TRAVELS ON ROUTE 6

I live on US Route 6 (aka the Grand Army of the Republic Highway) in Northeast PA.  And many of the places to which I go for business and personal errands in Pike and Wayne counties are on Route 6.

I learned last year that Route 6 runs the entire length of the State of Pennsylvania, beginning at the New York border in Matamoras and ending at the Ohio border in Meadville.  And while on my recent trip I learned that Route 6 actually runs coast to coast, from Bishop CA to Provincetown MA, and at one time was the longest highway in the US.  It covers about 400 miles in PA and 3,200+ miles cross-country.  

Last year I decided that I would travel the length of Route 6 in PA and visit the various sites along the way.  The route has mile-markers throughout its PA run, beginning at 00 at the Ohio border and ending at 400 at the NY border.  I live just before mile marker 368.  Earlier this year I visited Scranton (near mile marker 332), and last week I visited Wellsboro (near marker 221).  I chose Wellsboro because the Grand Canyon of PA.

I set out on Route 6 West Saturday morning, having just returned from Atlantic City on Friday afternoon.  Unfortunately it rained during the entire trip, stopping just before I arrived at my destination, the Penn Wells Hotel on gas-lit Main Street in downtown Wellsboro (bigger than downtown Hawley but smaller than downtown Honesdale), so I could not partake of the beauty of the scenery on the way out.  Luckily the sky was bright and clear, and traffic was minimal, on my ride home on Tuesday, so I was then able to take in and appreciate the beauty of nature driving through the mountains of northern PA.

 

 

 

Just a few feet off Route 6, on PA Routes 660 and 287, the Penn Wells Hotel, one of Wellsboro’s most historic landmarks originally built in 1869, is truly an “old-fashioned” venue, which is why I chose it.  The current building, restored in the 1920s, has 73 character-filled guest rooms of varying sizes and types.  I had a cozy but comfortable room on the first floor (actually the second - above the lobby).  There is free high-speed wifi in all of the guest rooms. 

Off the lobby are the Mary Wells Room open for lunch and dinner Monday through Saturday and brunch (with live piano music) and dinner on Sunday, and the Penn Wills Lounge.  I was surprised to find that there was a public pay phone in the lobby (a true rarity these days).

Guests receive a complimentary full hot breakfast Monday through Sunday in the dining room, and a discount on the Sunday brunch charge.  I had all my meals (except Saturday night on the train – see below – and lunch Saturday across the street at Café 1905 located inside Dunham’s Department Store) at the hotel - the food and service was impeccable.

Hotel guests are also welcome to use the indoor pool and fitness center, travel market, business center and guest laundry facilities of the more modern 89-room Penn Wells Lodge, two blocks down Main Street and actually on Route 6.

Wellsboro was founded in 1806 as the county seat of Tioga County, and “incorporated” in 1830.  It is named for Mary Wells (no relation, I expect), wife of Benjamin Morris, who purchased the land on which the town was built in 1802.

I did it right this time, and booked my activities in advance online, except for Monday’s which I booked online while at the hotel. 

 

 

 

Saturday night was the dinner ride on the Tioga Central Railroad’s Broadway Limited – an extended excursion through the PA countryside from Wellsboro Junction (3 miles north of downtown Wellsboro on RT 287) past Hammond Lake to Tioga and back.  We left at 6:00 PM and returned about 8:15 PM.  I chose the turkey dinner and strawberry shortcake, which was delicious.  The stuffing was especially good, and the chef gave my table companions, a couple from nearby upstate NY, his special recipe while walking through the dining car after dinner gathering praise.  The cost of the all-inclusive dinner was included in the price, with only beer and wine being extra.

The railroad was built in 1872 to carry coal.  It still maintains regular freight service between Wellsboro and Corning NY.  Tioga Central Railroad offers several excursion options from the end of May through October, with a special Santa Express in November and December.

 

 

 

Sunday’s activity was a matinee performance of A R Gurney’s THE DINING ROOM by Hamilton-Gibson Productions, a community performing arts organization that began in 1991, at the Warehouse Theatre, on Central Avenue just off Main Street two blocks from the hotel.  The show, and cast, was great.   

Prior to the show I read my mystery book sitting in the public square known as “The Green” (where I also found a public pay phone) across the street from the county courthouse,

Monday I had planned to visit Pine Creek Gorge, aka the Grand Canyon of Pennsylvania, which stretches for over 45 miles with depths of nearly 1500 feet.  It is part of the Tioga State Forest.  I originally intended to drive to the gorge and the various scenic vantage points (I am not a hiker), but learned about “Ole Covered Wagon Tours” via a brochure from the display rack in the hotel lobby and booked the 12:30 horse-drawn wagon ride through the canyon.

