CARNIVAL BALLET

The “Movie Monday Blog Carnival Edition #61” is up over at Missy Frye’s OBSERVATIONS FROM MISSY’S WINDOW.

My posting SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE, A COMEDY TONIGHT is the first entry on the list – the only under the category of” Commentary”. It looks like Missy read my post.

BY THE SEA, BY THE SEA, BY THE BEAUTIFUL SEA

This whole trip came about from seeing an ad for the Blue Bay Inn, a “European style boutique hotel” in Atlantic Highlands, in the playbill for the musical I had seen in Red Bank at the end of May. I investigated the website, just curious, and while there, in the site’s section on “Getaway Packages”, I discovered the First Avenue Playhouse and learned that the next production was ROOMMATES, a comedy, with the following description:

“This is the first comedy by our own resident playwright Joe Simonelli, and the one for which The Asbury Park Press dubbed him 'the next Neil Simon'. Self styled ladies man Frank Avino, a divorced, forty something accountant and aspiring writer lets his pretentious friend Tom move in with him 'temporarily' only to find that Tom won't leave. Throw into the mix Frank's eccentric mother from Brooklyn and his latest flame and you have a recipe for fun.”

I next checked out the Playhouse site and found that they offered dinner theatre packages – “Start off the evening with a great dinner at 6:30 pm, and then on to the First Avenue Playhouse, for dessert, coffee and a great show”. Dinner was available at three area restaurants – Memphis Pig Out, Julia’s and Gianna’s.

The Blue Bay Inn site “Destination Information” section mentioned the Atlantic Highland Princess, which offered “Victorian Style Riverboat sailing the Navesink & Shrewsbury Rivers”. Presumably the two rivers of the Two Rivers Theatre Company in Red Bank. A sightseeing Cruise was offered on Friday afternoons.

And it turned out that everything, the theatre, the restaurants, the inn, and the cruise, was within walking distance on the same street – First Avenue (as one would deduce from the name of the Playhouse). The Avenue even has a movie theatre. So I decided to book an overnight trip – choosing a Thursday evening performance, as I figured that the room rate would be less expensive mid-week. After investigating the three dining choices online I selected Julia’s, “an elegant dining experience with an Italian Mediterranean inspired menu”.

I have a friend and client who had lived in Atlantic Highlands, a retired fire chief who I first met while on one of the Railroad Passenger Services Corporation escorted cross-country rail trips in the 1980s. Learning of my weekly visits to Ocean Grove to see my parents, he had invited me to stop in and visit him. But it was too late to see him on this trip, as he moved to Georgia last year.

After a hearty breakfast at the diner on Route 440 I headed out on Routes 1+9 to 35 to 36. I located First Avenue and checked it before going back to Route 36 South. As check-in was not until 3:00 pm, and there was no afternoon cruise on Thursday, I was off to the multiplex on Route 35, near Neptune, to see GET SMART.

My previous experience with Route 36 was taking it briefly each tax season to pick up a return in Union Beach (the First Avenue turn-off was about 8 miles from Union Beach), and taking it from Route 35 to the Monmouth Park racetrack a few years ago. I had never been in between, so I thought I would take 36 South to Route 35.

After passing Sandy Hook it turned into a leisurely drive along the ocean through several Monmouth county communities. At Long Branch Route 36 North and South suddenly became Route 36 East and West at a right turn, which soon brought me to Route 35 by the Monmouth Mall.

Returning to Atlantic Highlands I checked into Blue Bay Inn and found myself with a small but comfortable room on the second floor overlooking First Avenue. I then went out to explore the area, walking down to the Municipal Marina at the bottom of First Avenue to see where I would be taking the cruise. The marina also has a ferry that shuttles back and forth to Manhattan.

The menu offerings at Julia’s were quite interesting, but, as anticipated, since I was on a theatre package I was given a special menu with choice of salad (Caesar) and a limited selection of entrees (Crab Cake). I taught another bartender (I have lost count) how to make a Stinger, which he did very well – so well I had a second. The dinner, from the rolls to the salad with a tasty dressing to the crab cake, was excellent, served in a relaxing but formal setting with a tape of Michael Buble playing in the background. I will certainly return here in the future, and next time I will not limit my dining choices.

