hilarious. Please enjoy this short, smart and hysterically funny video. Ladies and germs, I give you "Betty Bowers Explains Biblical Marriage:"

By the way, the "Adam" and "Steve" in my show were way hotter than those two schlubs above. Jealous yet?

Wow! How did such juvenile snarkiness get into this post? I am clearly still in recovery. My Facebook status says : "(Prospero) needs a repairative spa weekend..." My up-coming weekend business trip to DC doesn't exactly count. Though my "work spouse" R, AKA "Lady" (don't know if I ever mentioned her, before) and I always seem to have a good time when we go on these outings together. Two years ago in L.A. and San Fran; last year in Chi and this year in DC... People are starting to talk (as if they don't, already). And just for the record; I am not, nor would I ever pretend to be "Guy." He's way cuter than I am.

I thought I'd get a break... but every Saturday through July 18th is booked, already. How the hell did that happen? And do I wonder why I'm tired? The 18th is the one to which I am most looking forward. It's my birthday and D and I are off to get new ink together in the afternoon and then out carousing (that word makes me sound old, doesn't it?) with a bunch of our friends in the evening. And somewhere in there, rehearsals start for my next acting gig (more on that, anon). I suppose I can't afford the luxury of recovery, can I? Ah... screw it! You only live once, right?

As ever... more, anon.

Prospero

You have read this article Adam and Steve / Biblical / Gay / Hot / Marriage Equality / Politics / Ramblings / Religion / The Most Fabulous Story Ever Told / Video / Viral with the title The Most Fabulous Story Ever Told. You can bookmark this page URL https://tammycross.blogspot.com/2009/06/betty-bowers-explains-it-all-4-u.html. Thanks!

On Grieving...

Grief is a very strange emotion. It's usually on display at times of death, but it pops up in many forms and is caused by many different kinds of losses. If you're Charles Schultz, you use it to create an oxymoronic catch phrase for the star of your comic strip. How can there be such a thing as Good Grief? But apparently, grief and mourning are good for us, as long as (just like anything else in life) we don't take it too far. It helps us deal with loss and change and gives our psyches a bit of a purge.

Tonight, I am in mourning. No, no one has died. But a magical world inhabited only a few hours a night, did. Gone... gone... (Who the hell am I and what did I do with Prospero?).


I had to share one last image with you. It's the one I've had made into an 8x10 for my office. A cast so good, they deserve another mention. So... Back row, L to R: Kathy Garofano ("Rabbi Sharon"); David Hamm ("Steve"); Prospero; Damian Gaeta ("Adam"); Matt Paul ("Trey"); Alycia Bauch-Cantor ("The Stage Manager"). Seated, L to R: Maddie Patrick ("Mabel"); Nicole Patrick ("Jane"); Matty Daley ("Kevin") and Caitlin Blauvelt ("Cheryl").


I've been a director for a relatively long time and I have had my share of both triumphs and failures (someday I'll tell you about my Romeo and Juliet). Usually, the show's over; I have a little break and then I move on to the next one. But I'm not quite ready to let go of this particular bit of magic, just yet. A show this special needs to be savored and stored a way safely, so you can recognize its like, when you see it again. So, I need time to grieve...

More, very anon.
Prospero

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Comfort and Joy

I have literally lost count of the number of shows I've done. Some have been truly extraordinary experiences: playing Sweeney in "Sweeney Todd;" taking off my clothes in "Love! Valour! Compassion!;" directing an amazing production of "Much Ado About Nothing." All major milestones and/or life-changing events for me. As of today, they all take a back seat to "The Most Fabulous Story Ever Told."

It was the perfect storm of cast, crew and script that somehow rained down what would be an extraordinary event under any circumstances.

I was blessed by the bravest, most trusting, most loving and most uninhibited cast I have ever had the privilige to know. They managed to do something that only two casts before have ever gotten me to do; cry during a performance. They also managed to be the first since high school to make me cry because it was over. That kind of joy mixed with melancholy can be as addictive as crack and I'll be going through a an exceptionally painful withdrawal over the next week. Of course I will see all (or at least, most) of them again. Many of us were already were good friends even before the show, and we'll see each other in the very near future (some of us have already made plans to do so). But it will never again be for this particular reason. :::sigh::::

Theatre truly is a "living art." It exists, but only in each moment in which it is played, because that particular moment cannot be exactly duplicated ever again. Once it's gone, it's gone, never to be again. Which is all the more reason to drink deeply and often. Art can never hurt you.

OK - The Philosophy of Theatre 101 lecture has now concluded. Back to our regularly scheduled programming tomorrow night (though I may have a few more words on this subject before I'm ready to fully move on). Thanks for indulging me.

By the way, that's me (sans mask) in the bright green shirt (they called it my "happy shirt"), behind my cast. They are wearing costumes from the end of Act I, on the set of Act II. I took a million pictures at dress rehearsal, none of which were usable due to a camera malfunction. I was very unhappy. We rushed a couple real quick, after the show today.