The 2-hour round trip ride, with an Amish driver (very few others are still trained in “driving” horse-drawn vehicles) began at a family-run farm in Ansonia and took the eight of us along the Pine Creek Rail Trail and back, with colorful commentary on the history of the area and its logging days from our guide.  The guide pointed out that every component of the trip was made in America, except for the public-address system on the wagon, which was made in China.  It was the only thing that did not work properly.

 

I am sorry now that I did not schedule being in the area on a Wednesday, as "Ole Covered Wagon Tours" offers a longer "Wednesday Waterfall Ride" to Little Four Mile Falls.

It was a wonderful, practically perfect, trip, with many of my favorite vacation components – a scenic drive (and rides), an historic old-fashioned hotel, theatre, a train ride, relaxation, and great food and drink.  I look forward to another trip along Route 6 in PA next year.

TTFN

GETTING BACK TO THE GARDEN: CROSBY, STILLS & NASH RETURN TO WOODSTOCK

Here is another post that has nothing to do with taxes that I originally wrote for another publication, but apparently was not accepted.

I finally got myself back to the garden – to the Bethel Woods Center for the Arts, located on the site of the iconic 1969 Woodstock Music and Arts Fair, that is.

I have been living in northeast Pennsylvania for two years now, and had visited the area just about every summer for decades before the move, but had not yet been to the Bethel Woods Center, about 30or so miles from my new home in Hawley located just off Route 17B between Fosterdale and Monticello NY, whose 15,000 seat outdoor amphitheater opened in 2006 and museum opened in 2008.

The Museum at Bethel Woods is an immersive and captivating multi-media experience that combines film and interactive displays, text panels and artifacts to tell the story of Woodstock and the Sixties.  It is open April thru December, including most holidays.  From May 1 to September 1 the hours are 10 AM to 7 PM, 7 days a week.   From September 2 – October 13 the hours are 10 AM to 5 PM, also 7 days a week.   

I chose as my introduction to the Center the (David) Crosby, (Stephen) Stills, and (Graham) Nash concert held on Saturday evening, July 5^th – specifically because CSN, and Y (for Neil Young), had appeared at Woodstock almost 45 years earlier at the beginning of their collaboration. 

I was in the area, spending summer vacation at “Dellwood Acres” in Beach Lake, during the original festival – but was only 15 and too young to attend.  I do remember seeing overhead shots of the crowds in the Sunday News.

My family had driven to Lake Huntington NY, less than ten miles from Yasgur’s farm, where my mother grew up, and we stopped at a local general store.  The proprietor told my father he had nothing to sell him because the “hippies” had bought everything in the store.

I saw Crosby, Stills and Nash in concert twice before in the 1970s.  The first time was at Roosevelt Stadium in Jersey City, NJ on the night Richard Nixon resigned as President.  One of the three announced to the audience that he had just been told of Nixon’s resignation and the band immediately went into “Ohio” (“Tin soldiers and Nixon coming”).

The second time was in the gymnasium at Georgetown University.  I was visiting a friend from high school who was attending the University.  The tickets were for Crosby and Nash, but after a few numbers surprise guest Stephen Stills joined David and Graham onstage for the rest of the concert.

A word of advice to anyone planning to attend a concert at Bethel Woods – pay the additional $25.00 for premium parking!

I had joined the Bethel Woods Center as a member, and assumed that I could park in the Members Parking Lot.  However when I arrived that evening I discovered that this lot was only for those of higher-level memberships, so I had to park in the grass in one of the free lots located behind the premium, and paved, lots.  While there was staff on hand to guide the free parkers on the way in, there were none on the way out. I was glad to have been able to find my car easily when it was over, but it was an hour before I finally got back on Route 17B.

It was a long walk from the parking lot to the Pavilion, especially for someone of my girth, but the route was well marked and there were frequent rest stops, souvenir shops, and expensive concession stands along the way.  While there were “traditional” rest rooms, I also noticed a bank of “Port-O-Sans” along the way – a hat tip to the 1969 festival.

As I queued up for the Mens’ Room during the 20-minute intermission I noticed staff members “guarding” the surrounding grounds to make sure nobody decided to avoid the long lines and seek relief among the trees.

The guys opened with “Carry On/Questions”, ended the first Act with “Déjà Vu”, and their encore was “Teach Your Children”.  They also gave us during the course of the 2½ hour concert “Marrakesh Express”, “Our House”, “Just a Song Before I Go”, “Southern Cross”, “For What It’s Worth” (“There's a man with a gun over there”), and “Love the One You’re With.

