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May 30, 2006:

I NEVER PROMISED YOU A ROSE GARDEN

Bruce Kimmel Photograph bk's notes

Well, dear readers, the long weekend is but a memory and now it is time to buckle down Winsocki and begin the work week. I’m suspecting that this week will be a little hellish for the likes of me, but we shall deal with it as best we can. The good news is that I’m going into it very rested and all caught up on my sleep. Speaking of sleep, yesterday I did not sleep very late on account of I woke up early. That sounds like a line from Guys and Dolls, doesn’t it? What am I, Damon Runyon all of a sudden? In any case, once up I jogged quite briskly, then showered and went off to a bruncheon at neighbors Tony Slide and Bob Gitt’s home environment. It was a smallish affair, just a few of us neighbors. They’ve recently redone their yard and it’s quite lovely, and we all sat out there and had our bruncheon, which consisted of flautas, a spinach/potato thing, and a salad. It all looked quite yummilicious, but I only partook of the salad. I was also facing the sun for the two hours I was there, and I must say I got a little color on my face. The conversation was, as always, lively and sparkling, not necessarily in that order. Afterwards, I had to do an errand and then I came back to the home environment to fritter away the rest of the day. At some point in the late afternoon, I took a nice long walk. I tried to settle down and watch a DVD in the evening, but I couldn’t so I didn’t. Instead, I watched a VHS tape I’d found in the garage several weeks ago. More about that momentarily.

Yesterday, because I was up so damnably early, I did watch a DVD in the bedroom player, a motion picture entitled I Never Promised You A Rose Garden. I’d never seen it before, and I must say it’s quite a strange motion picture. It does feature an excellent performance by Miss Kathleen Quinlan and Miss Bibi Andersson is very good, too. The supporting cast is pretty wild – Susan Tyrell is hilarious, Nancy Parsons is Nancy Parsons, and there’s also Signe Hasso, Sylvia Sydney, and, in a very tiny role, Dennis Quaid. I can’t say it’s a good film, but I can say it’s a strange one. The DVD is full frame, ugly, and, I suspect, cut by six minutes (if the running time on the imdb is correct, which it may not be – it’s listed at ninety-six minutes and the DVD runs ninety). I do remember seeing a bit of it on cable one night years ago, and I distinctly remember Miss Quinlan riding a horse, with she completely nude. That isn’t on the DVD – of course, I could be misremembering, but I doubt it.

I also watched this VHS tape I found. It’s from 1980, and is of a Canadian high school production of my musical, Stages. Stages had a few amateur productions during that period, and I hadn’t viewed this tape since way back then. I found it very touching to watch, with the kids giving it their all. They did have to make a few minor cuts because it was high school, but they actually kept quite a few things that surprised me. The pace was way too slow, but it just tickled me to see it, and it was fun to see that the characters in the show really work. What was really shocking, however, was to realize that everyone in the cast would now be over forty. That’s just sobering. Watching the tape also made me remember just how much fun it was to perform the show. We had a substantial run at the Matrix, and I remember that time as joyous – we were always sold out, the audiences were incredibly vocal, and it was one of the best times I’ve ever had.

Well, why don’t we all click on the Unseemly Button below because, frankly, I beg your pardon but I never promised you a rose garden – I promised you an Unseemly Button and that’s what you’re getting.

Today is going to drive me batty, that’s all I can tell you. It’s going to be an extremely stressful day for a whole slew of reasons. I have to get up early, pack up some orders and get them shipped out, including one overseas order to Dress Circle. I’m hoping Mr. Grant Geissman has been doing what he needs to and that I’ll have something to listen to today or tomorrow. And then there’s just a bunch of crap I have to deal with and I’m not even sure how to deal with it. Oh, well, we shall see what we shall see. If I can get through today okay, I think the rest of the week might be a bit easier.

I also have to be involved in what the theater is going to look like for our summer cabaret series – which amazingly will begin in six weeks. Our lineup is a good one, I think – opening weekend (July 14,15) is Miss Susan Egan. The 21st and 22nd is Miss Heather MacRae. The 28th and 29th is Three Men And A Baby Grand (Lee Lessack, Brian Lane Green, and John Boswell), and closing weekend (August 4th and 5th) is Mr. Jason Graae and Miss Linda Purl. The tickets are $25 per show, and if you book all five shows, it’s $100, a great deal. There’s no minimum or anything like that. They will be serving soft drinks, tea, coffee, and an assortment of cakes and things.

Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, get up early, package, ship, jog, and deal with what I have to deal with. Today’s topic of discussion: What are the best high school and college productions you’ve ever seen? The ones where you just forgot you were watching a school play and just got lost in the excellent work being done? Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, and please, whatever you do, remember – I never promised you a rose garden.

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