Well, dear readers, the long day at the Ray Courts show was not quite as long as planned – the show lasts until five but most of the room, celebrity-wise, had cleared out by three, me included. It was the worst attended show ever, but I still had a wonderful time. I met some nice folks, sold some more books, photos, and Blu-ray and CDs and got to chat up some of the other celebrities in my row, including Don Murray. Those who’ve read my first memoir know that Don Murray was supposed to play Atticus Finch in my musical version of To Kill a Mockingbird (called Atticus). We’d done a little private reading of the show, which had gone really well and my agent at CMA, Frank Levy had already arranged a production in Seattle and had gotten Don Murray to agree to playing Atticus, a role he would have been absolute perfection in. But, I’d just written the thing without ever actually having gotten the rights. Frank sent the script and score to Miss Harper Lee and we waited. When she finally got back to us she said she’d enjoyed the adaptation and especially the songs but could not grant us the rights because she simply felt she didn’t want the book to be a musical (it was later adapted for the stage as a play). That was a huge disappointment to me. But I’d never met Don Murray, so I told him the story and he told me that he remembered it. I had no idea he’d done a Broadway musical (something called Smith) or, more importantly, that in 1977 he’d done a tour of Chicago playing Billy Flynn. We talked for about twenty minutes and he was just a great guy and his beautiful granddaughter was there and was also very sweet.
I talked quite a bit to Millie Perkins, too – she’s terrific and quite amusing. Why, here’s a photograph of us.
I also talked to Diane Baker (and she was interested in my book so I gave her a copy) and that was fun. She told me that I had a wonderful smile. Why, here’s a photograph of her, Millie, and me.
I also chatted up my old friend Leslie Easterbrook – she was in my first musical Start at the Top. I gave Katherine Helmond a copy of the new pressing of Jeepers Creepers and a photo of her and I in the studio. My next door neighbor at the table next to me took my suggestion and wore a bow tie (anyone who’s seen him as the cocky bellboy coming on to Jack Lemmon and Tony Curtis in Some Like it Hot knows all about the bow tie), so that was fun. Why here we are in a photograph.
For me, the most stunning woman at the show was Mariel Hemingway. Now in her 50s, she looked absolutely gorgeous, tall and willowy and that lovelier than lovely face. There was one celebrity there who’d had so much work done on her face that she was literally not recognizable – it was shocking. I’m hoping Ray Courts will keep on and rebuild his audience, because he’s the real deal and we all love doing the show for him.
After, I came home and relaxed for a bit, then I moseyed on over to NoHo to see a play at the Raven Theater. This was put on by a theater company that my engineer’s girlfriend is part of, although she was running lights for this particular show, which featured only three men. It was a show written by the people who created that Shakespeare Abridged show – this one being the history of America Abridged. I have to believe that when the creators performed it it probably worked well. But without them, then it becomes kind of unwieldy and some of the act two history simply does not lend itself to humor, so trying to jam it in is problematic. The three actors were fine, but it’s really tough to do this kind of thing that was written for three very specific people.
After, the engineer and I walked over to the Eclectic Café. His girlfriend had some cleaning up to do and joined us about twenty minutes later. Whilst walking we ran into Jeff Harlan, one of the original Dancing Dildos. Then we got our table and who should pass by the restaurant but Wayne Moore, musical director of Li’l Abner. He came in and had a drink with us and then who should pass by but Kay Cole and her ever lovin’ Michael Lamont. They’d all come from seeing Scary Movie the Musical or something like that. They all enjoyed it, but it sounds like something that’s not up my alley. They all left, and then the engineer’s girlfriend arrived and we ordered our food. I had a chicken Caesar salad (I’d had a side of mac-and-cheese for lunch). We had a great time and I may, at some point, direct a show for her theater group, possibly as soon as next March. I’m looking for a really funny contemporary comedy, if one thinks of contemporary as having been written in the late 1950s to the mid-1970s. I’d love to find something that hasn’t been done much, like something to rediscover, kind of like what they did with Boeing, Boeing, a show that had flopped everywhere in the 1960s. One idea I have floating in my head is Murray Schisgal’s Luv. But I also mentioned Barefoot in the Park, a play I really am fond of. But that’s such a chestnut. I want to look at Oh Dad and I want to look at some 60s staples that aren’t done much, like Forty Carats or Butterflies are Free. But if not a comedy, I probably would really enjoy doing Wait Until Dark – it’s kind of got everything. I’m going to think seriously about that.
Today, I have no plans and I just want to get a good night’s beauty sleep and then just relax and eat something light but amusing.
Tomorrow is the first Kritzerland rehearsal, Tuesday I have a lunch meeting, I think, although I can’t remember with who, Tuesday night we tape our radio show, Wednesday I have a lunch meeting, Thursday is our second Kritzerland rehearsal, Saturday is our stumble-through, and Sunday is sound check and show.
Let’s all put on our pointy party hats and our colored tights and pantaloons, let’s all break out the cheese slices and the ham chunks, let’s all dance the Hora or the cha cha cha, for today is the birthday of our very own dear reader, JohnG. So, let’s give a big haineshisway.com birthday cheer to our very own dear reader, JohnG. On the count of three: One, two, three – A BIG HAINESHISWAY.COM BIRTHDAY CHEER TO OUR VERY OWN DEAR READER, JOHNG!!!
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, do nothing. Today’s topic of discussion: It’s free-for-all day, the day in which you dear readers get to make with the topics and we all get to post about them. So, let’s have loads of lovely topics and loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I hit the road to dreamland, having had a lot of fun at the Saturday show.