HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

After a month-long siege of sinus problems, colds, holidays, deadlines & whatnot, I'm finally feeling (semi) normal enough to post!

Many random thoughts and topics . . . here are both philosophical moments and more earth-bound reflections . . .


ROAD SHOW
From the realm of the more concrete . . . it has taken years for WISE GUYS to become BOUNCE and finally ROAD SHOW, the new Stephen Sondheim-John Weidman musical currently playing at NYC's Public Theatre. It has been through numerous casts (Victor Garber-Nathan Lane, Howard McGillin-Richard Kind) and numerous directors (Sam Mendes, Hal Prince) before arriving in its current 105-minute off-Broadway version, featuring splendid performances from Michael Cerveris and Alexander Gemignani under the direction and design of the ubiquitous John Doyle (SWEENEY TODD, COMPANY, A CATERED AFFAIR). While some have expressed disappointment at this first new NY Sondheim since PASSION being, well, small . . . I can only counter--why is one of our greatest musical theater artists not allowed to sketch, to meditate, to do smaller, ideological pieces? ROAD SHOW ultimately is about how hype has overtaken the American dream--if you APPEAR to work hard and do the biggest and the best, then the world is your oyster (until reality crashes in). Certainly in the time of Bernard Madoff and bailouts and gold parachutes gone horribly awry, it is a timely piece (even though its creation started almost 20 years ago). Wilson and Addison Mizner (pronounced M'eye-z-ner) were con men-cum-entrepreneurs who, in the early 20th century, made and lost fortunes, most notably in the Florida real estate boom and bust (the first time round of a seemingly unending cycle). Addison, the sensitive gay younger brother, became a talented and creative architect who designed some of the homes still extant in Miami Beach but who also, under his huckster brother's influence, wasted his talents, with the ultimate initial plan for Boca Raton becoming just an over-hyped memory. (Obviously, Boca Raton DID become, well, Boca Raton, despite its name literally translating to "mouth of the rat.") Wilson, was more into spinning and promoting, everything from boxers to Broadway, along the way becoming a coke-snorting wastrel while charming a wide-swath of marks out of millions. Actually, Wilson's behavior is not all that different from many of the financiers begging Congress for blank checks today. And certainly the American Dream has always represented a hard work ethic, but remember that at least half of it was still "the Dream." Yes, America has always championed hard workers publicly but secretly idolized the get-rich-quick adventurers. (in ROAD SHOW, Mama Mizner on her deathbed rhapsodizes about her rapscallion adventurer son, while the good boy stays behind to hold her hand.) This is not a highly-plotted, conflicted drama--rather, it is a meditation on how America buys and sells and the human cost that grinds up everyone in the machine. Just as Japan was really the central character in their PACIFIC OVERTURES, it is American society and its economy that is the central character here. Not the stuff of most people's musical comedies, and this one IS more dark comedy than drama.

But why can't one of the most revered talents do an essay piece, as it were? And why not off-Broadway, a perfect setting for this piece? John Doyle's "box set" is appropriate--actually, they're crates and file cabinets that look rustic and become many locations effectively against the brick backdrop of the theater. (It still can't be cheap--how many desk drawers do you know that can withstand the standing and sitting weights of large men?) Ann Hould-Ward, a veteran of other Sondheim musicals, does wonderfully evocative costumes with her signature patterning that gradually etches its way into your cognition, and trusty orchestrator Jonathan Tunick has done his signature job of providing an evocative sound for a small ensemble under the direction of Mary-Mitchell Campbell ( Doyle's frequent collaborator in musical crime). It is not the most soaring of Sondheim's scores, but when your range and talent is that vast, any exploration is miles ahead of everyone else's. ROAD SHOW ultimately is more compelling as a story and think piece than it is for its musicality. Michael Cerveris, of course, has become the leading Sondheim interpreter, able to catch the brilliant and chiling dark edge in everything from PASSION to SWEENEY TODD to ASSASSINS, and he does not disappoint as the charming bad-penny Wilson. But Alexander Gemignani is extraordinary as Addison, the Mama's boy who, in turns, tries to become his own man while succumbing to the insistent Wilson's nefarious ways. His gay love affair with his patron. wealthy would-be artist Hollis Bessemer (an appealing Claybourne Elder), is all the more tragic for its duality of deception and genuine tenderness. Fine support is provided by a talented top-drawer ensemble, and one must mention the strong contributions of Alma Cuervo as Mama (playing a role Jane Powell played in the previous BOUNCE incarnation) and frequent Sondheim vet William Parry as the ghost of Papa. There is wit and wisdom in this tale, but rather than transport us, ROAD SHOW peels back a chapter in history that shows just where we were heading-- and just what it is in the American nature that we are sadly harvesting right now. ROAD SHOW is scheduled to close December 28th--but it is my hope that this show (with a lot to say) has a future around the country.

MAMET MAYHEM
How strange that in attempting to celebrate the talent and staying power of David Mamet, his gifts have also been rather punishing. (Ah, well, that's what we do to our talents--see Sondheim above). AMERICAN BUFFALO with the combined gifts of Robert Falls, John Leguizamo, Cedric the Entertainer and Haley Joel Osment didn't last a week in this financial climate. And now the acclaimed revival of SPEED-THE-PLOW will have to survive the departure of the mercurial Jeremy Piven. Piven's reputation is prickly to begin with (and his last NY stage adventure, Neil LaBute's FAT PIG, was also rife with rumors despite excellent reviews), so in some ways it is not surprising that he would depart ten weeks early--and as he is a talented and soulful gent, we do hope his health is restored and that he is not as gravely ill as was reported. The news that first gifted Norbert Leo Butz and then William Macy will succeed him for the rest of the run was indeed a sign of creative casting and loyalty from friends. One can only hope that the production will last to regain its footing and recoup at the box office.

THOUGHTS FROM THE FIELD
Well, 2008 will indeed be remembered as a rough one, historically and personally. Lows will of course include unemployment (especially my own), illnesses, a family member passing, fluctuating health, and periods of depression and frustration. Highs will include some artistic joys, love of friends and, well, loved ones, and at least a ray of hope in the form of a new regime finally coming in, perhaps a bit too late, in 2009.

I will not be sorry to see 2008 go, even as I try to learn whatever lessons I can. Sometimes, when a bubble bursts, all that's left is escaped air and some wet soap.

But in the spirit of the Great White (House) Hope, one has to pick oneself up and say we can do this. Things will get better. I have to believe that creative, determined, imaginative people will survive and grow stronger. Life isn't about a constant level of joy--it is about the striving for those moments that make it all worth while, and the lows come along with the highs. Sometimes, these extended spells make it seem like the abyss is right around the corner and, hell, maybe it is. We choose, not to be noble, but to survive, hopefully discovering our inner strengths and growing as we go.

May this holiday season find you healthy and whole. May the new year bring you peace--and a new honesty, a new admiration, a new strength and a reaffirmation of purpose.

PUSHING DAISIES IS . . . PUSHING DAISIES?

ABC has to do something about its split personality. Their development department often rises above the usual mundane, feed-em-a-fish banality to create fresh programming ideas. MEN IN TREES, for example, was somewhat literate and extremely well-acted and produced. Gone, gone, gone--after ABC's scheduling and promotion department deflated the show into oblivion. (Even if you were a fan and looking for scheduled episodes, it was always a hard show to find.)

And now ABC is making the exact same blunder. Twice. ELI STONE, one of the smarter, kinder and more intelligent pieces of television will be gone--no order past this season's 13 episodes. But worst of all, PUSHING DAISIES, the Emmy-lauded, inventive series will be no more. (I choose not to put DIRTY SEXY MONEY in the same category--despite Peter Krause, Jill Clayburgh, Lucy Liu, Blair Underwood AND the great Donald Sutherland, it is a soap opera so vapid you can jump in and second-guess what you haven't seen. Few will lose sleep over its departure.)

