Add to this the fact that the New York Times wrote that “Rock ’n’ Roll is arguably Stoppard’s finest play” (which is saying something when you consider Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, Jumpers, Travesties, and Arcadia, among other Stoppard gems) and that, yes, it’s about rock ’n’ roll and yes, there will be music. You’ll kick yourself if you don’t check this one out.
THE CLASSIC VO DILUN ONE-AND-A-HALF DEGREES OF SEPARATION
As the rest of the world must struggle through with six degrees of separation, inhabitants of the Biggest Little only have one-and-a-half, tops. While whipping up our endorse-ment of Rock ’n’ Roll at the Gamm, Jorge recalled the first time that he ever heard of Stoppard. It was 1972 and J’s band, the Fabulous Motels, were playing at the late, lamented Mercer Arts Center. (The building housed the Mercer and the Broadway Central Hotel and it collapsed about a year after the show.)
Dan Gosch, Motels toy drummer and legendary Providence painter, lured his sister and her husband to come see our show. They were young actors who had just gotten their first break with a casting in one of Stoppard’s earliest plays, The Real Inspector Hound, off-Broadway. The husband, Ted Danson, ended up doing pretty well in show biz.
But Gosch’s sister Randy Danson, who divorced Ted, ended up with an even cooler gig than her ex’s numerous high-profile performances: a memorable turn in Martin Scorsese’s Last Temptation of Christ, in which her character had a three-way marriage with Willem Dafoe’s Jesus and her sister, played by Peggy Gormley.
Later on in the ’90s, Phillipe worked with Ted Danson on some environmental initiatives and later both P+J slept with Woody Harrelson’s dog . . . hold on . . . maybe that was a cat.
YO-HO-HO AND A RIGHT FIELD HOME RUN
This item from the Boston Herald’s web site on April 1 may have been a typo, but P+J don’t think so, especially knowing the Herald’s penchant for quality journalism.
Alert reader Dennis from Edgewood points out an Associated Press story on BostonHerald.com from Nairobi, Kenya, with the headline, “U.S. Navy Frigate captures 5 pirates near Seychelles.” Evidently the USS Nicholas kicked some buccaneer butt in the Indian Ocean, capturing the bandits, “sinking their skiff and confiscating a mother ship.”
Enter the Herald geniuses. In the “Related Articles” sidebar right next to this is the headline, “Pirates unveil new lineup, beat Astros 13-1.” Hmm. Maybe the National League’s Pittsburgh Pirates had to make a quick lineup change with five of their starters aboard the USS Nicholas.
KUDOS + CONGRATS . . .
. . . to Casa Diablo regular, the great Susan L. Farmer, who will be inducted into the Rhode Island Heritage Hall of Fame this Saturday evening. From P+J’s perspective the former Secretary of State is more than worthy.
We are, of course, so totally in the bag for Muffy that asking if we were biased could only be met with a laugh. Not only was she the first woman elected to statewide office in Vo Dilun history but she (pretty darn close to singlehandedly) saved Rhode Island PBS, Channel 36. We could go into a long rehashing of what was going on a couple of decades ago when she took the reins as president and CEO at Channel 36, but believe us, this station would be a mere satellite of WGBH in Boston if not for her strong and savvy leadership.