The First Avenue Playhouse is a “desert theatre”, as was mentioned on the website. The seating is “Las Vegas style” (at least the old-fashioned Las Vegas style of my earlier visits to Nevada), with tables of various sizes set in front of the stage instead of traditional theatre seating. Upon presenting my ticket I was directed to a private table and took a paper plate with carrot cake from a counter on the way. A pot of coffee was placed on the table. The carrot cake was quite good. At intermission we were given plastic glasses of soda.

As one would expect from the title and description, ROOMMATES is a poor man’s ODD COUPLE (I wonder if this is why the Asbury Park Press referred to the author as “the next Neil Simon”?). The lead even refers to his roommate as “Felix Unger” in the play. It certainly is not up to the level of a Neil Simon, although it had some chuckles and amusing situations. The stereotypical nagging mother was perhaps a highlight. She would write to the Pope each week and believed she received his response in code in the local parish priest’s sermons.

The production was obviously amateur, which is not always bad. The “divorced, forty something accountant and aspiring writer” was portrayed by the play’s author. While ROOMMATES is supposedly “semi-autobiographical”, he was not necessarily the best choice for the part.

Bottom line – just about everything in the play has already been done much better elsewhere. Although with more polished actors and direction I might have found the show funnier.

The theatre also needs some technical upgrades. The stage manager would signal the lighting man in the back of the room by means of a flashlight stuck out of the side of the curtain.

The Playhouse will be doing the political drama THE BEST MAN in July and another comedy by Joe Simonelli, this time with him directing, titled MEN ARE DOGS in August. I am not sure if I will return for either, although I do want to give the company another chance before writing it off.

FYI, the theatre also presents productions of the “Paper Moon Puppet Theatre” every Saturday at 2 p.m. The current show is THE WIZARD OF OZ.

The next morning was extremely hot and humid. After the complimentary continental breakfast (nothing special – just orange juice, coffee and two types of pastries) I decided to pass on the afternoon cruise and return home early. Check out time was 11:00 am and I didn’t want to hang around and sweat for a couple of hours. Unlike Ocean Grove, I could not sit in the shade on the boardwalk and read a mystery – no boardwalk here. Besides I was concerned about leaving Nosey in a hot apartment for another full day.

I will wait until perhaps the early fall to return for the cruise and another dinner at Julia’s.

TTYL

NO CURE LIKE TRAVEL

Here is some good news for travelers in the New York City metropolitan area.

I was saddened when BISS TOURS closed its doors a few years ago. BISS, which got into financial trouble when it took over PARKER TOURS, had offered one, two, three-day and longer escorted bus tours of the US and Canada with a pick-up point in Hoboken. I had taken a few which, for the most part, were enjoyable and came off with minimal “hitches”.

With BISS gone my only alternative for escorted motorcoach travel was to schlep all the way down to Trenton for STARR TOURS, which I had done before discovering PARKER and BISS. This requires either rising before the sun to take the train from Newark or incurring additional expense by staying overnight in a motel on Route 1 and again rising in the dark to take a taxi to Trenton.

I enjoy escorted bus trips. You only need to book, pack your bag, and board the bus; everything is taken care of for you. And the cost is relatively all-inclusive and extremely reasonable, even with the single supplement – a substantial savings over doing it all on one’s own.

Just as I was about to request the latest STARR TOURS catalog I saw an ad in the Sunday News for CROSBY TOURS - “New York’s premier tour operator.” As soon as I was back at my computer I checked out the website and discovered that CROSBY had taken up where BISS left off. I promptly ordered a catalog, which just arrived.

It is obvious from the lay-out of the catalog, the description of the trips and tours, and the location of the pick-up points that CROSBY is a re-organized BISS.

Several one-day, two-day and three-day tours have caught my eye – and I will be sure to post the trip narratives here at ABT after I have taken them.