If I am 60 they are at least in their late 60s – and have aged well.  Time has not diminished their musical skills – with Stephen Stills still nimble on the electric guitar.  Although their harmonies were not quite as melodious, they did hold up well.

The politics of the group has not changed.  Stephen Stills reminded the audience that this is an election year and emphasized the importance of getting out there to vote so that we can "empty the clown car".  And Graham Nash dedicated “Military Madness” to Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Wolfowitz, and all of the other prominent players in the Iraq War.

Conspicuously, and surprisingly, missing from the evening’s set list was “Wooden Ships”, which they performed at the original Festival and was featured in the documentary movie, “Suite: Judy Blue Eyes” (also song at Woodstock), “Ohio”, and, most surprising of all, despite frequent calls for it from the audience, “Woodstock”.  I had expected them to either open with this classic number or use it as their encore.  

Each member had a “solo” segment in the second Act, which featured some new, at least to me, material.  There were also a few new numbers performed as a group.  While the new numbers were good, I personally would have preferred more of their “oldies”.

I was also surprised that the group did not discuss, or even acknowledge, their previous appearance at this location 45 years ago.  The only reference to the original Woodstock festival came from Graham Nash, who early on suggested, "If we try very hard, maybe we can stop this rain!!"

While I left somewhat disappointed at the omissions and angered at the “exit strategy”, I can honestly say that I enjoyed the show, and was glad that I finally made it “back to the garden”.

TTFN

FORESTBURGH PLAYHOUSE ANNOUNCES SUMMER 2015 SEASON

Let me continue my series of Sunday posts that are more “wandering” than “tax pro”.

My program for the performance of “LA CAGE AUX FOLLES” at the Forestburgh Playhouse in, where else, Forestburgh NY (about 50 miles from my home in Hawley JUST OFF Route 42), the last musical of the 2014 summer season, included an order form for the Summer Season 2015.

Without further ado here is next summer’s line-up –

DAME YANKEES = June 16 - 28

YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN = June 30 – July 12

OLIVER! = July 14 - 26

THE MUSIC MAN = July 28 – August 9

42^nd STREET = August 11 – 23

THE FANTASTIKS = August 25 – 30

DRIVING MISS DAISY = September 1 – 6

Two of the musicals selected have special meaning to me. 

THE MUSIC MAN was the first Broadway musical I saw, at age 5.  It began a 13+ year tradition of musical-going with my uncle, an avid theatre-goer, which included just about every “age appropriate” musical (including OLIVER! and 42^nd STREET) that opened.  All but two occasions (the opening nights of GIGI and JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR) were Saturday matinees, and for most performances we sat in the first row of the mezzanine.

At age 8 my father took me to my first football game (by then I had seen the original Broadway productions of MY FAIR LADY, CAMELOT, and THE SOUND OF MUSIC, among others).  I was totally bored.  Where was the music?  Where was the dancing?  I am forever thankful that my uncle got to me first. 

While THE MUSIC MAN was the first Broadway musical I saw in the twentieth century, the revival with Craig Bierko and Rebecca Luker was the first Broadway musical I saw in the twenty-first century.

And, in my early twenties I produced several performances of THE FANTASTIKS during my tenure as a local producer via the HUDSON COUNTY PUBLIC THEATRE, a non-profit community theatre group I founded.

There has been theatre at the converted 100-year old barn in Forestburgh for almost 70 years.  The “Forestburgh Summer Theatre”, as it was originally named, opened on July 8, 1947, with a production of BLITHE SPIRIT.

I first discovered the Playhouse in 2011 when I attended a production of the musical IDAHO, a wonderful parody of OKLAHOMA.  I returned in 2012 to see Loretta Swit of tv’s M*A*S*H in the thriller MURDER AMONG FRIENDS.  In 2013 I saw 9 TO 5 and SPAMALOT, both for the first time.  And for 2014 I subscribed to the 5 musical productions. 

The summer of 2014 was the first season for new Producer Franklin Trapp, a former southern lawyer, taking over from retiring Norman Duttweiler, who had run the Playhouse since 1992 (and who appeared as Mr. Banks in the production of MARY POPPINS). 

Franklin began his theatrical career at the Forestburgh Playhouse in 2001 as a Resident Company member.  He remained at the Playhouse every summer through 2004, earning his equity card, writing and directing children’s shows, directing cabarets and directing Mainstage productions such as the Playhouse’s first production of THE SOUND OF MUSIC. 

This summer’s musicals were all top-notch, with experienced equity members in the leading and most featured roles, and made the most of a relatively small and limited stage.  Loretta Swit returned as MAME and Miss Mona in THE BEST LITTLE WHOREHOUSE IN TEXAS.  The first musical of the season, MY FAIR LADY, was as good as any professional revival of the classic I have seen over the years.  

