What, no April Fools?

Maybe we can blame it on the economy, but I get the distinct impression that very few people are in a laughing mood.  That's probably why I didn't fee compelled to play pranks on co-workers or clients throughout the day. It just seems like the wiser move at present. Oh, I did get one in earlier in the day. I stopped by a client to install a program that I know will cause the screen to blacken and flicker for a total of about one and a half seconds. I didn't let on about that, but proceeded with the installation and noted that the program was wonderful, but that it did have a terrible side effect one time previous. According to my tale of woe, if the screen blackened it meant that the installation had failed and that it would take some expertise to figure out what to do next to the computer. No sooner had I spoken those words than the screen blackened. "Oh, no!" I shouted, putting my hands to my face in fake terror like Macauley Culkin in "Home Alone" for extra measure. After a second and a half later, the screen flickered back on. "April Fools!" I bellowed, laughing out loud. She screamed, but then started laughing along with me. It was an inspired moment and one that I was devilishly proud of. Oh, well, like the Saints and the Browns are always saying, "wait until next year!"

Big Easy Award Winners

"Assassins" supporting actor winner Jimmy Murphy congratulates "Coyote on a Fence" supporting actress winner Angie Joachim.

Well, I am back from the 21st annual Big Easy Theatre Awards and I couldn't be more pleased with the way the show came off. One little hiccup, though. Sean Patterson, the host slated to fly down from New York's flight was cancelled due to weather-related delays and so he never did make it down for the awards show. To his credit he was on the phone yucking it up with co-host Gary Rucker, the very erudite and refined bad boy of FourFront Productions. Rucker decided to invite members of the audience to an open audition to be Sean Patterson. It was an inspired bit of comedic genius among much last night. Throughout the night the attendees, who wore the swankiest of formal gowns and garb were treated to performances from many of those nominated in the musical fields. So who were the big winners? Well, everyone really. The theatre community in New Orleans is one of the most cohesive and talented groups across the nation. I would stack many of our actors, singers and dancers up against those in the better-known entertainment capitals of the world including New York, Las Vegas and Hollywood. For best drama the runaway winner was InSideOut Productions' "Coyote on a Fence," which garnered top awards for best actor (Michael Aaron Santos), best supporting actor (Jason Kirkpatrick), best supporting actress (Angie Joachim), and best drama. Santos's wife and co-producer Ashley Ricord did not win for best director (she lost out to Actor's Theatre of New Orleans's Rene J. Piazza), but she did manage to pick up a best actress in a drama nod for her riveting performance in "Side Man" in which she starred opposite her husband. That was a co-production with the NOLA Project, which was the other big winner of the night for Stephen Sondheim's "Assassins." Jimmy Murphy picked up the best supporting actor in a musical for his portrayal of John Wilkes Booth, while Lisa Piccone, a recovering breast cancer victim, was positively radiant and robust as she won best supporting actress in a musical for her quirky Sara Jane Moore. The NOLA Project's own very young and very talented A. J. Allegra won the best director of a musical award for "Assassins" beating out Butch Caire for his "Miss Saigon" and Sonny Borey and Derek Franklin, late of Le Petit Theatre du Vieux Carre, for their "Rent" and "Cabaret." Borey and Franklin didn't go away empty handed. They did pick up the best musical of the year for "Cabaret" and were given credit for best choreography (Leo Jones, Wanda Rouzan and Beverly Trask) as well as best costume design (the potty-mouthed Roy Haylock). A surprising pick for best musical director was Jim Walpole for his inspired work in "Thrill Me: The Leopold and Loeb Story," a co-production of Marigny Theatre and To Do Productions. Walpole credited Marigny Theatre's own Donnie Jay, who is in the hospital fighting for his life with a brain tumor at this moment. Walpole recalled how he lost his father during this production and credited Jay with keeping him grounded during that turbulent time in his life. Cecile Casey Covert, the very talented costume designer, was not nominated this year, but it was also announced that she was also infirm at present and everyone was asked to keep her in their prayers throughout the coming days. Two actors, Sean Knapp for "Speech and Debate" (best supporting actor in a comedy) and Christopher Woods for "Rent" (best actor in a musical) were unable to pick up their awards due to the fact that they could not enter the building. Harrah's has strict controls in place to prevent underage gamblers from access to their casino. The rest of the winners were scattered among several different production companies with notable nods to Southern Repertory for their comedies "Speech and Debate" (best director Aimee Hayes) and "The Seafarer" (best actor in a comedy Mark Maclaughlin). Although he did not win for his best supporting actor in a comedy nominated role in "The Seafarer," where he played the devil, Jim Fitzmorris did win a best original work for theatre Big Easy Award for his campy "What, Has This Thing Appeared Again Tonight?," a co-production with the NOLA Project and Tulane's Shakespeare Festival. Speaking of universities, David Hoover picked up a best university production honor for his direction of "Metamorphoses," performed at the University of New Orleans and featuring a full swimming pool on stage. Jeff Becker won his first set design award for "Flight," a co-production of ArtSpot Productions and Mondo Bizarro, while Scott Sauber and Nancy Macko competed against themselves and two other lighting designers, winning for Le Petit's "Rent." A surprise win for best actress in a musical was registered by Meredith Long for her powerful voice in "Ruthless! The Musical." She beat out previous winners Liz Argus and Jessie Terrebonne and brilliant newcomer Idella Johnson whose work in "Pal Joey," "Cabaret," and "Rent," respectively, were all spectacular. Dorian Rush, who has been nominated for a Big Easy Award since her work in "Hedwig and the Angry Inch," finally picked up a best supporting actress in a comedy and she was practically giddy about it. I am proud to say that Amy Alvarez won for her scintillating work with Jefferson Turner in "He Loves and She Loves: The Gershwin We Love," the first Big Easy Award in the new cabaret category. Special awards to the New Orleans Fringe Fest, who are preparing their sophomoric presentations later this year, and to Bryan Batt, star of stage and screen and currently seen in AMC's "Mad Men" were also made in addition to a well-deserved tribute to Al Shea, who has been on local TV screens and involved in theatre as a reviewer for decades. All in all, it was a very nice night for New Orleans theatre and one that producer Gloria Powers and Margo and Clancy Dubos from Gambit Weekly can be justly proud.