In the meanwhile I suggest that you go to the website and request a copy of the catalog.

TTYL

CARNIVAL BALLET

“The Carnival of Cinema: Episode 80 - The Blog Guru” hosted by GOOD NEWS FILM REVIEWS.

I submitted my post SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE, A COMEDY TONIGHT for consideration, and it is included. Although I doubt that the host read the post. Here is how it is introduced –

“For more on great comedies, head over to ANYTHING BUT TAXES! There Richard D. Flach has a list of some wonderful comedic gems.”

Huh? And, by the way, it is Robert, not Richard!

TTYL

I HOPE I GET IT

Here is a Broadway trivia question.
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I recently saw the latest Broadway revival of GYPSY with Patti LuPone as Mama Rose. You can read my review at “Let Me Entertain You”. GYPSY is “loosely” based on the life of stripper Gypsy Rose Lee.
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The character of Gypsy Rose Lee – not the actual person herself - has appeared in two Broadway musicals over the years. Obviously the first was GYPSY. What was the other one?
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No, it is not FORBIDDEN BROADWAY. That review has never been “on” Broadway.
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The first person to email me the correct answer at rdftaxpro@mail.com, with “ABT Trivia Answer” in the “subject” line, will get a prize!
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TTYL

SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE, A COMEDY TONIGHT

Contrary to the popular belief of people who make movies today, the various secretions, excretions and expulsions of the human body are not funny. Neither are human genitalia or violence thereto.

Well actually in the right hands anything can be funny. In the right context, with the right set-up and direction, and with the right actor, passing gas or stepping in shit can actually be humorous.

The operative words above are “in the right hands”. Trust me, the likes of Adam Sandler, Mike Myers, Ben Stiller and others, who have made careers out of playing down to the level of pre-teen boys, and the writers and directors who they team with, do not have the right hands.

IT’S A MAD, MAD, MAD, MAD WORLD is perhaps the funniest movie ever made. At the very least it has the best cast of any comedy ever made. It featured just about every well-known comic that was breathing at the time, including Joe E Lewis and the 3 Stooges. {As an aside – it could never be remade in today’s world considering the salary demands of the equivalent level of actors and comics. There have been a few pitiful attempts at making a similar film, with affordable B, C and D level comics and poor direction and writing.} As I recall there was not a single fart in the film.

Nor do I recall either Tony Curtis or Jack Lemmon being kicked in the groin in SOME LIKE IT HOT.

Neither Hope and Crosby, Abbott and Costello nor Martin and Lewis had to resort to bathroom humor to make funny, and profitable, movies.

Back in the days of the popularity of Andrew Dice Clay it was my considered opinion that yuppies had no wit. But if you said “fuck” or “shit” every fifth or sixth word they would think you were hysterical. It seems that today’s movie audiences are the ones without wit. Their sense of humor stopped developing in the 5th and 6th grades.

It is a sad commentary that even a film like Walt Disney’s recent ENCHANTED, with a truly unique idea and witty execution, had to be spoiled by a totally unnecessary and humorless chipmunk shit sight gag.

That is not to say that there are no more truly witty comedies being made. But they are getting fewer and farther between.

TTYL

A LITTLE THIS-A AND A LITTLE THAT-A – WITH THE EMPHASIS ON THE LATTA

Just a few items:

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+ WTF is this Amy Whinehouse who is constantly appearing in the entertainment headlines on my Mail.com and Comcast.net homepages? From what I can tell she is nothing but a crack addict (I took the high ground and refrained from using “ho”). Can someone tell me if she is anything other than the British version of Paris Hilton?

+ CRY BABY: THE MUSICAL, which I blogged about in “Jukebox Jamboree“, will close tomorrow (Sunday) after 68 performances. The show, which was nominated for 4 Tonys including Best Musical, walked away empty-handed last Sunday. While not as good as the musical comedy verion of HAIRSPRAY it was entertaining and deserved a longer life, considering something like RUDE AWAKENING (which I have not seen, and do not expect to) with teen-agers screaming and cursing for 2+ hours plays on.