And you certainly cannot beat the price – less than $30 for a matinee and $35 for an evening performance with a subscription.

My program for LA CAGE also contained a flyer for the fall series of Friday and Saturday night cabaret, with a couple of “Game Nights” thrown in, at the Forestburgh Tavern adjacent to the theatre building, which runs through October 11^th.  I plan to attend at least the LET’S GO TO THE MOVIES cabaret of favorite songs from the silver screen on Friday, October 10^th. 

The Playhouse also runs pre-show, with a buffet, and after-show cabarets during the summer season.   

TTFN

GA GA FOR HARMONY PRESENTS

This post has absolutely nothing to do with taxes of any kind – which is why I am posting it on a Sunday.  I had written it for another venue, but decided against pursuing it, and felt the piece shouldn’t go to waste.

I hadn’t been to the intimate Boiler Room, on “G” level of the Hawley Silk Mill here in northeast Pennsylvania, for a concert from Harmony Presents since the winter.  But the title of the rare Friday night concert on August 15^th grabbed me – “Ga Ga for Gershwin”.

Harmony Presents showcases live performances ranging from Americana, Funk, Rock, Comedy, Classics, Theater and more in the Boiler Room on a weekly basis.  Seating is general admission, but if you buy a ticket in advance, either online or at the AMSkier Insurance Agency in “downtown” Hawley, you are guaranteed a seat.  

On my first encounter with Harmony Presents in late September of 2013 I was surprised at just how small the room was.  I had been expecting a more traditional theatre venue.  What I found reminded me of the coffee houses of the 60s and 70s in Greenwich Village and elsewhere.  I actually helped to run such a coffee house in a church building in Jersey City NJ in the early 1970s.    

“Ga Ga for Gershwin” featured two unique talents, Beach Lake resident Dorothy Stone, a cross continental critically acclaimed soprano, and Ori Dagan, "Canada's Next Top Crooner", accompanied by Toronto-based jazz pianist Patrick Hewan in a tribute to the Great American Songbook's composers & lyricists.

In addition to Gershwin the duo also presented selections from Irving Berlin, Hoagie Carmichael, Cole Porter, Jerome Kern, and Rodgers and Hart.

Dorothy and Ori are online at Facebook and Twitter (@Diva_Crooner) as “Diva Meets Crooner”.

The room sits about 60.  This was the first show I had been to that appeared to be sold out, and I was glad I had purchased my ticket online.  There is an outdoor balcony area that overlooks the Ledges Hotel back deck and the waterfall.  Harmony Presents does not have a liquor license, but Cocoon Coffee House, located on the Silk Mill “campus”, sells wine, beer, snacks and coffee in the lobby area before the show and during intermission.

Guests who purchase advance tickets online may use their ticket for 20% off after-show drinks at the Glass Wine Bar & Bistro at Ledges Hotel between 9:30 and 10:00 PM on the day of the show.

Harmony Presents is run by Managing Director Jill Carletti, who is also Director of Social Media at AMSkier.  Before coming to Harmony Presents she was a freelance artist, designer, musician and teacher locally and abroad.  Jill does a great job of booking the talent and serving as greeter and Master of Ceremonies, as well as occasionally working the sound board.  We are “Twitter buddies”.

Harmony has a full schedule of Saturday night concerts, from 7:30 – 9:30, through the end of November.  There is also stand-up comedy on the occasional Friday, and Jill has promised magic acts are coming. 

I am looking forward to a theatrical reading of Bill Donnelly's new comedy "Silverstein" at the Boiler Room on Friday evening September 19^th.  Hope to see you there.

TTFN

NOTHING TO DO WITH TAXES, BUT - - -

I am sure that by now you have heard about the 20-something fool who took pictures of herself and a friend behaving badly (which today is glorified and encouraged by reality tv shows like THE JERSEY SHORE and similar steaming piles of excrement) at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington National Cemetery.

Her real mistake, however, was posting these pictures on Facebook for the world to see. 

 

She has publicly apologized and, I expect, removed the pictures from her Facebook page – which does not necessarily mean removing them from existence on the internet.  And she will soon be forgotten when some other idiot does something stupid and claims his/her fifteen minutes of infamy.

But let us go forward 20 years.  This fool, now older and wiser, applies for a job and is being seriously considered.  The personnel department will no doubt “google” her and what will they find – the story of her foolish act as a stupid 20-something, with the offending pictures.  Do you think she will get the job?