PUSHING DAISIES, on the other hand, is a spectacular if strange little world, with a cast of endearing characters that made it a televison classic. Original, funny, fast-paced, beautifully acted and amazingly filmed and designed, it was something unique and special. It's absence will be truly felt among its dedicated followers.

(I might add that it has more people watching it than MAD MEN, which is the most celebrated show of the year and no one is cancelling THAT!)

As the networks lose more and more yearly to cable channels, streaming video and the DVD market, they sadly seem to learn less and less about the viewing public. Almost anyone in America could have told them that it was a mistake not to bring the show back last season for SOME kind of wrap-up episodes after the Writers' Strike. Waiting all that time without so much as a re-cap was a huge mistake. What about running the already shown episodes in summer to build new fans, show folks what they missed, and ramp up excitement for the season to come? Where was any kind of real fanfare or promotion to herald PD's return? Any kind of decent marketing buzz would've made sense. And then to continually break up the showing schedule--okay, they actually ran PD against Obama's infomercial, but then left it off the air for two weeks in a row. So the gains it made were soon squandered. They never tried it on another night, nor did they promote it on other major shows.

ABC's marketing department may not be as corrupt or obtuse as the heads of AIG or the Big 3 Automakers who still party hearty and fly private jets to beg Congress for bailouts. But clearly their heads are not atop their shoulders where they should be--and once again, we the viewers suffer for it. And again, they blame the viewers to justify their actions. We're going into a deep recession, people--can't we at least have the shows that lift our spirits with some positive and imaginative storylines?

One can only hope that one of the cable networks will be smart enough to pick PUSHING DAISIES up in some form so it can spread its magic unencumbered. (And then ABC can kick itself, as HBO undoubtedly is over passing on MAD MEN.)

Make your voice heard, viewers. Let ABC know just how ticked off you really are! And while you're at it, drop a line to USA, SciFi, FX, AMC--they're looking for viewers, you know, they just might take the hint. Maybe we should all just boycott Disney and see what the mother ship does . . .

A NEW PRESIDENT, A NEW DIRECTION

It is with enormous pride (and relief!) that we have reached the end of the election season (that lasted over two years).

President-elect Barack Obama. Our soon to be 44th President of the United States.

The fact that the issues led the day, not race, is a source of enormous pride for all of us.

The fact that there really is an undeniable change coming is heartening and uplifting at a time when despair threatened to overwhelm. This doesn't mean that happy days are here again or that all is solved--we are in tough, tough times, and amidst the joy and congratulations, you can't help but think, "That poor man! Why on EARTH would he want this job?!"

But there is something pretty remarkable about him, determined, unflappable, that one has to admire. He is smart and attentive. Thoughtful. Open. And while it may have been one of the most expensive campaigns ever waged, one feels that it was beautifully managed and that every penny spent was spent well and wisely. He handled the ups and downs of the campaign, the triumphs and the tragedies, with strength, dignity and grace, displaying all the leadership qualities we look for in a President. He got through this campaign with his soul in tact. This speaks well for our future.

And I know I'm not the first to remark on this, having been glued to the TV, but it seems Campaigner McCain was exorcised and the decent, if conservative, John McCain returned last night with a truly gracious, thoughtful concession speech. THAT was the man who should have run for President, not the "maverick".

Our President-elect is right--apparently, one can still hold onto their dreams and hope for the best. With hard work, they clearly can come true.

VOTE VOTE VOTE

Can I make it any clearer? VOTE!

Do not assume others will do your duty for you--you've maybe done that before and look where it got us!

Do not assume your voice doesn't matter--sometimes it's come down to a relative handful of votes!

Most importantly, you owe yourself a voice. No matter who wins, you need to reconcile yourself with your own needs, your own doubt, your own choices, your own voice. How you will proceed starts from that moment of definition. No one else need know how you voted, true--but YOU WILL KNOW FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE! So what you are doing is making a choice, a decision, defining yourself. Do it for you!

DO NOT TRUST POLLS! They've been wrong before, they'll be wrong again.

VOTE VOTE VOTE!

(And may the best candidate win!)

MONSTERS UNDER THE BED AND ELSEWHERE

That sterling organization, Playwrights for Pets, will be presenting an evening of short new works as a fund-raiser for Animal Haven on Tuesday, October 28th at 7:30 pm. Three one-acts under the heading, MONSTERS, will hopefully scare up some funds for all the deserving dogs and cats who need a home and bring folks over to check out Animal Haven SoHo at 251 Centre Street, a beautiful facility not only for pet adoption but for training classes, pet supplies and products, etc. Plays for the evening are by Bill Dudley, Stacey Lane and Zeus Moran, which will be read by Erin Cronican, Dena Douglass, Laura Gillis, David Lapkin, Jonna McElrath and John Moss. The requested donation is only $10, with wine or soft drink included, so what more could you ask for? To get there, take the 6 Train to Spring Street stop, N,Q,R,W to Prince Street stop, or B,D,F,V to Broadway/Lafayette stop. Animal Haven is located on Centre Street between Broome and Grand Streets, two blocks South of Spring Street. Reservations should be made by calling 718-768-4213 or e-mailing sue@playwrightsforpets.com. (Click here for a pdf flyer!)


MONSTERS ON NOV. 4TH

One week later, the REAL monsters come out from under the bed.

PLEASE VOTE!

While McCain was more, shall we say, "aggressive" at the final debate, he was also once again misleading. Joe the Plumber, as a small business owner would NOT be fined if he didn't use Obama's health plan, as he is a small business, and with a $3000 tax incentive for each new job he created, it is likely that any additional taxes Joe incurred would be offset. (Of course, it turns out that Joe wasn't a licensed plumber after all, so once again, the McCain team did not properly vet a person before using their name.) But the biggest error of the debate came when Obama said let's talk about issues, not hurt feelings--McCain didn't join him, change course and simply present his own plans. Rather, he went back to associations, name-calling and mudslinging. If McCain is such an agent of change, why didn't he welcome an opportunity to change and deal with what was important? Perhaps this is why, after so many years of being a "maverick" in DC he has not changed it from within--what makes anyone think he'll change it as President?

Finally, I would like to address the whole issue of "spreading the wealth." McCain said Obama's plans would be giving away people's hard-earned dollars when they should choose who to give it to, when and where. This, of course, is the Republican bottom line--keep the money with those who've garnered it versus giving government distribution rights. Senator McCain, the events of just the last few weeks have shown that things DON'T trickle down, that the approach you promote allows the greedy to hog it all for themselves, leading us ultimately to the pickle we're currently in. I'm not saying that people don't deserve to keep what they've honestly earned. But by setting up fair and even distribution, oversight is put into place and people (not just the wealthiest) are protected. It is the "every man for himself" attitude nurtured over the last eight years that has precipitated this crisis--more of the same will not get us out.

DEBATABLE?

I've shied away from the political scene for the last several weeks--after all, there have been so many willing to jump in to fill whatever possible void my opinion might have left!

But watching last night's debate, a summary of my thoughts crept in.

• When asked by moderator Tom Brokaw who might make a good Secretary of the Treasury to replace Paulson, John McCain mentioned Warren Buffett, whom he also identified as an Obama supporter. If one of the smartest investment and finance men in America, John, supports Obama, what does that say about you?


• When McCain tries to lump Obama in with the excesses of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, while his own campaign is staffed by former lobbyists from those institutions, it tends to backfire.


• When John McCain repeatedly talks about his skill in "reaching across the aisle" while constantly failing to engage or look his rival in the eye, one tends to feel he is merely talking the talk.