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+ I also learned via Playbill.com that A CATERED AFFAIR, the new musical by John Bucchino and Harvey Fierstein, who also co-stars, will close on July 27. I may try to see it via tdf before it goes.

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TTYL

LET ME ENTERTAIN YOU

I have seen every Broadway production of GYPSY except for the 1959 original with Ethel Merman and Jack Klugman. I have experienced Angela Lansbury (1974), Tyne Daly (1990) and Bernadette Peters (2003) as Mama Rose. My introduction to the musical was the 1962 movie version with Rosalind Russell, Natalie Wood, and Karl Malden (I seem to recall reading that the show’s creators did not like this version – although I could not find fault). And of course there was Bette Midler’s 1993 television version, and the 1998 Paper Mill Playhouse (Millburn NJ) production with Betty Buckley (and Deborah Gibson as Louise) So it is only natural that I would see the latest incarnation with Patti LuPone – specifically this past Saturday’s matinee.

Mama Rose is perhaps the ultimate female role of the Broadway theatre – a role that is coveted by just about every actress. It has been said that the part, in musical theater terms, rivals "Hamlet." Every Mama Rose has been nominated for the Tony as Best Actress in a Musical, but only Angela Lansbury and Tyne Daly, and now Patti LuPone, have walked home with the statue. Ether Merman lost to Mary Martin in SOUND OF MUSIC and Bernadette Peters lost to Marissa Jaret Winokur in HAIRSPRAY.

The Patti LuPone production came with advanced buzz. During his annual tax season visit this past March a client told me of his housemate’s (he is in “the business”) running into Stephen Sondheim one evening at Sardi’s. SS gave the current production and its star two thumbs way up.

I did not see EVITA on Broadway. My introduction to Patti LuPone (whom I had enjoyed on the television series LIFE GOES ON) as a musical star was the London production of SUNSET BOULEVARD, which I saw while on a Theatre Guild tour in 1993.

This production of GYPSY is perhaps the best I have seen, and Patti LuPone is the best Mama Rose (with the reminder that I did not see Ethel Merman’s performance – I was considered too young at the time – although I did see “the Merm” in the 1966 Lincoln Center revival of ANNIE GET YOUR GUN). As I imagine Ethel Merman to have been, LuPone is indeed a force to be reckoned with as the ultimate stage mother. She received a rare truly spontaneous and heart-felt standing ovation during the closing Rose’s Turn” number, the audience unable to wait until the curtain call.

The supporting cast was also in top form. It seemed to me that their performances were more nuanced and intense, if that is the word, than previous productions, especially Herbie and the “elder” June and Louise. As LuPone sang in SUNSET BOULEVARD, “with one look” they expressed volumes about their intertwined relationships and feelings. Perhaps I was just seeing new things in a familiar show, or it was the talent of the individual actors, or director Arthur Laurents, also the book writer, giving new emphasis (he directed the first two of the earlier revivals and, it seems, was not a fan of the Sam Mendes-directed Bernadette Peters’ version).

Prior to the now standard announcement to turn off cell phones we were told that Patti LuPone’s feet hurt and that she would be doing the performance wearing “isotoners”. I did happen to notice that she was in flats for the entire show. It certainly did not affect her performance – it just highlighted the difference in height between her and other cast members - especially Boyd Gaines (Herbie) and Laura Benanti (Louise).

As is true more often than not, the weatherman was wrong in his prediction that midtown New York City would avoid predicted thundershowers until after dark. Sounds of thunder during the last 15 minutes or so of the show previewed the pouring rain we found ourselves faced with as we exited the St James Theatre. Luckily, due to the continuous construction on 8th Avenue, we were able to stay relatively dry under scaffolding as we hurried from 44th Street to 46th Street for an excellent dinner at the “La Rivista” (The Review”) Italian restaurant on “Restaurant Row”. It had been a long time since I had dined there. I recommend the Veal Bolognese.