If I want to share my vacation pictures with my intimate circle of close friends and family around the country (for, honestly, who else but my intimate circle of close friends and family would give a flying sex act about my vacation pictures) I will mail them prints, or send the pictures to them as an email attachment.

A large segment of the great unwashed masses are stupid.  But even smart people can have a momentary lapse of judgment and do something stupid.  The purpose, and the legacy, of Facebook is to proclaim this stupidity to the world and to posterity.

TTFN

RAMBLINGS OF A RELATIVELY SANE MIND

The cafones of the Occupy Wall Street “movement” are back in the news.

As I have said before – in my youth we protested in support of civil rights and to end the war.  It seems these fools are protesting simply because they are not rich.

A recent STAR LEDGER item stated – “Thousands of protestors in New York demanded an end to income inequality and housing foreclosures”.

The only way to end income inequality in America via government action is to abandon individual freedoms and become a communist country.

And if you want to end foreclosures then do not allow the financially naïve to purchase homes they cannot afford with ridiculously minimal down payments.  And do not make it easy for these individuals to constantly refinance to get cash whenever the value of the property artificially and temporarily increases.

A client told me a few years back that when he purchased his family home 30+ years ago he had to have a substantial percentage of the purchase price as a down payment and prove to the bank that he could afford to make the mortgage payments by substantiating every aspect of his financial life.  In recent years all the banks asked was “how much to you want?”!

I firmly believe that, for the most part, we “make our own beds”.  The reason I am not excessively wealthy is a direct result of my own personal life choices.

I do acknowledge that there may occasionally exist cultural and physical obstacles beyond one’s control – but I also acknowledge the many instances when individuals have overcome these obstacles by taking positive action rather than just sitting back and whining.

Do you disagree?

TTFN

A POLITICAL LESSON NOT LEARNED

 

It is important to learn from the past.

When Jon Corzine was running against Republican Doug Forrester for Governor of New Jersey the race was tight.  But Corzine won after a Republican ad quoting a negative interview by his ex-wife backfired.

Newt Gingrich turned the tables again and used the negative interview by an ex-wife to his advantage in the most recent debate, winning the South Carolina primary.

For some reason using the accusations of an ex-wife in a political campaign does nothing but bring sympathy to the cheating candidate.

It is also important to remember some things about Newt Gingrich.

Twice he left his wife, who had each been diagnosed with a serious illness (according to Esquire, Gingrich served his first wife with divorce papers while she was in the hospital recovering from uterine cancer), for a mistress, while espousing his support of “family values”.

Gingrich led the charge against Bill Clinton on the Monica Lewinsky issue while he was conducting his own affair with a congressional aide, who is now his wife.  Coincidently I read that a woman named Anne Manning admitted to having a relationship with Gingrich during his 1976 campaign. "We had oral sex," she said. "He prefers that modus operandi because then he can say, 'I never slept with her.'"  I guess that is where Clinton got the idea.

FYI, while he was Speaker of the House Gingrich was penalized $300,000 by a 395–28 House vote after extensive investigation and negotiation by the House Ethics Committee.  This was the first time in history a Speaker was disciplined for ethical wrongdoing.

I realize that I have said I would prefer a snake to a faithful spouse in the White House– but Gingrich is too much of a hypocrite and sleaze even for me.

TTFN

WHAT IS INDECENT?

The Supreme Court is currently hearing arguments from broadcast television stations on the topic of what is indecency and whether the FCC should be regulating broadcast stations when cable tv is less regulated.

The arguments have been limited, as I understand it, to fines for brief partial nudity and the slipping of f and s bombs on live broadcasts.

But what about so-called “reality tv” shows – both broadcast and cable.  These steaming piles of excrement do more damage to society in general and our youth in particular than any wardrobe malfunction or slip of the tongue.

As a writer with what I believe is something to say I am generally against censorship and a supporter of free speech.

But those appearing on reality tv shows can barely utter the King’s English let alone have something to say, other than “Hey, look at me.  I’m an idiot!”

We are just now beginning to understand the damage done to society by this type of reality tv.

Data compiled by the American Society of Plastic Surgeons found that In the US there has been an incredible 59% increase in plastic surgery from the year 2000 to 2008.

Shows like THE JERSEY SHORE and THE REAL WORLD that glorify drunken promiscuity and fighting as the norm for settling disputes certainly tell impressionable young viewers that such behavior is acceptable.

A news item recently reported –

“The Girls Scouts are warning of the dangers of reality TV after a study by the Girl Scouts Research Institute concluded that reality shows are having a negative effect on young women, TMZ.com reports.

The study found that reality television ‘more frequently portrays girls and women in competition with one another rather than in support or collaboration. This perpetuates a 'mean-girl' stereotype and normalizes this behavior among girls,’ the story reports.”