• John McCain continually talks about Obama planning to increase taxes, when in point of fact his main thrust is providing tax cuts to the middle class, shows McCain does not have a firm grasp on his opponents' campaign. (Of course, with a humongous looming deficit, one has to wonder how McCain would pay for all those inferior mortgage buybacks he so valiantly put forth?)


• The only person I ever want to hear describe themselves as a Maverick again is James Garner.

This is not to say that Sen. Obama is flawless--I have been waiting for months and months to know more about his plans. While I know I DON'T like Sen. McCain's healthcare plane (which would tax you on any health insurance benefits given by your employer, along with sending you to another state and costing you more by limiting availability of specific services), I at least feel I really know what it is. Yet Obama is clearly concerned about education and the future of our young people, something McCain never seems to mention. And you can't have it both ways--either you have years and years of experience--which DOES make you an insider, John--or your an outsider reformer, which comes from a detachment that you really don't have, having voted your party's line on most crucial issues.

Finally, let's separate McCain from the Bush administration for a moment. While I agree that it is as foolish to bring up the Keating Five as it is to bring up Obama's association (at age 8?) with the Weatherman, one does have to look at McCain as someone who, all on his own, has screamed for deregulation repeatedly for generations. Now he's saying there needs to be accountability, even when he took away the watchdogs. If you take away the blame game from the Oval Office, the removal of proper oversight falls squarely on shoulders like those of Sen. McCain, making him directly culpable for the excesses that have brought about the current financial mess. (When he and Sarah Palin go on and on about cleaning up the town, I keep wanting to ask, "You and who else?" Is Sarah Palin going to have her little girl staying up all night going over corporate travel and expense accounts for homework? No one would argue that smaller government would be nice, but it doesn't happen by magic, and oversight requires people to do their jobs, preferably with some seriousness.)

John McCain does NOT mark a change, but more of the same--and we see where that's gotten us, don't we?

DARK COMEDY FOR DARK TIMES

For those who like their theater bracingly dark and with a little kick, I am happy to invite you to come see the latest collaboration between myself (as a director) and one of my favorite playwrights, Edward Musto. (In the past year, Edward and I have done MASS. MURDER, COMMENCEMENT and a staged reading of his play, GENEVIEVE--after having known each other's work for over 25 years!) The show runs about an hour and should be a good piece of theater, so please check it out. The information is as follows:

4-D Productions presents
EVILUTION

Three Dark Comedies by

Edward Musto

directed by

Judd Silverman

From stories by Richard Matheson, Michael Knight and Frederick Waterman

with

James Arden, Alison Crane, William Franke*, Emily Edwards, Chelsea Holland, D. H. Johnson, David Lapkin*

*member AEA, An Equity Approved Showcase

costumes by Catherine Fisher

stage managed by Nate Brauner

FIVE PERFORMANCES ONLY!

Oct. 2-5, 2008, Thurs-Sat Eves 8 pm, Sat & Sun Mats 2 pm

All Tickets $18 - Reservations through

TheaterMania at http://www.blogger.com/www.theatermania.com or by calling (212) 352-3101

78th Street Theatre Lab, 236 West 78th St., top floor theater, 78th & Broadway

EVILUTION:

Three dark comedies from the author of An Evening of Murder and the Like, an Edgar Allan Poe Award nominee as Best Play. An upper-class couple watches as the rest of humanity drowns itself in Lemmings. Criminality makes strange bedfellows in Smash and Grab when a burglar is caught in the act by a pretty college coed. And in Best Man Wins a chef cooks up something special for a close friend who's become too close to his wife. Based on stories by Richard Matheson, Michael Knight and Frederick Waterman.

Click here for a pdf flyer you can’t print at home!

Hope you can join us!

FREE READING IN NYC AT URBAN STAGES

As part of my continuing artistic partnership with my good friend and fellow writer, Edward Musto, I am happy to let you all know about two upcoming events. One, an evening of three dark-and-humorous plays under the title, EVILUTION, is opening October 2nd (and playing, in a full production, through the 5th at the 78th Street Theatre Lab). More on that to come shortly.

But THIS Monday, September 22nd, you are cordially invited to a FREE READING at Urban Stages at 6pm of Ed's full-length play, GENEVIEVE. Based on the events of a true story during the student revolts of Paris in 1968, it is the story of a radical teacher accused of seducing and bedding one of her young students. A wonderful cast has been assembled, and there will be free wine and a discussion post-show. This is definitely an evening worth checking out. Below are the details:

GENEVIEVE

by Edward Musto

Directed by Judd Silverman

Monday, September 22, 2008, 6 pm, Urban Stages at

259 West 30^th Street (btwn 7^th & 8^th Avenues)

No Reservations Required

featuring

James Arden, Alden Ford, Brian Fuqua*, Elizabeth Gee, Nell Gwynn*, John Moss*,
Barry Steely, and Annie Pesch

*AEA member

From the Urban Stages website:

GENEVIEVE is inspired by a true story, the Gabrielle Russier ordeal, which shook France in the late 1960’s. At the time of the student riots in Paris, a 30 year-old schoolteacher, here named Genevieve Duvall, stands trial for “corrupting a minor”. As Genevieve gives testimony, the action in the court room freezes and she relives the moments in which law and justice are at odds with one another. The play was a finalist in two national playwriting competitions.

“Urban Stages is proud to celebrate its 25th Anniversary – And we want YOU to join the party! Join us for a celebration of our continued commitment to new work at our FREE New Play Reading Series on Monday nights in September. Wine and refreshments will be provided.”

For more information, go to www.urbanstages.org/new/merc.asp

RUSH LIMBAUGH REALLY IS A BIG FAT IDIOT

Al Franken was right--but it feels so good to say it again!

Today's reaffirmation comes on the heels of Mr. Limbaugh's trumpeting how the Republicans got it so right with their "maverick" choice of Alaska's Governor, Sarah Palin, as the Vice Presidential nominee for the Republican Party. "We've got the babe!" was Mr. Limbaugh's astute judgment . . .

Okay, before I go any further, I know next to nothing about Gov. Palin, so congrats to you, Governor, on making a national ticket, and good luck in the challenges that face you. And watch out for stupid men like Rush Limbaugh.

He STILL doesn't get it. One didn't root for Hillary because she was a woman but because she was a good candidate and a talented and brave leader who happened to be a woman and had to fight the prejudices for acceptance from guys like Limbaugh and sexists even within her own party. One rooted for her, in part, because she was a woman, but not BECAUSE she was a woman.

And now, the incredibly cynical Republicans appear to have picked Gov. Palin BECAUSE she is a woman first, not because of her qualifications. Barely two years as a first-term Governor do not qualify her for leader of the free world. And despite being a mom of five, with a Down's Syndrome baby--and hopefully she is a remarkable mother, as she may well be to have five kids and be able to run a State!--this is not whom you pick as back-up for a 72-year old man who's fought cancer four times. Yes, she's a gun-lover. Yes, she's anti-women's right to choose. That makes her maybe qualified to be a delegate to the Republican convention but hardly to be its leading lady!

You don't NOT pick a candidate because she's a woman. You also don't PICK a candidate because she's a woman. So far, Sarah Palin has a lot to prove to put her in the same class as Hillary Clinton.

And yet both women are preferable to Rush Limbaugh, who still needs to be smacked for dancing a premature victory dance because they have "a babe" on the ticket and that will suffice!

In the meantime, Happy 72nd birthday, Sen. McCain.

And congratulations on your nominations, Sens. Obama and Biden. Thanks to you and the Clintons, the Democratic Convention provided a very educational and moving week.