The rain had stopped by the time we finished our meal. However, the very minute we “de-bused” in Jersey City it started to pour again. I was soaked almost to the bone by the time I was greeted by Nosey in my apartment a long block from the bus stop.

Seeing GYSPY, and thinking about the current revival of SOUTH PACIFIC, points up what a truly difficult, and disappearing, art it is to write a great Broadway score – a dozen or so individual and distinctive musical numbers that fit perfectly into the show to advance the action of the play, yet can each stand alone as a potential popular standard. Think Richard Rogers, Cole Porter, Frederick Lowe, Jerry Herman, Stephen Sondheim, and, in this case, Jule Styne, and their lyric-writing partners (a young Stephen Sondheim here). Is it just me, or do the individual songs of many a Broadway score today all sound pretty much the same?

TTYL

A LITTLE THIS-A AND A LITTLE THAT-A – WITH THE EMPHASIS ON THE LATTA

+ Fellow Jersey City native Nathan Lane is a hard man to replace. The June 10th posting at BROADWAY BLOG reports that “November To Close On Broadway July 13”. Lane had previously announced that July 13th would be his final performance. Now the David Mamet comedy (see my post “It Gets Lonely In The White House”) has announced that it will close on July 13th.

+ Like BLUEPRINT FOR FINANCIAL PROSPERITY, the Silicon Valley Blogger’s THE DIGERATI LIFE is a goldmine of helpful advice and information. A recent post tells you how to “Help Your Kids Get Rich: Invest Early”.

+ THE FIVE CENT NICKEL, another consistently interesting personal finance blog, provides some information on "What Goes Into the Price of Gas?".

+ FYI, as promised I watched the original John Waters film CRY BABY with Johnny Depp on Comcast ON DEMAND (in the “Free Movies” section). While the Broadway musical adaptation kept some of the characters, images and plot lines from the film, it thankfully reworked, and improved, the story for more “accessibility”. The movie showed us the parents of the delinquents, among them David Nelson, Troy Donahue and Joey Heatherton - so you can see why they turned out so FU-ed - but these characters were cut for the musical.

This afternoon I will be in NYC again for a matinee performance of GYPSY. Look for my review sometime tomorrow.

TTYL

WHERE THE FAKAWI?

I have come down with a serious case of “manana”! I continue to put off to tomorrow (and the day after, and so on) the GD extensions that I should be working on today!

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Drastic measures are called for. Since I spent two weeks “1040 Free” I must now “re-hiate” (is that a word?) and spend a full week “Blog Free”.

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For the entire week beginning Monday, June 16th I will be “locked behind closed doors” catching up on the GD extensions. I will be working at tax season pace.

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I will not be posting to THE WANDERING TAX PRO, ASK THE TAX PRO, THE FLACH REPORT, NJ TAX PRACTICE, or ANYTHING BUT TAXES during this period (unless there is world-shaking breaking news, such as the Supreme Court declares the federal income tax unconstitutional). I also will not be “wandering” the web or dealing with non-essential emails.

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I will post a WHAT’S THE BUZZ entry Saturday at THE WANDERING TAX PRO, and hope to post my review of GYPSY here on Sunday.

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To the handful of clients whose GD extensions have fallen victim to my “manana-disorder” I apologize and thank you for your patience and understanding.

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It is my hope to end the month of June with all GD extensions either done and out or red-filed.

JUKEBOX JAMBOREE

The huge success of the musical adaptation of Mel Brook’s THE PRODUCERS begat the “musicalization” of John Water’s HAIRSPRAY. And just as THE PRODUCERS led to the inevitable YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN musical, the success of HAIRSPRAY led to CRY BABY: THE MUSICAL, which I saw last night at the Marquis Theatre.

I enjoyed the movie version of the HAIRSPRAY musical (although I have not yet seen either the HAIRSPRAY Broadway musical or the original HAIRSPRAY or CRY BABY films) so I thought I would take a chance on CRY BABY when it was presented as a Theatre Development Fund (tdf) offering.