The study concluded: “Teen girls who regularly view reality TV accept and expect a higher level of drama, aggression, and bullying in their own lives, and measure their worth primarily by their physical appearance."

And the monetary rewards and media attention paid to reality tv “performers” such as the Kardashians and Spookie and the other sluts and skanks of THE JERSEY SHORE and similar crap shows that one does not need intelligence or ability or talent or hard work or courtesy or common sense or self-respect to be successful – all you need to do is drink to excess, have sex with anything that moves, and basically just act like an idiot.

  

WISE WORDS FROM THE BRITISH BENCH

I have been enjoying watching “Judge John Deed” via my Netflix subscription.  It is a British legal television drama about a High Court judge produced by the BBC and starring Martin Shaw as the judge and Jenny Seagrove as a barrister that ran from January 2001 to January 2007.

The most recent episode I watched, titled “Popular Appeal”, involved something I predicted would happen years ago - an angry contestant in a British “Reality TV” show called “The Dungeon” kills another competitor on camera, and the show's producers face charges of manslaughter in Deed's court. The prosecution contends that they acted recklessly and engineered conflict in order to get higher ratings.

While some of the legal aspects of the series may be questionable, it is a great show, good tv drama.  This was a good episode and certainly hit the nail on the head when it comes to the steaming pile of excrement known as reality tv (which began in England and Europe before infecting American airwaves).

A psychiatrist working for the station that airs the show testifies that the producers purposely look for psychologically flawed “contestants” who can be easily manipulated and angered (no news there).   

Judge Deed, speaking to the producer of a reality TV show after the jury has returned its verdict, provides one of the best descriptions ever of so-called “reality tv”, and the making of its pathetic “stars” into “celebrities” (the highlight is mine) –

“Celebrity: the pursuit of the talentless by the mindless. It's a common disease of the twenty-first century. It pollutes our society, and diminishes all who seek it and all who worship it, and you must bear part of the responsibility for foisting this empty nonsense onto a gullible public.”

What ever happened to broadcast stations’ “Standards and Practices”?  These station functions tried to censure political protest on THE SMOTHERS BROTHERS SHOW and were shocked with the Super Bowl halftime “wardrobe malfunction” of a few years ago – yet they allow this much more potentially dangerous garbage to air unchecked!

TTFN

DON WE NOW OUR GAY APPAREL

I could have titled this post “ON A QUEER DAY” – but that would be too easy.

Early last week I say the new revised production of ON A CLEAR DAY YOU CAN SEE FOREVER with Harry Connick Jr at the St James Theatre in NYC.  As I previously mentioned – the new book turns Daisy Gamble into David Gamble, in a relationship with a less quirky Warren, although Melinda Wells remains a woman (but she is now a 1940’s jazz singer).

As also previously mentioned – OACD was my high school senior play, and I was in the chorus and had three minor roles, including a solo dance number.

Hey, Neil Patrick Harris, I thought you told us “Broadway is not just for gays anymore” at this year’s TONY Awards.

While giving Daisy a penis (which is awkward and totally unnecessary), the new book takes away the character’s ESP.  This does not cause too many gaps, but it does make the doctor calling for Daisy/David to “Come Back to Me” from his office a bit silly.  The opening “Hey Buds Below” number is now set in a florist shop as David “talks” to the flowers he is arranging, instead of as a demonstration of her “power” in the doctor’s office.

As I expected, the two songs from the Victorian England past life are gone – including the very witty “Don’t Tamper With My Sister”, the lyrics of which include the politician’s credo - “A sin is not a sin until a sin is seen” (“so let us misdemean where lights are low”).  While I missed this song, I can live with the change in past life.

New songs, from Lerner and Lane’s movie ROYAL WEDDING and the Barbra Streisand movie adaptation of the musical, are added.  Those added to facilitate the new past life fit in appropriately, as does a duet by David and his female roommate.  But the “songlets” from the movie that are sung by Harry Connick Jr, like the sex change of the Daisy character, seem awkward and unnecessary.

The book is not updated to present day, but an extra decade is added on to accommodate the past life timeline.

While I will agree that there was a problem with the ending – in the original book Daisy leaves her fiancé Warren and she and the doctor “unite to explore their extraordinary future” – I do not recall there being much else wrong with the story or its development.  The new book does good by making the doctor a widow who has not gotten over the untimely death of his wife, and fixes the ending (although it still needs a bit more tweak).  And, as I said above, I can accept the change in past life, with the doctor interacting more with the “previous” Daisy/David.   