FINAL WEEKEND

In a shameless self-promoting plug, I am encouraging you to stop in to the Secret Theatre in Long Island City for the final weekend of COMEDY IN QUEENS, two alternating bills of comedic one-acts lovingly produced and performed with brio. I myself have two one-acts, one each program, that I'm happy with, but there's some really fun writing, directing and acting throughout. And if you're ready to laugh yourself silly, Saturday there will be a marathon starting at 5:30, with Program 1 AND Program 2 back-to-back (with snacks!) all for a bargain price of $20. (The usual price per program is $15.) Here's the info--c'mon, you know you could use a good laugh!

COMEDY IN QUEENS

The Comedic One Act Festival

presented by

The Queens Players

at the Secret Theatre, July 16-8/2
44-02 23rd, Long Island City, NYC 11101
phone: 718 392 0304 FOR INFO
Online reservations: www.theatermania.com

featuring

Two One Acts by Judd Lear Silverman:

CONQUERING THE FEAR

directed by Chris Jobin

with Adia Tucker and Ben Dziuba

and

ALL THE COMFORTS OF HOME

directed by Ken Hailey

with Brian Rush and Madeline Reed

Remaining Schedule:

Program 1 – 8/1 at 8 pm, 8/2 at 5:30 pm
Recurring

Conquering the Fear
Hamster Trance
One Night Stand
If You Are My Soulmate, Why Are You Such an Asshole?
Jump

Program 2 – 7/30, 7/31, 8/2 at 8pm

AquaSaga
Smash & Grab
All The Comforts Of Home
It's A Wonderful Play
Leaving
Death & Motor Vehicles

(Both plays perform the final day, 8/2, beginning at 5:30!)

Lots of great plays, lots of talented actors & directors, lots of fun!

The Secret Theatre and The Queens Players present a festival of original comedy one acts from emerging NYC writers, VE Kimberlain, Ira Sargent, Jack Karp, Edward Musto, Judd Silverman, Steven Wojtas, Susan Gross, Isaac Rathbone, J Snodgrass & Stefanie Zadravec.

The plays vary in subject from sex [which is always funny!] to meeting the Grim Reaper at the DMV to Rodent problems and relationships. Directed by an assortment of both Queens Players’ company directors to some honored outside guest Directors this show is a chance to come and see some great original comedy performed by over 32 different actors. On the final night on August 2^nd you have a chance to see all the plays back to back when we present both programs with program 1 starting at 5.30 and then program 2 at 8.30. A double ticket is only $20 and of course the closing night party will feature our famous and FREE! BBQ!!

Tickets $15 for one program or $20 for both.

Box office and info 718 392 0304.

Credit card and online tickets: www.secrettheatre.com or www.thequeensplayers.com

Tickets also available at: www.theatermania.com

info@secrettheatre.com

Directions:. Take the 7 to 45th/Courthouse or the E, V or G to 23rd/Ely.

The Secret Theatre is located between PS1 and Silvercup Studios and is two blocks from the Citibank Tower. Enter via green gates to the left of main entrance. Parking available.

GIVE ME A BREAK INDEED!

John Stossel, ABC News reporter and erstwhile host of 20/20, has made a career out of rubbing people the wrong way and saying the unpopular thing--and a successful career it has been, too. I wonder what he would say if his bosses said to him, "John, we don't want the myths debunked anymore. Be more politically correct." Would he say his famous by-line, "Give me a break?" And would he perfectly OK if they fired him for doing what he does best?

I ask because last Friday, on what was a rather good episode of 20/20--I don't blame those elephants for going crazy at all!--he ended the show on a sourest of sour notes--defending companies that fire people above a certain age just because they can--not because of poor job performance or because their age matters to the work, but because they want someone younger, someone they can pay less and boss around more. Clearly, as long as John has a following, ABC will hold onto him, but it would be perfectly alright if they did fire him--or so he says. He believes that companies should be able to do whatever they want in terms of hiring and firing and if they want younger or prettier men and women, then they should have the right to terminate anyone who doesn't fit the bill. Thus DJs above a certain age--who are known for voice alone and were still doing pop music--were able to be fired, and Stossel ridiculed the lawyer who argued it was unfair and inappropriate. An advertising executive who turned 50--out, so they could hire a younger edition. Stossel felt that laws against age discrimination unfairly tie the hands of employers and hamper creative business practice.

Well, John, I guess you've learned nothing with age and maturity. I guess you're no more subtle or sophisticated or patient. You have exactly as much energy as you did in your 20s and you don't have any fear of losing your income and insurance--probably because you've been overpaid for so many years that by now you're set for life. I'm sure you'd be perfectly happy to be robbed of your retirement and your pension, thrown out just before you're vested, and that you'd be happy to have to work for lower pay, perhaps not even in your chosen and proven profession. If you have college-aged kids, it wouldn't bother you at all to explain why their plans for the education you promised them are shot. As long as businessmen get to do what they want, who has any moral obligation to take care of people who've lived up to their end of the bargain? Why should anyone have an expectation to reap the hard-won rewards they've depended on for later years when they maybe really aren't able to work?

John Stossel may be good at playing Devil's Advocate, and his rants are certainly good fodder for discussion. But only when one is in a secure position can one afford such smugness. When you've been in the shoes of the discarded, the underpaid and under appreciated, then such comments do rankle and seem to condone the rather poor behavior our society has displayed in recent years. This country has long undervalued its senior citizens, but now it's starting to discard its middle-aged workers as well. Jobs that folks spent years training for, requiring expensive advanced degrees, are now being offered to kids with little experience or training, just to save the bucks. This means not only that more qualified and experienced folks are out of work--and with little chance of obtaining equal positions--but that the quality of the product or service is bound to be reduced merely by the basic lack of experience that comes with time. It is a fact--with age comes experience and experience does help. Granted, it is not the be-all-and-end-all, and I'm not implying that there's no talent among the youth. And I would love to have the energy I had 30 years ago, when I felt indestructible. But there is no worse feeling than spending years to train, hone and develop your craft, only to have it taken away from you, not for anything you've done wrong, but because someone younger and cheaper is available.

So good luck, John, at staying at the top. Maybe you should keep an eye peeled over your shoulder, just in case.

Give me a break, indeed!

OPENING THIS WEEK!

Two of my own one acts, ALL THE COMFORTS OF HOME and CONQUERING THE FEAR, will be presented in the one-act festival, COMEDY IN QUEENS, presented by the Queens Players at the Secret Theatre beginning Wednesday, July 16th. It should be a fun bill (or rather, two fun bills), playing at the highly pleasant Secret Theatre, easily accessible from Manhattan (first stop on the V or E, last stop on the G in Queens, diagonally across from Silvercup Studios). They did a terrific job with A REASON FOR ALL THINGS in January, and these comedic one acts (which also include one by the estimable Edward Musto!) should be great fun.

Here's the information:

Two One Acts

by Judd Lear Silverman:

CONQUERING THE FEAR

directed by Chris Jobin

with Adia Tucker and Ben Dziuba

and

ALL THE COMFORTS OF HOME

directed by Ken Hailey

with Brian Rush and Madeline Reed
as part of

COMEDY IN QUEENS

The Comedic One Act Festival

presented by

The Queens Players

at the Secret Theatre, July 16-8/2
44-02 23rd, Long Island City, NYC 11101
phone: 718 392 0304 FOR INFO
Online reservations: www.theatermania.com

Schedule:

CONQUERING part of Program 1 – 7/16, 7/17, 7/19, 7/23, 7/25, 8/1 at 8pm

also 7/26 at 3pm and 8/2 at 5:30pm
COMFORTS part of Program 2 – 7/18, 7/20, 7/24, 7/26, 7/27, 7/30, 7/31, 8/2 at 8pm
(Both plays perform the final day, 8/2 beginning at 5:30!)