The ticket was only $38.50 and the seats were not bad at all for tdf – 11th row on the extreme right aisle. I have had both good and bad luck with tdf seats – occasionally risking a nose bleed in some of the older theatres.

I knew nothing about CRY BABY, other than the fact that it took place in the 1950s and the movie helped make a star out of then tv heartthrob Johnny Depp, who played a teen-age delinquent like those who high school teachers Glenn Ford and Dick Clark tried to help in THE BLACKBOARD JUNGLE and its clone BECAUSE THEY’RE YOUNG.

Set in Baltimore (where else for a John Waters story) in 1954, the musical tells the Romeo and Juliet-esque tale of “squeaky clean” square, class-conscious preppies versus misunderstood delinquent freaks, as square blonde “never been kissed” debutante Allison Vernon-Williams (Elizabeth Stanley – the ditzy stewardess April in the recent COMPANY revival), tired of being a “good girl”, becomes fascinated with “bad boy” Wade "Cry-Baby" Walker (James Snyder). We see them fall in love during the tender love song “Girl, Can I Kiss You With Tongue”.

The show also stars Harriet Harris (who I remember from tv way before she was FRASER’s agent – as one of Marc Cherry’s original “desperate housewives” in 1994’s unfortunately short-lived sitcom THE 5 MRS BUCHANANS) as Allison’s grandmother Mrs. Vernon-Williams, the queen of Baltimore society, who “Did Something Wrong…Once” (besides that liaison with Hitler).

The score is chock-a-block with energetic toe-tapping 50’s rock and roll music and some witty lyrics (when I could hear them), although nothing memorable (one does not walk out of the theatre humming “Watch Your Ass” or “Screw Loose”).

While not as good as the HAIRSPRAY musical (from what I can tell from having seen only the movie version) with its civil rights theme and drag gimmick, at my $38.50 tdf ticket price it was an entertaining show with a fine cast – well worth the price. However I doubt I would feel the same if I had paid $115.00 for the ticket. I expect that it will make a good movie, if they get around to once again following HAIRSPRAY.

I recently noticed that the original John Waters movie is available for free via Comcast’s ON DEMAND, and now that I have seen the musical I think I will watch it before locking myself behind closed doors next week to catch up on the GD extensions.

TTYL

A LITTLE THIS-A AND A LITTLE THAT-A – WITH THE EMPHASIS ON THE LATTA!

It's too damned hot!

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Today is the anniversary of the birth of Frederick Lowe. I am certainly glad he was born!

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+ The May 31, 2008 edition of the Carnival of Financial Planning at The Skilled Investor’s PERSONAL FINANCE BLOG led me to a posting that may be helpful for those with college-age children (thankfully I am not one – no children of any age) - “Financial Aid Calculator: Using Fafsa4Caster.com to Estimate Your Federal Aid” by Ken Clark at ABOUT.COM: SAVING FOR COLLEGE.

+ The TV SQUAD blog is reporting that “Dark Shadows Comes to the Big Screen”. The word is that Johnny Depp will play Barnabas Collins, the role originated on the ABC soap of the early 70s by Jonathan Frid, and the film will be directed by Tim Burton.

+ The BROADWAY BLOG’s June 8th post reports that Cameron McIntosh is thinking about making a new film of the Broadway classic MY FAIR LADY, perhaps with Keira Knightley as Eliza Doolittle. As the post suggests it certainly does seem a “strange idea to remake one of the best film musicals of all time”. And, for my money, as with just about every other attempted remake of a classic film, a totally unnecessary and unwelcome move. You can’t improve on perfection!

TTYL

LET'S HEAR IT FOR THE BOY!

Kudos to former Kid in the Hall and star of the tv sitcom NEWS RADIO Dave Foley for his recent comments on so-called “reality” television!

Foley is quoted in Sunday’s THIS JUST IN feature of the New York News VUE television magazine as saying –

“It’s not real. The situations aren’t real. The only real reality TV is the evening news. It takes a real actor to act real. You put just anyone in front of a camera and what they deliver will look phony. In terms of comedy, I like something skillfully put together, and not with someone making an ass of himself.”

