Black Jew Dialogues, Part 2

Ron Jones, yours truly and Larry Jay Tish after last night's performance at Le Chat Noir

Following publication of yesterday’s blog about “The Black Jew Dialogues,” I attended the performance at Le Chat Noir last night. The sparsely attended crowd was treated to nearly an hour and a half of scripted fun followed by a ten minute question and answer period. Both co-creators and stars Larry Jay Tish and Ron Jones were clever in their approach to the material, which was hysterical for most of the night. There were underpinnings that dealt with issues of anti-Semitism and racism against African-Americans, but the message was delivered through the veil of humor. It was a play within a play with the two stars breaking character to become themselves only to revert into other characters. “This play within a play thing, we didn’t start,” Tish remarked prior to the performance. “Actually, Wiliam Shakespeare did it originally.” The whole performance was quite hilarious and there the party next to me, neither African-American or Jewish, were having just as much fun as the others in the audience who were. Following last night's nearly hour and a half long show, the crowd thinned out and I found myself enjoying a late night with the two stars. We ended the morning at the Carousel Bar at the Monteleone Hotel, not exactly on my diet. But what the heck! It was fun and I hadn't had anything alcoholic earlier at Le Chat (much to Barbara Motley's chagrin). Tonight's the final performance, but I don't think either Ron or Larry will make this their last trip.

The Black Jew Dialogues

Ron Jones, left, as "Mabel" and Larry Jay Tish as "Esther" in Edinburgh, Scotland.

Larry Jay Tish is probably one of the most genial fellows one would ever want to meet. He calls himself a "Bu-Jew," meaning he believes in both Buddhist and Jewish traditions. His diet is fairly strict, but he is being tested while in New Orleans. Somehow, it is hard to pass on a shrimp po-boy from Domilise's or to sample from some of the swank eateries found in the Crescent City. Larry is the co-writer and co-creator of "The Black-Jew Diaglogues," premiering tonight and playing again tomorrow night (Tuesday) at Le Chat Noir. Le Chat's comely proprietress, Barbara Motley, was contacted by Tish a few weeks back when he learned that he was going to be presenting his show at nearby LSU in Baton Rouge on Wednesday. Trying to piggyback on the other date, he offered Motley an opportunity to showcase the original comedy starring fellow Bostonian Ron Jones and himself. The series of vignettes runs nearly an hour and a half and is being co-presented by Anthony Beane Acting School and Community Theatre. Proceeds for tonight's show will benefit Le Chat Noir, while tomorrow night's proceeds will benefit Anthony Beane. Due to the nature of the show, Motley says she was insistent that Beane be brought into the mix as a sign of working with the diverse New Orleans theatre community and the importance of the message of Tish's "The Black Jew Dialogues," which stresses similarities between the African-American and Jewish communities. Throughout the performance, Tish and Jones will play characters not unlike themselves and will explore many of the issues that have strengthened and divided the two diverse communities. They even get into drag for the appearance of "Esther" and "Mabel," two older "ladies" who meet in a park. "At first they don't like each other," Tish explains, "but then they end up singing about the joys of food -- Jewish and soul food!" The multi-media presentation has lots of funny video bits too. As an example, Tish conducts man on the street interviews about a range of issues that turn out to be quite hilarious. Both Jones and Tish will employ the use of puppets for another segment of the show. Tish says the show has been playing well on college campuses, since its inception a little over a year and a half ago. The biggest break came when "The Black Jew Dialogues" was chosen to appear for 27 straight nights at the Edinburgh, Scotland Performing Arts Festival, which Tish describes as the world's largest. Based on its initial success, the show has been booked into other European venues like Leeds, England and has criss-crossed the country for most of the last year. Both Tish and Jones have had experience in improv theatre: Tish, who originally hailed from Brooklyn, had lots of experience acquired in Boston as did Jones, who was a native of Washington, D.C. "I wanted to do more and wanted to bring people together, especially after 9/11," confides Tish. He and Jones brainstormed in a hotel room to get the creative process started and that's the basic genesis of the material in the show. "We wanted to show the absurdity and stupidity of racism and hatred, especially between our groups," Tish notes. He acknowledges that there was a growing rift between blacks and Jews and he found that incredulous given the history of Jews being at the forefront of the battle to achieve civil rights. Tish promises an evening of fun and laughter, but with an underlying message. For ticket information, contact Le Chat Noir at 504-581-5812 or drop by tonight or tomorrow night at 715 St. Charles Avenue.