Lots of great plays, lots of talented actors & directors, lots of fun!

And here's more about the Comedy in Queens from the Secret Theatre:

‘COMEDY IN QUEENS’

The Secret Theatre and The Queens Players present a festival of original comedy one acts from emerging NYC writers, VE Kimberlain, Ira Sargent, Jack Karp, Edward Musto, Judd Silverman, Steven Wojtas, Susan Gross, Isaac Rathbone, J Snodgrass & Stefanie Zadravec.

The plays vary in subject from sex [which is always funny!] to meeting the Grim Reaper at the DMV to Rodent problems and relationships. Directed by an assortment of both Queens Players’ company directors to some honored outside guest Directors this show is a chance to come and see some great original comedy performed by over 32 different actors. On the final night on August 2^nd you have a chance to see all the plays back to back when we present both programs with program 1 starting at 5.30 and then program 2 at 8.30. A double ticket is only $20 and of course the closing night party will feature our famous and FREE! BBQ!!

Tickets $15 for one program or $20 for both.

Box office and info 718 392 0304.

Credit card and online tickets: www.secrettheatre.com or www.thequeensplayers.com

Tickets also available at: www.theatermania.com

info@secrettheatre.com

Directions:. Take the 7 to 45th/Courthouse or the E, V or G to 23rd/Ely.

The Secret Theatre is located between PS1 and Silvercup Studios and is two blocks from the Citibank Tower. Enter via green gates to the left of main entrance. Parking available.

Program 1
7/16, 7/17, 7/19, 7/23, 7/25 @8pm, 7/26@3pm, 8/1
@8pm, 8/2 @5:30pm

Hamster Trance
One Night Stand
Jump
Recurring
If You Are My Soulmate, Why Are You Such an Asshole?
Conquering the Fear

Program 2
7/18, 7/20, 7/24, 7/26, 7/27, 7/30, 7/31, @ 8pm
8/2 @8.30pm

Smash & Grab
Leaving
All The Comforts Of Home
AquaSaga
It's A Wonderful Play
Death & Motor Vehicles

REACHING OUT EVEN FURTHER

Now I also have a blog in the MySpace universe: www.myspace.com/juddls

I will have postings and videos and personal notes there as well, although this blog will continue to be a source for opinions and reviews.

Also, EDDIE HAS ALLERGIES is now available as a Kindle Book at Amazon.com. If you own one of their electronic book devices, which are hot and quite watchable, then you can download and read about Eddie and his imagination within minutes and for even less than the purchase of the in-print version. (Apologies for any format problems: downloading and uploading files and keeping their shape in "foreign" terrain is a tricky prospect at best, but I swear all the text and the images are there!)

OTHER BUSINESS

IN PLAIN SIGHT, USA Network, 10 pm, Sundays

Catch IN PLAIN SIGHT on USA Network. Mary McCormack plays a slightly testy and frequently exhausted US Marshall who coordinates new identities and locations for people in the witness protection program. (The amazingly versatile and engaging Frederic Weller plays her friend and fellow marshall named Marshall, while Paul Ben-Victor is their avuncular boss and DA NCING WITH THE STARS hearthrob Cristian de la Fuente plays Mary's baseball-playing love interest. And Lesley Ann Warren has a recurring role as her Mom, Jinx, a mother who never quite grew up and is more the child than the parent.) The scripts are witty and the story lines engaging, but it is the natural and authentic-feeling performances that carry the day. And Mary McCormack delivers handily. McCormack has been wasted too often as window-dressing (as on THE WEST WING) -- clearly this talented lady is FUNNY and deserving of our attention. (She recently was Tony-nominated as a Teutonic stewardess in the hit revival of BOEING-BOEING.) Once again, Sunday nights at 10 are best spent home in front of the tube!

Back from a family wedding on Old Cape Cod. Very lavish, very pretty. A bit hot but it didn't rain, despite all the predictions. Interesting. Exhausting. Fun.

The Cape is a strange and mysterious place, quite beautiful at any one location. But if you're driving around it when you're not familiar with it, the landmarks seem to appear, disappear, re-appear. You're in one town, then you leave and move into another town, then suddenly you're back in the first town again, as if only three towns existed, leap-frogging over one another. Dark streets at night with few readable road signs and no lighting. Disorienting. But very pretty by day. And breath-taking vistas can appear suddenly around hidden corners. I suppose the logic of the Cape grows on you when you spend a full summer there--it's hard to take in on a quick weekend jaunt.

I am all in favor weddings, whatever your orientation, gender or sexual preference. Preparing for one may cause more stress and nervousness than one would normally want, but ultimately they do end up providing a memorable celebration of a personal milestone. Anyone who really wants to commit their time, attention and love to one person in these difficult times--God bless 'em! Everyone who can give beyond themselves to someone else deserves all the support we can give them!

Weddings are strange events where you catch up with people related to you. You check in, you see and hear the latest news--but you probably know your friends and co-workers better than you know your own family. You are connected to these people by blood or by marriage. And while folks profess their love and how much they miss you, you can't help but wonder--would they even want to be friends if they weren't relatives? I'm happy to see my kin, of course, but ultimately I want people to "love" me because they find me interesting and genuinely like me--not because I'm their uncle or nephew or cousin. (And those who say "we must get together when we're back in the city" should put their money where their mouths are, so to speak . . . )

Still, a good time was had by all . . .

PARK SLOPE FLEA MARKET

One of my favorite places to be on the weekends is the Flea Market at P.S. 121 in Park Slope (7th Ave between 1st & 2nd Streets). Over the years, I have not only found everything from rare books and discs to furniture, clothing, and gifts, but also numerous friends and neighbors. For shows I've done, I've often found the most obscure (and most needed) props and costume pieces. Mostly, I've found fun--and a sense of community. (See the short film clip below.)




COMING SOON TO A THEATER NEAR YOU

Two of my own one acts, ALL THE COMFORTS OF HOME and CONQUERING THE FEAR, will be presented in a one-act festival by the Queens Players beginning July 16th. It should be a fun bill (or rather, two fun bills), playing at the highly pleasant Secret Theatre, easily accessible from Manhattan (first stop on the F in Queens, diagonally across from Silvercup Studios). They did a terrific job with A REASON FOR ALL THINGS in January, and these comedic one acts (which also include one by the estimable Edward Musto!) should be great fun.

Here's the information:

Two One Acts

by Judd Lear Silverman:

CONQUERING THE FEAR

directed by Chris Jobin

with Adia Tucker and Ben Dziuba

and

ALL THE COMFORTS OF HOME

directed by Ken Hailey

with Brian Rush and Madeline Reed
as part of

The Comedic One Act Festival

presented by

The Queens Players

at the Secret Theatre, July 16-8/2
44-02 23rd, Long Island City, NYC 11101
phone: 718 392 0304 FOR INFO
Online reservations: www.theatermania.com

Schedule:

CONQUERING part of Program 1 – 7/16, 7/17, 7/19, 7/23, 7/25, 8/1 at 8pm

also 7/26 at 3pm and 8/2 at 5:30pm
COMFORTS part of Program 2 – 7/18, 7/20, 7/24, 7/26, 7/27, 7/30, 7/31, 8/2 at 8pm
(Both plays perform the final day, 8/2 beginning at 5:30!)

Lots of great plays, lots of talented actors & directors, lots of fun!