The Big Easy Theatre Awards

Tonight marks the annual Big Easy Entertainment Awards and the third time that the theatre presentations (formerly coupled with the music presentations) is being held on its own. The event held at Harrah's Casino is a tour-de-force of presenters and talented ensembles performing several scenes or songs from several of last year's nominated productions. It is one of the swankiest and most fun events because the theatre community is really so much fun to be around. Oh, yes, they do cut up and oftentimes the humor is adult in nature, but so be it. Harrah's won't let anyone younger than 21 years-old to begin with, so unless there are an inordinate number of prudes lurking about, it's fine. They're playing to their own crowd, so to speak, and they are a most receptive audience. My own favorites that I hope will garner awards are Le Petit Theatre's production of "Cabaret" featuring home-grown talents Jessie Terrebonne and Roy Haylock and New York transplant Rich Arnold in addition to InSideOut Production's incredible "Coyote on a Fence." I also was very partial to the NOLA Project's "Assassins" and Southern Repertory's "The Seafarer." The breadth of all of these productions were worthy of note and all deserve to win Big Easy Awards. So, it's off to Harrah's for me. I'll return when the envelopes are all opened and the winners known full well.

Who do the Voodoo like we do when you say "I do"?

Consider it a tempest in a teapot or a major maelstrom, but the Voodoo Music Experience (better known as "Voodoo Fest" to locals) is in danger of being sunk by four couples who have had the temerity to book weddings at City Park on the same Halloween weekend. In fairness to the four couples involved, Rehage Productions, the Voodoo Fest producers, decided to change their dates from the third weekend in October to the final weekend to take advantage of what they considered a better date. This year even more attendees are expected with headliners KISS expected to take the stage that weekend. The only problem was they forgot to mention this to the kindly folks at City Park where the event has been held very year since its inception with the exception of the year of Hurricane Katrina when a scaled-down version was held in Audubon Park. Rehage Productions has sponsored 50 events through the years at City Park and while that in itself shouldn't necessarily guarantee them more consideration, there is a lot at stake here. Meanwhile, the four couples booked their weddings at several venues inside the park and assuredly didn't expect to contend with high noise levels, excessive crowds, no parking and possible security breaches from outsiders wanting in on a good time (check out "Wedding Crashers" in case you don't know what I mean). City Park and the city generate many millions of dollars in revenue from the festival and it is considered every teenager and college-aged rocker's dream weekend of music and social consciousness. In its own way it is a rite of passage for young men and women similar on a smaller scale to what Woodstock was to my generation...only it happens every year. So, what to do? Some have suggested that Rehage Productions offers to pay for the costs of shifting the venues to another location, but I'm not so sure that all of the couples will agree to those conditions. It is still early enough, though, that they could change their wedding dates and venues, but there is always the possiblity they may lose deposits for bands to play their receptions or might have to be looking for replacements in case of double bookings. Also, what about purchasing plane tickets for guests? If someone already has a ticket in hand, they may have to rebook at $100 a crack. That's definitely not the best of options. Additionally, hotels may not have a block of rooms assigned to a wedding party on the weekend of Voodoo Fest. That's another problem. With so much money on the line, though, someone needs to start working out the details and try to mitigate the damage as much as possible. The City Park Board met Tuesday to consider the sticky problem, but no agreement is in sight. City Park chief operating officer Robert Becker feels it is not right to ignore signed contracts. I agree. It's not fair to ruin the wedding plans for these brides, but it's also impractical to think that four weddings could be the funeral for the Voodoo Fest.

Are we losing our character?

A recent poll by DoctorNDTV was conducted to check to see how many people seeing an accident victim on the side of the road would respond with an offer of help. Seems like a no-brainer to me. Unless something was dangerous or untoward, I would gladly offer my assistance, especially if women or children were involved. Nonetheless, it would seem I am in the minority. Aside from offering direct assistance like calling 911, respondents to the poll were also given choices with less involvement like taking a picture from a cell phone or camera or texting friends about the accident. Incredibly, some 61% of those polled said they would either pass by the accident scene without stopping, decide not to call 911, take a picture of the accident, text or Twitter someone about it. Is this an indictment of our sense of character or what? In the Boy Scout troops with which I am associated, we constantly strive to instill in each Scout a sense of duty to help others at all times. It is this concept that has become almost a caricature of itself as when a Scout offers to help a little old lady cross the street. It is a selfless act that is predicated upon a supposition of service and readiness to help one another. In my own case I believe it is just my normal character to want to help others and correct the wrongs inflicted upon others as best I can. But I must ask where are we as a nation if over three-fifths of the public believes we should do nothing to help our fellow man at worst or should instead attempt in some way to take advantage of his plight? What does that say for our souls or our collective strength of character? Have we lost the notion that founded this nation that united we stand and divided we fall? At the signing of the Declaration of Independence, it was Benjamin Franklin who quipped, "we must all hang together or assuredly we will all hang separately." He understood that with one broad stroke of the pen, each man was signing his own death warrant. Yet, it was for a greater purpose that those men met to found our nation. Abraham Lincoln understood this concept full well when considering how to deal with the recalcitrant Confederate States and that was to think of them as family members in a squabble. They could no more leave the union of their own accord than one could divorce himself from his parents. His poetic imagery was perhaps best expressed when he said, "a house divided against itself cannot stand." We need to be involved with one another to support one another in time of need and to revel with one another in time of joy and celebration. One of my favorite quotes is by John Donne who had the good sense in just a few words to encapsulate this feeling to the extreme: "No man is an island, entire of itself...any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind; and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee." This thought succinctly brings to the fore two concepts: one, that we are all interconnected and dependent upon one another and two, that we are all mortal and in imminent threat of death from the moment of our births. Hemingway was so impressed with this quotation that he named his glorious novel set during the Spanish Civil War after it. Perhaps, if more Americans would consider this in their daily outlook more and Twitter or Facebook a bit less, we might make more progress in our economic recovery and improve our souls in the process.