Moses is dead and I'm not feeling well either

I went to bed late last night after working at a very nice party, providing music for the guests who were celebrating two major events at one time. The first was a 60th birthday party and the second was an official housewarming for his sister-in-law, who was hosting the event. After well over two years, she was finally free of architects and contractors whose job it was to restore and repair her house following the damage from the Hurricane Katrina related flooding. The party took place no more than eight blocks away as the crow flies from my home, so I know the house received at least four to five feet of flooding. When I checked my e-mail, I found a notice that noted actor Charlton Heston, 84, the star of "The Ten Commandments," "Ben Hur," "The Agony and the Ecstasy," "El Cid," "The Greatest Show on Earth," "The Planet of the Apes," and "Touch of Evil" (to name just a few) had succumbed, probably due to the effects of Alzheimer's disease with which he had acknowledged having consistent symptoms in 2002. For me his greatest role was that of Moses, the central figure of Cecil B. DeMille's retelling of "The Ten Commandments" in 1956. I remember seeing that film in the theatres as a child with my grandmother dragging me by the hand. I recall the pivotal scene where Heston's Moses sees the burning bush and hears the words of God for the first time. To a young, impressionable kid, especially one who was coming to grips with his Jewish heritage, this was a very awe-inspiring film. To me Heston was the definitive portrayal of Moses and I used his performance to consider what the real prophet would have been like. Later, in Hebrew school, I learned that Moses used his brother Aaron to communicate to the pharaoh because he was slow of speech. I found that concept implausible when I thought about the movie, because Heston was a speechwriter's dream, a stoic figure with a booming baritone to match. The other major movie role I treasured growing up was Heston's Judah Ben Hur in William Wyler's epic "Ben Hur." Although this was a Christian tale, there was Heston playing the role of another Jew. With his hawk-like, chiseled features, I should have known that he wasn't Jewish, but the illusion was convincing because, after all, wasn't he Moses? The chariot scene in the Academy Award winning film still ranks as one of my favorites and it probably helped secure Heston his only Oscar. Here in the Crescent City, some will recall Heston portrayed Andrew Jackson, the hero of the Battle of New Orleans, in the Hollywood send up "The Buccaneer" in which Yul Brynner played privateer Jean Lafitte. But most will recall Heston's role in "Number One" in which he played the improbable role of a great quarterback (Billy Kilmer did most of the throwing in cutaways), who had brought his New Orleans Saints to a Super Bowl. Whatever role he played, Heston was usually over the top. Consider his "El Cid" opposite Sophia Loren or his circus master in "The Greatest Show on Earth," de Mille's only Academy Award winner for Best Picture. Heston chose to ignore the historical record when he took on the role of Michelangelo, a gifted artist acknowledged by Vatican scholars as having been homosexual. But it didn't really matter. Heston was larger than life and like John Wayne, he cast such an enormous figure that he made the pictures ever so much stronger by his appearance in them. Heston was a six-time president of the Screen Actors Guild and presided over the American Film Institute. He loved community theatre and helped found the Thomas Wolfe Memorial Theatre in Wolfe's hometown of Asheville, North Carolina, not far from where I attended summer camp for seven years. Many will remember his TV role on "Dynasty" and "The Colbys," but Heston was a movie star. The small screen never seemed to capture his true essence. There were the forgettable pictures too like "Soylent Green" and those disaster flicks like "Airport 1975" and "Earthquake," but fans were forgiving of Heston, even when he became highly politicized late in life. As a president of the National Rifle Association, he devoutly defended the right of Americans to bear arms, even if he took heat for it from the liberal wing. He and Ed Asner, TV's Lou Grant, got into a series of public imbroglios over restricting gun ownership and documentary filmmaker Michael Moore ambushed Heston in his own Beverly Hills home in "Bowling for Columbine." It was probably not a well-advised move for Heston to have an audience with Moore, who used the opportunity to personally impugn Heston's integrity and sensitivity in holding pro-NRA rallies in Flint, Michigan and in Columbine following gun tragedies there. It was a low point for Moore, but Heston showed his mettle by leaving the interview after six minutes of haranguing by the porcine interviewer. Heston leaves behind his wife of 64 years, Lydia, adopted daughter Holly Heston Rochell and director-producer son Fraser, who made his screen debut as the infant Moses in "The Ten Commandments." It is a shame, but Heston's famous chant at NRA conventions with rifle raised above his head ("From my cold dead hands!") can now be played in earnest. I much prefer "Let it be written. Let it be done!" Don't you?