ALMOST AMY

(Though not referencing the talented and lovely Amy Blitz, whose new theater company, Stage 4, finishes its evening, CRIMINAL ACTS, at NuYorican Theater at East 3rd Street tonight . . . )

(Nor Amy (Amelia Fowler) whose biking to end AIDS . . . )

ALMOST AMY is the group releasing (or pre-releasing) their new, self-titled album at www.learning2dance.com. The two lead singers/guitarists are better known as dancers, though--Mark Ballas and Derek Hough, who appear on DANCING WITH THE STARS. (Ballas is this year's professional champion with Kristi Yamaguchi, while Hough danced with Shannon Elizabeth. Ballas, still rumored to be dating Sabrina Bryan, used to be professional partners with Hough's sister, Julianne--also a DANCING star, two-time winner and now a country singer with her own album!) The two are young boyhood friends who are still friends and roommates, and happen to make good music together. The sampler of their songs shows promise--not quite rock, not quite pop, not quite folk, they are refreshingly melodic and wistful without ever getting sticky or sappy. The vocals are terrific, as is the rapid guitar work. These are two, hard-working young guys who know how to entertain. The album is only available online at present, but it's well worth checking out.

IF I COULD TALK TO THE ANIMALS

If you stop and think about it, our pets are the most selfless creatures: willing to give us comfort, friendship and affection, listening to our whining, forgiving us when we forget their needs, etc. (How often do WE do that for others?) It only seems right, then, that every so often we do something selfless for them.

This coming Monday, June 9th, Playwrights for Pets will present another fun evening, raising money to benefit Animal Haven, that sterling no-kill animal shelter that serves and protects animals throughout the five boroughs. For those who've not been with us before, it is an evening of staged readings, performed by gifted artists donating their time and talent. For those who are "regulars," this evening promises to be particularly enjoyable. (Plays for the evening include work by Jim Dalglish, Carolyn Gage, David Johnston, Barbara Kahn, Edward Musto, and Kathleen Warnock, as well as yours truly. A talented ensemble of actors & directors has been assembled to perform the new works.)

Past "themes" for PFP evenings have included "Mischief Night," "The Marrying Kind," "In Transit," and "Fables & Fairy Tales (Shaken, Stirred and with a Twist)," as well as special family matinee programs (at Animal Haven SoHo). On June 9th, we will present "In the Rainbow," an evening of plays from the gay and lesbian community, which run a gamut of topics and promise to be both wildly funny and deeply touching. The performance will begin at 7:30 in the beautiful basement recital hall of the Baruch Performing Arts Center, 55 Lexington Avenue (at 25th Street). The requested donation is $10, and every dollar goes directly to benefit Animal Haven. For reservations, please call 718-768-4213 or e-mail sue@playwrightsforpets.com.

SOME QUICK ENTERTAINMENT PICKS


WONDER IN THE WORLD - Kelli O'Hara, Ghostlight Records

Kelli O'Hara, the acclaimed star of the hit revival of SOUTH PACIFIC, has a conveniently-timed new album out, her first, and it's a treasure. Arranged and orchestrated by Harry Connick, Jr. (her co-star in PAJAMA GAME), it is a surprisingly non-theatrical release: relaxed, intimate, thought-provoking and, at times, quite vulnerable. O'Hara is not a belter in the grand show biz tradition. Her honey-toned soprano is sweet but complexly shaded, making the listener feel like they're in a small room, sharing very personal thoughts. The material has only a few Broadway numbers: "Fable" from LIGHT IN THE PIAZZA, in a carefully re-thought swingy arrangement, and a bell-like "I Have Dreamed" from THE KING & I. James Taylor and Bill Joel are represented here, along with standards like "Make Someone Happy" and "All the Way." Other numbers are surprisingly personal and charming, including the title tune, a duet with Mr. Connick. A funky rendition of "Spooky" shows a comedic side, and even the Perry Como classic, "And I Love You So," gets a successful makeover. Throughout the album, there is truthfulness and personal commitment, and the execution is exquisite. If there is a successor to the Barbara Cook throne, it will be Ms. O'Hara, both for the quality of her instrument and her ability to live simply in a song and breathe it into life.


JULIANNE HOUGH - Julianne Hough, Universal Music

The 19-year old, two-time professional winner of DANCING WITH THE STARS is a country singer--who knew? Singing with assurance and confidence, she is a fiery youngster clearly having great fun--and talented enough to pull it off. Her dance work, of course, is supremely confident on TV, and her work here shows equal ebullience and imagination. Performing in the tradition of Dolly Parton and Reba McEntire, Hough displays a lively, twangy lilt. Her energy and vitality sell the songs, which show both a quirky sense of humor and a sweetly-intended sense of empathy. If she is not quite as seasoned as one might wish, one does have to remember that she IS only 19--the colors and shadings may well come later on with life experience. In the meantime, songs like "My Hallelujah Song," "That Song in My Head," and "Hello" are entertaining and ingratiating. This is a promising debut album for a gifted young singer (with room to grow). But then again, those Hough kids are pretty amazing entertainers already--a talented family!

THE VISITOR

Tom McCarthy's THE STATION AGENT, was a charming, off-beat story of folks on the fringe. His latest, THE VISITOR, goes even further to explore those kept out of the mainstream, either by their personal demons or literally by the INS. Richard Jenkins, that sterling character actor best known perhaps as the ghost-dad on SIX FEET UNDER, plays a withdrawn Connecticut college professor merely visiting life until one day, through a series of unplanned circumstances, he arrives at his rarely used New York City apartment to find illegal aliens squatting there. The journey that begins--his opening up to life and to the plight of those forced to wander without a safe haven--is funny, stirring, and powerful. Haaz Sleiman is absolutely irresistible as the young Syrian percussionist Tarek, and Danai Gurira is terrific as his terrified mate. But when an unfortunate twist of fate befalls Tarek, the arrival of his mother brings the film to a whole other level, partly due to the amazing performance of the beautiful Hiam Abbass. This is an intimate journey into a world of the immigrant, filled with intense joy and sorrow that can only perhaps be understood by those trapped between two worlds. A must-see.

CURTAINS - Al Hirschfeld Theatre

If you've been waiting to see this swan-song musical of the estimable team of Kander and Ebb, don't wait any longer--it's closing June 29th after a run of more than a year. The good news is that David Hyde Pierce, Debra Monk, Karen Ziemba and most of the original cast have stayed the whole time, their teamwork is infectious, and the show is a total charmer. In an age when so-called period pieces are either arch or heavily satirized, here's a show that celebrates show biz and all it's various odd legends and styles, yet does so by inviting you in versus placing you (and the artists) above the fray. Finely-crafted, the book by the late Peter Stone and revised by Rupert Holmes is witty and clever but never heavy-handed, and David Hyde Pierce as the detective determined to find out who killed the leading lady in the Boston tryout of a Broadway-bound Western Musical (!) is the consummate ringmaster--warm, ingratiating and very very funny. It may be a crime to use the word, "amiable," but this is like spending a evening with very old, very good friends, and having an evening you'll have warm feelings about for years to come. Don't miss it!

A busy month since last I updated. Apologies. A resulting potpourri of opinions . . .

MUSIC

This Kind of Love – Carly Simon (Hear Music)

Those who feared that Carly Simon’s creativity was in an overly long fallow period can rejoice. Her newest album, “This Kind of Love,” is adventurous, sexy, sensuous and fun, with the kind of playfulness we used to depend on from the sultry Ms. Simon.

(According to some interviews released in conjunction with the album, it was Columbia, her previous label, who kept steering her to more conservative choices.) Here, we have rhythmic surprises, lyrical confessions, emotionally honest confessions and a touch of the sexy playfulness we always expected from the lady of “No Secrets”. With some songs (and accompaniment) from her kids Ben and Sally (both fully grown) and production work from the inestimable Jimmy Webb, Simon sings with mature confidence through a range of material, including the lovely “Hold Out Your Heart,” the intense “People Say a Lot When They Want the Job” (reminiscent of a Queen Latifah rap), and the title song. Carly is back as an artist, not just as an icon doing covers, and the result is as welcome as ever.