From left to right, back to front:

Prospero, Matty Daley ("Kevin"); Matthew Paul ("Trey"); David Hamm ("Steve") Caitlin Blauvelt ("Cheryl"); Alycia Bauch Cantor ("The Stage Manager"); Nicole Patrick ("Jane") Kathy Garofano ("Rabbi Sharon"); Damian Gaeta ("Adam"); Maddie Patrick ("Mabel"). The bravest cast ever known.

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I Miss Ms. Kahn

I adored Madeline Kahn. I was lucky enough to have seen her on stage in "On the Twentieth Century" and she was astonishing. She's very often the best part of whatever she's in (though TV never figured out what to do with her). From What's Up, Doc? (an underrated Bogdanovitch gem and her first film) to Young Frankenstein; from her brilliant turn in Paper Moon (Bogdanovitch again) to the deplorable First Family, her performance was always something to be remembered.

I suppose all of this is the long way of saying "I'm Tired."

Ah, Lili. You are missed.

It's officially Opening Night, though I haven't been to bed yet. I think I've had 15 hours sleep all week. I'm going to bed soon. I have a few things to pick up tomorrow afternoon and then I will be officially finished and can sit back, relax and enjoy my show (yeah, right).

There' still time to get tickets! Or make a donation. (Shameless, ain't I? I think Maddie would be proud).

More, anon

Prospero

You have read this article Madeline Kahn / Movies / The Most Fabulous Story Ever Told / Theatre / Tired with the title The Most Fabulous Story Ever Told. You can bookmark this page URL https://tammycross.blogspot.com/2009/06/i-miss-ms-kahn.html. Thanks!

Pride Month

June is Gay Pride Month. It not only commemorates the Stonewall uprising of 1969, but celebrates sexual diversity in all its forms. It is also the perfect time of year for the annual JTMF AIDS Fundraiser event.

This is our seventh year, and it seems like we've almost gotten it down to a science. The show is almost ready for performance; the caterer is in place and ticket sales are booming.

This coming week is known in theatrical circles as "Hell Week." It's when all the elements come together to create the show as a whole - acting, sound, lighting and scenery finally combine into one amazing creation that defies the laws of physics. No one who has ever been part of a play knows how it happens. It just does. Those of us in the business know and accept that it is (and always will be) one of Life's Great Mysteries.

But this post is not just about the Miracle of Theatre. It is about how far we (the LGBT Community) have come since 1969.

Judy may have died the night before the infamous NYC riots, but what happened to us all since then has been nothing short of miraculous. Six states now recognize same-sex marriage. Even more reject discrimination against sexual oriention. We may not get there in my lifetime, but I can foresee a day when sexual orientation is no longer an issue in America and every person, regardless of race, creed, or sexuality is treated equally. It's simply a matter of time.

So, in the spirit of how far we've come (and just because they're so damned funny), here a a few videos from the past (and one from the present) that I hope will amuse you.

Boys: Beware!

I hope this doctor is long dead:

And finally - a parody of the disease one can catch: The Gay:

I hope you will all join me in celebrating Pride this month. And I also hope that I will live to see the day when Pride Month will no longer be a necessity in America.

More, anon.

Prospero

You have read this article Gay / Pride / Ramblings / The Most Fabulous Story Ever Told / Theatre / Video / Viral with the title The Most Fabulous Story Ever Told. You can bookmark this page URL https://tammycross.blogspot.com/2009/06/pride-month.html. Thanks!

Happy Holidays

Have you ever tried to find Christmas decorations in the middle of June? It's not easy, trust me.

And I'm looking for the kind of stuff nobody makes anymore. You know, those extruded plastic figures that you stick a bulb inside and put on your lawn in hopes that no idiot punks will come along and steal them? Pretty awful, but what the script calls for. Yes, some of the cast and crew have volunteered to scour their attics (and a member of a sister theatre company brought us one), but I'm looking for loads. I have a big stage to fill. Here's some examples of the kind of things I'm looking for:

See, it's even hard to find pictures of the damned things. I had to post a picture of decorations from Christmas' lonely Spring cousin, Easter... Gruesome, ain't they?

So, if anyone out there in cyberspace has any suggestions as to where I can find these, or if any of my local friends reading this post have any of them yourselves, please let know, ASAP. Thanks.

More, anon.

Prospero

Update: My adorable cast member Matty has come through and delivered Santa & Mrs. Claus; a Teddy Bear; Choir Singers and Lampposts. Now I just need furniture and I'll be very happy...

P

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Trying to Remain Sane

Very short post tonight.

My cast, as wonderful as they are, are having issues remembering their lines. We still have a little more than a week to go. Should I ask them all to start a ginko biloba regimen?

Not to mention the million and four props, the 7000 sound cues and the 8 billion lighting cues...

And I wonder why I am tired...

More, anon.

Prospero

You have read this article Ramblings / The Most Fabulous Story Ever Told / Theatre with the title The Most Fabulous Story Ever Told. You can bookmark this page URL https://tammycross.blogspot.com/2009/06/trying-to-remain-sane.html. Thanks!