Cabaret category

At the conclusion of this year's Big Easy Theatre Awards, Margot Dubos, the grande dame of Gambit Magazine, which sponsors the foundation responsible for the program, announced that a new category would be set up for cabaret. This is welcome news to the main cabaret club in the area, Le Chat Noir, named in honor of the very first Parisian cabaret that started it all. Le Chat Noir is run by Barbara Motley, a woman who so loved cabaret that she opened her own New Orleans venue over a decade ago. Motley, a charming tall glass of water is vivacious and gracious. She is generous with her time and friends and makes all who enter her doors feel welcome and at home. Her girl Friday is Su Gonczy, a brilliant lighting technician, who occassionally accompanies acts with her voice. It is my favorite bar in the city and I love the space which is typically devoted to either small plays or genuine cabaret fare. Starting this weekend and continuing through next weekend is Amanda McBroom, the well-known and talented New York actress and cabaret star. She is a terrific talent and typical of the caliber of performer that Le Chat Noir will book. While the Big Easy Awards committee only considers local acts for nominations, it is important for us to encourage people to go to Le Chat and experience what truly exceptional cabaret is all about. For more information on Amanda McBroom, call Le Chat Noir at 504-581-5812.

Losing is not easy

It's been over two and a half weeks since I started on my regimen of diet and exercise as part of the JCC's "The Biggest Loser" contest. Frankly, I have seen progress and noticed a goodly amount of weight has been shed. I was down ten pounds at one point, but as I continued weight training, I have noticed that I also added weight by building muscle. My tone is much better and I am using a lot of cardio exercise to burn more fat. Today I can show a decrease in body fat percentage too, down 3%. As part of the contest, I am expected to meet with a trainer for ten times. I met with him twice in the first week. He was on vacation last week and I saw him twice this week. That means I have three more weeks and six more sessions with him before the contest is over. He drills me like a sergeant, which is what I really wanted. I wanted someone who would demand me to extend myself to the very reaches of my ability. I have the aching muscles to prove that. I am well pleased with his impulsion to drive me to the envelope of my stamina. My only major problem is the bland food I am supposed to eat. The diet won't allow red meat more than once a week and centers about chicken, turkey and fish for most meals. I have been applying my Creole and French cuisine skills towards making the salads and entrees taste palatable. My first turkey breast yielded 30 times the amount of meat I could use in one night. I decided to use the new reusable freezer bags with the vacuum seals and handheld mini-pump to freeze half of it and to keep pre-sliced portions in the refrigerator. Isn't science wonderful? As I mentioned before in the March 23 blog titled "Nutritional Tidbits," this whole process has been complicatd by the fact I keep a kosher home. Not that I'm complaining, mind you, but it has been difficult to find food items on my permitted list that are kosher. The vegetarian aspects of many meals makes it easy, but the non-dairy and meat aspects make it a bit more difficult to be compliant. Nevertheless, I feel that my core has been strengthened by the process and so I will not deviate. I will push on and when it's all over three weeks from now, I am sure to be at a better spot than I would have been were I not have elected to take this opportunity.

A heavenly concert for Mary Abbay

One of the things most disturbing about the numbers of those who perished during the Hurricane Katrina cataclysm was that everyone, no matter where dispersed, lost someone they knew or were close to someone they knew who lost someone. In that way New Orleans is like a small town where everyone knows each other's business. Several months after returning from Cleveland, I was in the main New Orleans U.S. Post Office lobby. A display on the wall showed some of the forgotten victims who drowned, suffered heart attacks, etc. There was my middle school (Eleanor McMain Jr. High School) Spanish professor, Dr. Manuel Romero and his spinster sister. Both had drowned in the home they shared for a lifetime. Invited to my Bar Mitzvah, Dr. Romero gave me a hardback Spanish-English, English-Spanish dictionary. When my son was learning Spanish at Isidore Newman School, he used that very same dictionary, which was signed to me on the inside jacket. I was so sad to learn of his demise, but ironically, the dictionary suffered the same fate, falling victim to the swirling waters of Katrina's destruction.