Foley wishes, like any intelligent person, that “reality would just go away.”

I wish more actors and performers would come out against the steaming pile of excrement that reality tv is.

TTYL

ON THE ROAD AGAIN

I finally got down to “the Grave”, or actually Neptune, for at least an overnight. It was a fitting end to two wonderful weeks that were completely “1040 Free”!

I drove down Saturday morning, stopping for breakfast at a diner on Route 9 South. When I got to Ocean Grove I found that it was the day of the Giant Spring Flea Market on Ocean Pathway. As a result just about every parking space in town was taken. Instead of sitting on the boardwalk and reading comic books I sat on a bench alongside Fletcher Lake at the South End border and read.

I also checked out the Asbury Park boardwalk, but there was much construction going on to the various buildings and storefronts. I did discover that Tony Bennett would be doing a benefit concert for the Boys and Girls Club of Monmouth County at the Paramount Theatre on Saturday, June 28th.

It started to rain so I headed to the Crystal Inn at the Routes 35+66 circle, where I had booked a room through hotel.com, to change clothes.

The major reason for this trip was to see the Two River Theatre Company’s production of the original musical MARK TWAIN’S A MURDER, A MYSTERY & A MARRIAGE, with book and lyrics by TRTC Artistic Director Aaron Posner (who also directed) and music by James Sugg, in Red Bank – the final production of the company’s 2007-2008 Theatre Series.

I bought my ticket for the 3:00 pm matinee “at the door” ($38.00) and got an excellent 6th row center seat – I couldn’t have asked for a better one.

The bluegrass musical, which had its world premiere in April 2006 at the Delaware Theatre Company, takes place in Deer Lick, Missouri. It is based on a short story written by Mark Twain in 1876. The small cast, which included an original member of the 50’s singing group The Diamonds (Little Darlin’), did a great job in a very entertaining show. Two thumbs up! They even managed to plug the new 2008-2009 season subscription and advise the audience to turn off cell phones and refrain from opening candy wrappers during the show as part of the opening number.

For dinner I decided to try the newly opened “Old Man Rafferty’s”, which is in the renovated Steinbach Building on Cookman Avenue in Asbury Park. I had a good Meat Loaf dinner and treated myself to Oreo Cookie Cheesecake.

After dining I headed to the Beach Cinema in Bradley Beach, a true “old-fashioned” small town movie theatre, for the 7:00 PM showing of IRON MAN. The ticket price had increased since I last visited – it was now $5.75!

After checking out on Sunday morning I headed to Ocean Grove, where the parking was back to normal, and breakfast of Oatmeal and Pancakes at “The Starving Artist”. I read the paper on the Boardwalk before taking in what turned out to be a private showing of the new INDIANA JONES movie at the multiplex on Route 35 at 11:00 AM.

I had considered taking in the Sunday 3:00 pm matinee of the world premiere of the Billy Van Zandt (brother of rocker Steve Van Zandt and husband of Adrienne Barbeau) and Jane Milmore farce WRONG WINDOW at Brookdale Community College, but decided to head home to my hungry cat instead.

Billy and Jane have written tons of such slapstick farces, a la tv’s THREE’S COMPANY (although not as good). Actually they have written one basic farce and changed the characters and titles some 20+ times. I have seen several of their plays at the Ritz Company Playhouse in Hawley PA, and will probably be able to see this one there in a year or two.

Now that I am back I must take up the GD extensions again, and hopefully have them all done by the end of June!

TTYL

CARNIVAL BALLET

I just returned from an overnight to Nepture and discovered that mMy post on EVERYBODY OUGHT TO HAVE A WILL appears in the Carnival of Everything Finance: # 18 at EVERYTHING FINANCE by Tushar Mathur. Look for it under the “Everything Else Finance” category.

While you are there check out Mad Madeline Kane’s poem DEAR IRS from her MAD KANE HUMOR BLOG.

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TTYL

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PS - I will post about my trip Monday or Tuesday.