The upside down world of Israeli politics

While many of us have been relieved that the American presidential experience of 2006-2008 was decided at the ballot box last November, a very colorful electoral process is ongoing in Israel as a result of the fractious party system that runs governments there. Although the Kadima Party of Tzipi Livni garnered more votes in the general election for the Knesset, it is the Likud Party's Benjamin Netanyahu who will become the next prime minister due to the supposition of President Shimon Peres that the right wing votes were greater in the last election than the left wing. With Peres's invitation to "Bibi" Netanyahu, a coalition government with the Labor Party can now be formed with him at its head. The party of Ariel Sharon and Ehud Olmert will now take a back seat to Netanyahu as the voices of peace will continue to be heard in that troubled area, but with a slightly more hawkish approach to a two-state solution. In fact, a coaltion between Likud and Kadima could not be managed due to Netanyahu's reluctance to specifically state he will support a two-state solution for Israel and Palestine categorically. Thus, Netanyahu, a former prime minister, will again ascend that august chair and guide Israel into the next phase of talks with the Palestinians. Imagine an American election in which the Republicans would join with the Libertarians and form a government squeezing out the Democrats from the executive branch entirely. That's similar to what is going on in Israel. But don't stop there. Consider the even more splintered 30 other political parties, each vying for as many seats in the Knesset as possible to have a say in the coaltion government being formed. Most of them will be discounted, but others like the extreme right wing party of Avigdor Lieberman, Yisrael Beitenu, cast a pall over the future of Israel's path to peace. Yisrael Beitenu is now the third largest political power in Israel and a definite backlash to the peace proposals of the past. It is Lieberman who has muddied the political waters in Israel by questioning the allegiance of the country's Arab population. Arabs have enjoyed incredible rights in the Jewish state since its inception, but the recent action in Gaza and the high death toll of civilians have some Arab-Israelis questioning how much Israel desires to continue down the road to peace. Netanyahu is keeping his options open in case it becomes politically expedient to turn his back on a two-state solution in the future. He promised that he would continue to move down the path of peace, engaging with the Palestinian Authority in open peace talks. However, there is no assurance that he will be looking at a two-state solution and, given the large numbers of Israelis who voted against a more liberal approach, it would seem that there is no mandate for him to do so either. So, its politics as unusual in Israel, a place that makes America look almost humdrum.

A "Scandalous" musical

"Scandalous!" composer-lyricist Glyn Bailey, second from left, framed by fellow book writers Theasa Tuohy and Keith Thomas. Director Stephen Duckham is at center right.

Almost every week that I have time to do so, I am usually in a theatre viewing one or more of the local productions that are presented at various venues about town. As a member of the Big Easy Theatre Committee, it is my duty to watch upwards of 100 productions a year. For someone who loves theatre it is both blessing and a curse. The New Orleans theatre community bounced back from Hurricane Katrina much more quickly than other segments of the city did. Now, three years after the storm did away with the Saenger Theatre, the only professional venue for touring shows in the city, many of the smaller theatres are up and running with very well-done presentations. Throughout the year there are a number of shows that are done with great care, but because of a lack of resources or limitations in the casts and technical crews, they come off with less-than-stellar productions. Typically, a small coterie of very talented actors and producing companies seem to take the lead in presenting the best shows each year. These include Le Petit Theatre du Vieux Carre, Southern Repertory Theatre, Tulane Summer Lyric Theatre, Rivertown Repertory, Actor's Theatre of New Orleans, Anthony Bean Community Theatre as well as producing companies like FourFront Theatre, Running With Scissors, All Kinds of Theatre, NOLA Project and InsideOut Productions. One of the consistently powerful producing companies is the Jefferson Performing Arts Society led by Artistic Director and maestro Dennis Assaf. Under Assaf's leadership, JPAS has consistently produced winners in theatre, opera and more popular presentations. Now, their latest production, "Scandalous!", a musical based on the life of British authro D. H. Lawrence, is enjoying its United States premiere and it is among the very best musicals I have ever seen. Glyn Bailey, the composer and lyricist wrote the show some nine years ago and presented it a few times in England before moving to Covington, Louisiana with his wife. He and Assaf go together and the two elected to mount this production for just four shows. Bailey convinced fellow book writers Theasa Tuohy and Keith Thomas and director Stephen Duckham to come to New Orleans for the shows. New York veteran actor Bart Shatto ("Les Miserables," "The Civil War," and "Dracula") and West End actress Lindsay Hamilton led the cast and chorus filled with local talents. In short the show is a smash. Assaf, who led the orchestra with precision, played Bailey's enchanting and compelling music with panache and I count "Scandalous!" as one of the finest presentations I have ever seen. I am only sad that the auditorium was only half filled at the matinee yesterday and that just two performances remain on Friday or Saturday nights. For more information, check out the web site for "Scandalous!"