The gratuitous gaiety, while totally unnecessary, is not, thankfully, offensive.  The gay couple plays it, pardon the pun, straight.  Neither one is overly “flamboyant”.  And the Warren character works better as a “normal” beau, especially for the ending.  The sex change does add a strange and comic undertone to the song “What Did I Have I Don’t Have Now”, although it is still powerful. 

I do not like the removal of the sub-plot about a Greek shipping magnate funding the doctor’s research so he can find out who his next life will be and leave his fortune to him, singing “When I’m Being Born Again”.  The song remains, but now is song by the doctor’s students. 

So take away the penis, the plot device of using the story as a case study presentation at a psychiatry conference, the awkward songlets from the movie, return the ESP and the Greek, and keep the change in past life, the revised Warren, the new female colleague pining for the doctor, and the rewritten ending and you will have a great production.   

The bottom line – I liked the current revival better than I thought I would.  It certainly was not as bad as the reviews I read before seeing the show would lead you to believe.  The actors are good and, of course, the score is great (which I already knew).  HCJ was better in THE PAJAMA GAME, but is ok here.   

Let us hope changing the sex of musical comedy characters does not become a trend.  The last thing I would want to see is Miss Adelaide become Mr. Adelaide, and the Hot Box Dancers become an All Male Revue!

THOU SHALT NOT LEGISLATE RELIGIOUS BELIEFS

I recently heard somewhere, perhaps on a radio news report, about Newt Gingrich complaining that some legislation, current or proposed, gave the impression that America is not a religious country.

America is NOT a religious country.  Or at least it SHOULD NOT be so considered.  The separation of Church and State is one of the most important tenets of American democracy.

Religious belief is personal and individual.  It should not be legislated, or used as the basis for legislature.

If your religious beliefs instruct you that abortion is bad – then do not have an abortion.  You can certainly bring to the attention of those who might consider such an act the various other options available.  But you cannot force your religious belief on your inconveniently pregnant neighbor, regardless of any sincere desire to save her from the “fires of hell”.

A good example of “best practice” in this area is the Amish.  They have very distinct and unique religious beliefs that govern every aspect of their daily life – but they do not require that all others accept their beliefs, nor do they condemn those who do not believe as they do.  It is a personal choice.  I do believe (and correct me if I am wrong) that they allow their matured children the opportunity to choose for themselves.

Murder is not illegal because God says “Thou shalt not kill”.  It is illegal because it denies one of the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.  Is not the charge of murder on a federal level considered “violating civil rights”?

I was brought up a “northern” Methodist.  My parents' entire social life, and much of mine in my early years, revolved around the church and congregation – but they were not in any way, shape or form religious fanatics, nor did they attempt in any way, shape or form to impose their individual religious beliefs on others.  They practiced their religion by the way they conducted their lives and the way they treated others.

While I acknowledge that this upbringing, and the particular influence of a politically active minister, did have a positive effect on my life, when I reached “maturity” (there are those who would say that I have not even yet done so) I chose to reject organized religion.  To be honest, I strongly believe that, historically, more evil than good has been done by organized religion, and that more evil than good has been done in the name of a “God”. 

I do not consider myself an atheist – but more of an agnostic.  I believe that if there is a God who is a “perfect” being then this Deity would not require his “creations” to worship him/her as an idol.  You worship God by the way you treat and interact with his other “creations” (despite the fact that there are times when I may consider some or even many of his human creations undeserving).

I firmly believe that “man created God in his own image”, inflicting the Deity with human emotions, imperfections, and motivations.  I also believe that humankind, by nature, wants to believe in a Deity, just as many people want to believe in ghosts, because such beliefs suggest the existence of life after death and allows us to better deal with the concept of death.

And it is very easy for many individuals to accept a strictly doctrinized organized religion – because the extreme protocol allows them to avoid the discomfort of individual thought and reasoning.  “If the Bible says this is what we must do then this is what we must do.”     

One’s religious beliefs may cause a person to become involved in political activity as a way of helping society and one’s “fellow man”, but one’s religious beliefs should NOT be made into law.

The bottom line – politicians who belong or pander to the “religious right” (and isn’t the Tea Party the latest incarnation of the religious right?) should NOT be elected to public office and be allowed to legislate religious beliefs.

Say "Amen"!

SURFLIGHT THEATRE 2012 SEASON

The Surflight Theate in Beach Haven (on Long Beach Island) has announced its 2012 schedule of shows.

