Theater

Follow the Yellow Brick Hole

Literature, Musician, Personal, Theatre

L. Frank Baum, the author of the Wizard of Oz, spent a short time here in town as a student at the Peekskill Military Academy. (Being a loosey -goosey creative sort, he hated it.)

At this point in the city’s history, the roads were paved with bricks. Yellow Ones. Peekskill was a somewhat serious port in those days, and Belgian ships would bring over yellow bricks as ballast, before they headed home with their iron products manufactured here in Peekskill. (I’m sure you can see where I’m going with this.)

When the pavement wears through and large potholes happen, we frequently get down to the yellow brick road.

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Well, you can imagine. Many Peekskill folks have claimed Baum’s inspiration for the yellow brick road as local. There’s even a Wizard of Oz themed event every year at our local restored movie palace, The Paramount.

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A section of preserved road, on private land.

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I’ve thought a few times about producing a musical at the Paramount. However, the things I like to do are more suited to a black-box or a parlor theatre. The Paramount is a football field.

All is going along nicely here.

I’m visiting Florida in a few weeks. Principally to spend time with my Mom, but I’ll also get to see my dear friend K! It’s so nice to be in close touch with a few folks from high school.

The teeny-tiny 1920s musical about a person whose name has a Z in it is finished and ready for a first read. However, one needs performers for such things. We are going to wait until after the school year starts to announce auditions. Seems prudent.

Hope you’re all well too!

Only Beautiful Things

Arts and Crafts, Goals, Home and Renovation, Personal

We all know that I am currently ill, and abed atop a hot water bottle.

However, I don’t want to talk about that today. Today, I resist torpor and complaining. Today I only want to talk about beautiful things.

I have to thank my dear friend, Madame K, for asking about my projects, and how things are going. It reminded me that I am not made of illness. I am made of creativity. She always knows just the right thing to say.

You see, my trade is creating beautiful things; whether that’s a cottage kitchen, live music, a flower garden, students excited about the possibilities of music, or a musical based on a 1728 play. And, I am privileged to have been able to spend my life as a creator.

So, with illness and frustration aside, I walked around the house today and took photos of things I’m working on that I find beautiful.

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The front yard flower garden. I’m definitely an English cottage garden type person. (No surprises there.)

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A (mostly) finished corner of the kitchen, with our now-exposed huge beams. I had to fill in the space at the top of the wall, of course. I stained new rough-hewn wood to match the old beams.

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Another kitchen wall. Still needs some paint work, but I left the little cellar door rough on purpose. I like to see the history.

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A staircase wall in progress. Because I decided to go with stucco in between dark-stained beams, (Tudor-style), I went with artwork that reflects that.

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And that’s all I know about that! I’m off to rest and have a little bit of dinner. Yep, at 4:00. =)

Dickens & The Romantics

Musician, Theatre

That would be a good name for a band.

I’ve been writing to pass the time — I have a half+ draft of of a very Dickensian chamber musical written. If you’re familiar with Dickens and/or the Romantic Poets; it’s principally about the Micawbers, Nell Clenham, and Thomas Gray.

Its usual fate would be this: Printed out, bound, and put in a drawer unproduced. That’s 100% okay. I have a few of these unfinished on top of the upstairs piano. It would sting a little to banish this one though, because I think it’s quite good.

The last time I produced a musical I was swimming in actors and theater people. Since moving, I don’t have the theatrical friends I used to, we’re all spread out now. After a point, I don’t work very well alone. Eventually, you need to make demo recordings, bounce ideas around, and read out loud with another person.

I decided I’m going to be actively on the lookout, but I haven’t decided quite how. I’ll be looking for a baritone-tenor to work with, who could then take the role of Thomas as things progress.

I looked at the rates and specs for the Paramount theatre around the corner. It’s beautiful, but it’s way, way, way too big. I knew it would be. It’s a good thing — if it were 50% the size and didn’t have a balcony, I’d have been tempted to get out my checkbook.

The Peekskill Paramount

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There’s a super-cute small theater about a sixty-second walk from our house. (No kidding!) It’s a “nope” though. It’s marketed as a wedding/events/catering venue. Of course, its rates reflect that.

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I think I probably gasped when I was given the dollar signs for this beautiful, quirky little place. But, being what it is, it would cost several thousand dollars for just one afternoon/evening. Plus, no piano. (And I don’t need canapés at intermission.)

My peculiar little five-person musical play would be most at home in a small 19th century lecture hall or an old stone meeting house, even the large parlor of a grand home. So, that search continues.

But first things first. If you know a “Thomas” candidate, send him my way! We’ll do a video submission. He’d be late 20s/early 30s, handy to Westchester, theatre experience, baritone/tenor, perhaps a bit awkward. I imagine an Adrian Brody type.