Last week I learned of another dear friend who had been lost and it affected me in much the same way as when I learned about Professor Romero. When I managed Smith's Record Center in the 80s and 90s, I met a number of noted classical artists. One of them was a very sweet and very talented harpist named Mary Abbay Sayle. I don't remember why, but everyone referred to her as Mary Abbay instead of Mary. She was a genteel Southern lady with a very quiet disposition. I enjoyed her company when we would meet and I helped her sell some of her tapes that she put in our store on consignment. I don't recall her actually making CDs, but I certainly would have sold those for her too would she had asked. Mary Abbay made a name for herself, playing gigs with the New Orleans Symphony Orchestra and later when it was renamed and reorganized as the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra. She loved playing chamber music, but was content to play solo recitals too. She was a music instructor and enjoyed passing the love of music to the young. Every now and then Mary Abbay would call on me to work as a disc jockey for a wedding reception. I was happy to do so. She would work at restaurants like the famous Sazerac Room at the Fairmont Hotel (formerly the Roosevelt Hotel), where she met her husband Tim, who was a chef there. He and she married and they later moved to Memphis where she continued to play at venues like the Peabody Hotel and he continued to ply his craft at famous kitchens in that city. Mary Abbay died unexpectedly on March 29, 2007.
A special memorial site can be found online at: http://maryabbaysaylegourley.memory-of.com/About.aspx
Surprisingly, a notice of her passing never was published in New Orleans' Times-Picayune. That will happen on Sunday. Mary Abbay's friends here have organized a memorial concert to benefit a fund for her three young children David, Georgeanne and Abbay. The concert to be held at St. Charles Avenue Presbyterian Church (State Street at St. Charles Avenue) on April 6 at 3:00 p.m. will feature several pieces of music by Faure, Debussy Respighi, Rutter and others, many with prominent harp solos. I urge all of my friends in New Orleans to attend the free concert to honor her memory and to consider making a donation to the fund. For more information call 504-920-0086. The address to send donations to the Mary Abbay Gourley's Children's Trust Fund is P. O. Box 111252, Memphis, Tennessee 38111-1251. Somehow, I know that the music will honor the memory of one of the most talented and loving individuals I have ever been blessed to have known. There truly is a reason that the harp is considered the instrument of the heavenly hosts. It is best played by angels.

My momentous announcement

After much deliberation and forethought, I have decided to take my blogging to the next level. I am prepared and ready to tackle the next biggest challenge in my life. So, it is with the greatest of pride that I announce my intention to throw my hat into the political ring. It is time that a man of conviction takes on the powers that be. It is time that a man of vision charts a course for the future that his electorate can take pride in. It is time for me to assume the powers that most conform to my readiness and preparation. I am ready to be emperor! Yes, I know there are some who have held the title in their own inimitable fashion through the years. There were those Caesars and the Charlemagne fellow in ancient and medieval times and in a more recent era Pu Yi in China and Hirohito in Japan. But all of them had decided to be local in their influence and hadn't fully thought through the global possibilities of absolute powers spanning nations and across continents. I am talking about emperor of the planet, something like Ming in the Flash Gordon movies. Now that's something someone can sink his teeth into! It's a role to be coveted and, best of all, it is a lifetime position. I don't have a retirement plan in existence anyway, so this should be a perfect fit. I'm sure it also comes with an excellent health plan. I probably would get a discount for maintaining a supply of able bodyguards, so it seems to me it's a win-win proposition. As emperor I promise to take care of my own business and increase my personal wealth. I would not be a tyrant, unless someone crossed me. After all, what's the good in being a man with absolute power if you can't wield it recklessly? I think this may work out to be a very good plan and I might even make today a worldwide holiday to celebrate my momentous decision. What is today's date, again?