A Long and Winding Road – Maureen McGovern (PS Classics)

One of the classiest and most sophisticated voices in the business, Maureen McGovern became a cabaret staple receiving praise for her brilliant work with the songbooks of Gershwin, Bergman, Arlen, and other staple American composers. It was a reputation hard-won, required in some circles to overcome the misperception as the “Disaster Queen,” having introduced such pop movie themes as “The Morning After” from The Poseidon Adventure and “We May Never Love Like This Again” from The Towering Inferno. More than two decades on the club and recording circuit plus many Broadway musical credits (including Nine and Little Women) changed her from pop diva to, well, a rather classy dame. Throughout it all, the sheer purity and bell-like clarity of her instrument made folks sit up and take note. But now in an unexpected move, she has gone back to what were (unbeknownst at least to me) her roots of folk and protest. A Long and Winding Road allows her to let her hair down and to make (for her) some “unpretty” sounds in order to tap some raw emotions and thoughts. (Okay, a slight rasp occasionally on the incredibly wonderful vocal instrument is hardly “unpretty,” but you get the idea.) Songs by James Taylor, Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, Paul Simon, The Beatles and numerous others provide an unexpected canvas that McGovern approaches with the same freshness and clarity that she’s approached the Gershwins. The effect is arresting, and the album’s appeal grows and grows with repeated listening. Among the many jewels: a terrific cover of Blood, Sweat & Tears’ “And When I Die,” a moving version of Mitchell’s “The Circle Game,” and a Bobby McFerrin-tinged “Feelin’ Groovy.” Jimmy Webb raises his head again here, with the lovely lady recording a track she was destined to cover: “The Moon’s a Harsh Mistress,” one of the lushest and loveliest ballads of the last 30 years. Those who have never jumped on the McGovern bandwagon should start here---it may be in this material that we meet the “real” Maureen McGovern.

FILMS

Okay, I don’t get out enough, I know—but here are two on cable that may have escaped you in their short theatrical runs that should be caught now!

THE NAMESAKE

Kal Penn is more than just the Harold and Kumar movies and his new role on TV’s House. Working with the great director Mira Nair (Monsoon Wedding), he gives a wonderfully believable performance as a young man crossing two cultures and two worlds in The Namesake, based on the novel by Pulitzer Prize-winner Jhumpa Lahiri. The movie tracks a Bengali family now living in New York City in the final quarter of the 20^th Century and its challenges in staying true to one culture while assimilating into another. The film is both entertaining and power, masterfully shot, and imparts a valuable lesson: when navigating terrains of past and future, old world and new, the best tact to navigating the path is being true not to any one culture slavishly but to one’s true self. The close-up shots of the Taj Mahal alone make this film worth viewing, but there’s much more to it than that. Also, watch for a stunning performance by the incredibly beautiful Indian actress/singer, Tabu, as the family matriarch.

WAITRESS

Adrienne Shelly’s untimely murder will forever haunt this lovely little film, her legacy that shows what might have been. Shelly wrote, directed and co-stars in this lovely tail of a trapped young woman who finds herself pregnant by her awful husband. Keri Russell plays the waitress, whose bullying husband (Jeremy Sisto) is thrilled by a pregnancy that the young woman herself doesn’t want. Her journey takes her through an odd friendship (with Andy Griffith, who’s wonderful), an affair with her obstetrician (played with humorous uncertainty by Nathan Fillion), and a quirky obsession with the baking of designer pies (“I Hate My Husband” pie, “Unwanted Baby” pie, “Dirty Cherry” pie, etc.). Along the way, her co-workers (played winningly by the late Shelly and Curb Your Enthusiasm’s Cheryl Hines) dispense dubious wisdom and friendship. It’s a small film, but a charming one, and one can only imagine what would have come next, were Shelly’s life not tragically cut short. Still, we can’t stop time, so curl up some rainy evening and treasure this little gem.

POLITICS

In the next few weeks, one way or the other, we will have a Democratic candidate to challenge John McCain. Can supporters of Clinton or Obama come together? Of course—both candidates have viable policies and either can lead this country to much-needed change. But the real apology owed the American people is from Howard Dean and the bosses of the Democratic Party. I like the candidates, but have never been so ashamed to be a Democrat. One of the most exciting and positive possibilities for change in years has been turned into an embarrassment by politico greed. The manipulation of this campaign by party honchos has been as bald and embarrassing as the manipulation of our country by the current administration. After years of being “the Party of the People,” Dean and his cronies have made it painfully clear that they have no more respect or care for the American people than their Republican counterparts. Fear, lies, and gross distortion have been the order of the day. Back room deals and intimidation tactics have been rampant. In short, a self-centered politician is a self-centered politician, regardless of affiliation. Yes, the candidate will get my vote—but it will be a long, LONG time before the party can approach me (or most of the Democrats I know) for financial support or endorsement. I call on all fellow disgruntled, trodden-upon Democrats to join in rebellion against a party that clearly has taken on a life of its own and feels it neither needs nor respects us. Good luck to Hillary and Barack—but SHAME ON YOU, DEMOCRATIC PARTY.

IT'S MY PARTY (AND I'LL CRY IF I WANT TO)

Today is the Pennsylvania Primary, which is the latest "crucial" primary. Aren't they all? Superdelegates are swearing left and right not to be swayed--so why are they swaying left and right? Everyone is grouchy and dispirited, name-calling, on the attack.

It's called politics. (In other countries, sometimes they kill the opposition. Here, we call each other names and then respond with indignance and horror when the opposing candidate is "just not nice.")

Hillary is called horrible for her low attack ads, using people's words against them, warning that "if you can't stand the heat, don't stay in the kitchen." She's behaving . . . like all the other male candidates in history. (I'm not sure why that makes her more untrustworthy or despicable than all the men who've gone before her, but according to some, it has to.)

Obama, the "front-runner", is busy being a victim--the wunderkind distressed by anything short of unanimous adoration. Further, he resents being known by the company he keeps. (If that applies to you and me, shouldn't it apply to our candidates as well?)

Well, make no mistake. These are politicians, my friends, and as much as they may complain or scream or cry, they LIVE for the drama of the political race. And contrary to the anxiety the Democratic party bigwigs are trying to stir up if we don't resolve this conflict BEFORE the convention (which is rightly where those running resolve their conflicts), just remember that no political split in memory has ever prevented the politicos from re-grouping the day AFTER the convention in solidarity. Oh, they love the pyrotechnics, the outrage. But they want to be on a winning team, and they WILL band together behind whomever wins. It's all about competition and winning (not what happens once you're governing). And if you realize that this, too, is business as usual, then suddenly it all seems a little less dire . . . and perhaps a tad more silly.

Still no voice for the Michigan and Florida delegates. All the power going to the superdelegate vote. (Did we waste our time at the polls?)

Four years ago, the election was the Democrats' to lose. And they did. Will all these back room shenanigans lose it for us again? Grow up people. Have some accountability to the people you serve.

Yes, it's been a while, a month almost--fraught with health, job, art, politics and other issues . . . but hopefully I'm getting back on track.

So I'll tackle a few different issues today, just to get "caught up."

Art, politics . . . and even some health information, coming right up.



JUST WHAT THE DOCTOR ORDERED

The concept of "On Demand" programming on cable seemed silly and potentially dangerous at first--and rightly so. There should be no program that you really can't afford to miss, and if you did, that'd just be a few more hours not lost to you forever, right? Ah . . . but when you REALLY can't miss your favorites, watching them whenever you want . . . and not just on your smaller computer screen . . . not sitting at a desk but on your comfy sofa or even in your cozy bed . . . no wonder we are such a soft nation . . . !