The theater's 2012 season will include -

·      THE RAT PACK REVUE (April 18-May 6) celebrating the Swingin’ 60s with Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., and Frank Sinatra,

·      ALL I ASK OF YOU – A TRIBUTE TO ANDREW LLOYD WEBBER (May 26-June 16),

·      ANNIE (June 19-July 21),

·      Rodgers and Hammerstein’s THE SOUND OF MUSIC (July 24-August 25),

·      ONCE UPON A TIME IN NEW JERSEY (August 28-September 16), an all-new and entirely original musical comedy that is “The Sopranos” meets “Happy Days”,

·      STEEL MAGNOLIAS (September 19-October 7),

·      I LOVE YOU, YOU'RE PERFECT, NOW CHANGE (October 10-21) , touted as “Seinfeld set to music,

·      Neil Simon’s BAREFOOT IN THE PARK (October 24-November 4), and

·      IRVING BERLIN’S WHITE CHRISTMAS (November 23-December 21).   

You will be able to order tickets online beginning in January.

TTFN

BABA WAWA

Pardon my non-tax post – but I couldn’t resist.

Barbara, Barbara, Barbara – what is wrong with you?

I read in this morning’s USA TODAY about Barbara Walter’s annual “The 10 Most Fascinating People of 2011” special.

Included in her 10 are the Kardashians, Jesse Tyler Ferguson and Eric Stonestreet of MODERN FAMILY, Simon Cowell, Derek Jeter, Donald Trump, Katy Perry, and Pippa Middleton.

You have got to be kidding!  The Kardashians?  The #1 most undeservedly overexposed family of 2011 maybe.  Those cafones are as fascinating as stewed prunes!

Tronald Dump is fascinating only for his ginormous ego.  But he has been quiet lately, thank the Lord.

By now Simon Cowell is old hat and seems to have passed his period of fascination.

I don’t follow sports, do not watch MODERN FAMILY, and have no idea who Katy Perry is – so I cannot comment on these choices.

The only name that seems to me to qualify to be on such a list is Pippa Middleton.

I know one program I will definitely not be watching on December 14^th.

WHAT IS WRONG WITH THIS COUNTRY?

A tax blog post on divorce issues began with the following -

“Kim Kardashian's divorce drama is all over the news right now.  Everyone from CNN to the New York Times is covering this 72 day union.”

What is wrong with this country?  Why is CNN, the New York Times, and this tax blog spending any time and space whatsoever covering the latest obvious scam for cash from a greedy, self-absorbed, no-talent, self-respect and self-control challenged reality television slut.

Who gives the proverbial airborne sex act what this nobody does with her life?  She is not an actress, musician, or entertainer – not that being one would necessarily justify wasting so much airtime and newspaper space with this nonsense.  The only discernible ability Kardashian has ever exhibited, via a viral video, is a certain oral proficiency.

I also see other "reality" skanks, with similar limited abilities, like THE JERSEY SHORE’S main airhead Spookie, or whatever she is called, frequently being discussed on news programs.

Is the American public really as stupid as this would suggest – turning these rectal cavities, who contribute absolutely nothing to society, into celebrities earning tons of money for simply behaving like the morons they are?

I am still waiting for anyone to explain to me exactly what “redeeming social value” the steaming pile of excrement known as "reality tv" provides.

TTFN   

ANYTHING BUT TAXES - FINE WHINE

Hey, Neil Patrick Harris - what’s the story?  I thought you assured us that “it’s not just for gays anymore”!  Broadway, that is.

The new revival of ON A CLEAR DAY YOU CAN SEE FOREVER starring Harry Connick Jr, which is coming to the St James Theatre in November, has the cogliones to rewrite Broadway legend Alan Jay Lerner’s original book, turning the story gay.  The new book replaces flake Daisy Gamble with fruit David Gamble, still “affianced” to “perfect” boyfriend Warren.  At least they have kept the “past life” persona, who Connick Jr’s character falls in love with, a female - which adds a new dimension to the song “What Did I Have That I Don’t Have?”!

I could consider trying to understand the updating of the Melinda character from Victorian England to the 1940’s jazz scene – although it would appear that this could cause the loss of the witty song “Don’t Tamper With My Sister” (“A sin is not a sin until a sin is seen.  So let us misdemean where lights are low.”).  But I see no reason at all for gaying it up.  I say, “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”.  And AJL’s script was certainly not broken.

I saw the original Broadway production of OACDYCSF, with Barbara Harris, John Cullum, and William Daniels, when I was 12, and it was my Senior Play in high school (I was in the chorus and had two small parts).

The same thing was done with Rodgers and Hammerstein’s FLOWER DRUM SONG, which I also saw on Broadway as a child, a few years ago.  The revival rewrote Oscar Hammerstein’s book.  However, I did not see that production, so I cannot properly comment on the changes.

I do intend to see the OACD revival – to see how badly the original has been FU-ed.

TTFN