That said, HBO On Demand has given us the liberty to watch IN TREATMENT whenever we want, and it is more than a guilty pleasure. It is an addiction. Based on an Israeli series, "Be 'Tipul," it is an amazing journey into the world of the psychologist and their patients. Series that have therapy sessions at their core are not new--thank you, Bob Newhart, among others--but they are usually sensationalistic, and use the sessions as fast and easy ways to get plot exposition out there. There is no real sense of who the therapist is, what the process is, or what the relationship is--it is just a platform to deliver character news about the patient. But IN TREATMENT is interested in the doctor, the patient, the problem, the relationship, the ethics, the boundaries AND the process. The aim is to re-create the intimate therapeutic bond and see where it leads both patient and doctor. Over 9 weeks, five "sessions" per week, five patients and their doctor work through personal demons. (Since two patients are in couples therapy, that leaves one night per week leftover for the analyst to see HIS analyst.) One could follow one storyline or all five. You could see several episodes on a given night about one patient, or an entire week in one sitting. (This is not only due to the On Demand service--HBO frequently ran several episodes of a given patient's story on a given night to help provide background, and on Sundays, they recapped the whole week.)

All of this sounds ambitious and earnest, and it is. But it is also amazingly well done.

The writing really unfolds like the therapy process does, albeit condensed into 8 or 9 episodes (I won't explain that, lest I give anything away) that run approximately 26 minutes a piece (half the usual time of a real therapy session). Yes, the stories and the events under such compression may be a bit dramatic and theatrical--but were you really planning to tune in for the times when a session is totally mundane, a boring recap of a troubled person's every move all week? There are indeed often parts of a therapy session that are downright boring--that's just the truth. For our consumption, they've tightened it up a bit, and the result is absolutely addictive. The dialogue is superb--corrosive, subtle, biting, seductive, and even loving. And as the weeks progress, the resonances between the different cases--and the resonances between the patients' problems and the therapist Paul's life--become suddenly and heart-breakingly profound.

Then there is the acting. In one of the most superb ensembles ever assembled on TV--yes, hyperbole, but I can't help it!--you are overwhelmed by what turn into absolute master classes of great acting for the camera. Gabriel Byrne does a career-defining turn as Paul, the therapist and emcee of pain, whose crumbling marriage, middle-aged angst and career insecurities play out as he exercises the utmost dedication to his patients, even at a personal cost. A complicated and rather emotional man, we find ourselves riveted to his every facial expression and reaction (or non-reaction, which therapists are so good at executing). He is a good man, a man we care about, even though he, too, may be a troubled as his patients. On Mondays, Laura, an extremely attractive and sexual patient (played unabashedly and with brio by Melissa George) is projecting a strong desire to become Paul's lover, her own sexual issues inextricably intertwined with her need to find a steady influence in her life, even if it's her own therapist. (Did I mention she's a anaesthesiologist?) On Tuesdays, Blair Underwood finally gets the opportunity to show how much more of an actor he is than ever shown on network TV as Alex, a troubled Navy pilot whose relentless following of orders have perhaps caused him to lose his way as a human being. Wednesday's patient is Sophie, a teen gymnast prone to self-destructive behavior, played with alarming realism by newcomer Mia Wasikowska. (This girl can say more with a moment of silence than 90 percent of the actresses twice her age.) Jake and Amy, in marriage counseling, are the bickering odd couple, played with brio and tears by Josh Charles and Embeth Davidtz. And on Friday nights, a master class in brilliant acting is provided at Paul's therapy session, when Gabriel Byrne spars with HIS therapist played by the incomparable Diane Wiest. As if that weren't enough, Michelle Forbes is remarkable as the therapist's wife, and there are even "guest" performances by Glynn Turman (brilliant), Julia Campbell and Peter Horton, chief among others. But there is not a wasted performance in the bunch, and if Emmys could be given every single one of them, it would not be inappropriate. Most episodes are directed by series supervisor Rodrigo Garcia, Paris Barclay and/or Melanie Mayron--superb work from all. This is a top-rate series, executed with the utmost care and love, and giving it your time and attention is sure to be rewarding. Just beware--it's habit-forming. (I may need a session with my own shrink to deal with the withdrawal I'll be suffering once this season's over!)

WE THE PEOPLE

On the political front, several of you wrote in responding to my pieces on Hillary, Barack, and perceived (and misperceived) prejudice. The bottom line is there are some amazing candidates this time around--at LAST! The selection process cannot and should not be hurried--conventions were created as part of a process insuring that proper choices are made. Half the mud-slinging that's occurring seems to be exacerbated by the Democratic National Committee itself, who keeps saying how important it is to decide NOW, before the convention. Why? Why is it wrong for us to see what our candidates are made of? When is taking our time before leaping into something we can't take back ever a bad thing? (Need I bring up the WMDs?) And why should the DNC have more power than the States in setting calendars? Why should the peoples of Florida and Michigan, who must abide the laws of their respective states, be punished with no representation at the convention because the calendars set by their states didn't please the DNC? Who are these SUPER DELEGATES anyway? We know they are politicos over and above the regular voters who are being given MORE power than you and me--if these candidates are to be the choice of "the people," then who says these backroom brawlers deserve more voice than the one vote we each get? What makes them so special that THEY get to determine who gets the nomination?

I have made no bones about my candidate in this blog thus far, and chances are I will support whomever gets the Democratic nomination. They are both ultimately superb candidates--human and flawed at times, perhaps, but dedicated and caring and dedicated to making a change. Whomever wins will really have to be willing to roll up their sleeves and deal with some really dirty business left by the current administration. ("So?" says Dick.) The DNC says it's worried that the bickering will result in a party not coming together once the choice is made--but no time in history has that proven true. It is more likely they wish to start attacking McCain versus keeping the peace in their own house.

But last election, one that was the DNC's to lose, they did. And their asinine Big Brother antics threaten to undermine this election as well. They are so eager to taste victory that they seem unbridled in their efforts to get it, often to chilling effect. We do indeed want change--but at any cost? Return the election to the people, not the parties, and let the system do its work.

BREATHE DEEPLY

I am finally addressing what I've suspected for years--I suffer from sleep apnea. (A sleep study test I took estimated that I stop breathing in my sleep an average of 80 times an hour!) When you don't breathe, your body wakes you up, which is good of course, but it also means you never reach deeper, REM sleep, which is where your body really rests and replenishes. The results of this sleep deprivation can include high blood pressure, weight gain, exhaustion, heart enlargement and numerous other side effects--all of which I seem to have. And if you have apnea, you are almost certainly a scary snorer who keeps your partner awake all hours of the night.

So far, using a passover mask (no, this has nothing to do with being kosher for pesach!) that fits under my nose, my CPAP machine has been providing me with the kind of breathing and sleep that I haven't really had in years. CPAP stands for Continuous Positive Airway Pressure. With this moustached-sized mask strapped lightly to my head and attached to the CPAP, I received a rather large amount of air pressure through my nostrils which in turn forces open the nasal and throat passages, insuring that I get the air I need to breathe and to sleep. This means that I get my deeper REM sleep and overall a better quality of sleep than I ever have received before. An added plus--my CPAP machine comes with a heated humidifier built-in, such that instead of drying me out, my sinuses receive temperature-controlled moisture. Even in this severe spring allergy season, my sinuses are moist, clean and comfortable.

I may not have tackled ALL my problems--I may have enough to leave Paul's patients on IN TREATMENT behind in the dust!!--but with this new sleep-and-breathing therapy, I may finally be on a road to recovery. I'll keep you all posted.