Birthday Dozen: A Tribute to the Guy who Deals the Cards

Admiration comes in many flavors. 

You admire people who do things you don't do and could never do, your Usains Bolt or Simones Biles. You admire people who do the things you do but much better than you could imagine doing; for me, that's your Franks Rich or Kurts Vonnegut. 

Then there are people who do whatever they do with a specific style or elan that makes it iconic; the list here could veer all over the place but I'm thinking Frank Sinatra, David Bowie and Prince all make the grade.

I admire Cranky Pete on all of those levels, and more. He's a writer, he's a poker player, but mostly, he's an iconic example of the post-modern intellectual who doesn't need misogyny to prove his manhood. More importantly, he's a genuinely great dude.

Any time spent in Pete's presence is time well spent. Even when the cards he's given me have been shit, the dealer has been gold. Hanging with him and the boys online over the pandemic was a lightweight but steadfast anchor to the world of human connection for me, and I expect for most of those involved.

It takes a strong center of gravity to hold members of a community in each others' orbit instead of flinging off into different directions like random asteroids plummeting through the void of space. Pete provides that center. I admire him for it, for his persistent sardonic humor, and for his talents both artistic and literary. 

But not for his poker playing. If Aaron is at the top of the leaderboard, the universe is askew somehow and I think Pete's gotta accept the blame.

Happy Birthday, Pete. Hope you enjoy the songs.

Birthday Dozen 001

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Bookends: 
"Pete the Cat Theme (feat. Elvis Costello)" -- Pete the Cat, Elvis Costello
"He's the Man" -- The Simpsons, Shawn Colvin

Elvis is best when he's brief and this is about as brief as you can get. At the other end of the playlist, another brief one but chock full of throwaway one-liners that would be more iconic if more people knew this song. Hard to believe this is the same Shawn Colvin of "Sunny Came Home." "Get down and put your knees together!"

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The Magazines:
"PUNCH LINE! -- Dempagumi
"Brick" -- Ben Folds Five

Before I knew Pete, I knew "Pete," the guy at the helm of "PUNCHLiNE" who made me laugh out loud with snappy prose that was never dumb or cheap, and usually had nuggets of insight shining bright within the casual irreverence. This song may come off as an annoying anime theme song for most listeners but 30 seconds in, it takes its first of a few weird sonic detours. If you can last to the 3 minute mark, there are a couple more plus a short shredding guitar solo. 

I hope mentioning "Brick" doesn't open any old wounds. The paper was a valiant effort, even if it could  by definition never be another Punchline. The song is the closest to a pop song on this list and is a bit sad and wistful, perhaps all appropriate analogs to the mag. 

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Punch the Clock:
"Dealer (feat. Future & Lil Baby)" -- RMR, Future, Lil Baby
"Artillery" -- Infected Mushroom

OK, so being a "dealer" is not actually a job but its the main role I've known Pete in for the past 8-10 years or so. The sounds that kick off the song are the least annoying sitar riffs I've ever heard. (Sales) Artillery was a job for Pete; that's about all I know about it. The song is a little paint-by-the-numbers rap-wise but the lyrics include pop culture refs in a way that suggests midlife angst that I can relate to.

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Partners:
"Liz" -- Remi Wolf
"Diavolo" -- Liz

I chose both of these songs because I liked the way they sound and they namecheck Liz. Listening to the lyrics, I realize the messages may be problematic ("She don't seem the same since she working on the corner," Diavolo = Devil). So I'll just say I was trying to pay tribute to your awesome wife who I wish I had gotten to know better when we were both at Style. But she's undoubtedly cool and so are these songs.

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The Teenager:
"Lola" -- Ripe
"Lola" -- MIKA

The Kinks cover seems an obvious choice and overused but this is one of the best covers I've heard. Purists probably cringe at the horns, particularly the brass freak-out at the end. Seems like a party to me. The MIKA song is a rare love song that manages to be unironic and simple without being dumb. I can't help but embrace a knowing line like "Love makes you laugh, love makes you cry / The oldest game in history, repeated."

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The Boy:
"Woody" -- Hayden
"Woody Woody" -- Dimie Cat

I don't know who Hayden is but this song has a Mumford & Sons vibe without the pretension. It's also apparently about a cat, so it connects in a weird and unintentional way with the first song. So there's that. I also don't know Dimie Cat who put out two records about 10 years ago. Her songs seems like a fun mix of classic jazz and modern stylings that I think/hope an audiophile like Pete can appreciate.

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Listen on Spotify. (Sorry no YouTube link!)

Return on Investment: The enriching experience of “The Inheritance”

"Time is free, but it’s priceless." – Harvey Mackay

Quotes like Mackay’s might make you wonder, why in the world would you spend 7 hours watching a play?

I’ll tell you: because it’s the best investment you could possibly make right now.

Look, the stock market is a mess, right? Who knows where it's going. And what is money anyway? If the pandemic showed us anything, it's that time is the most valuable resource we've got.

“The Inheritance” is a play in two parts of 3 ½ hours each only playing at Richmond Triangle Players for a few more performances. My wife and I watched both parts on one day this past weekend, matinee, dinner break, then evening show. We were dazzled, enchanted, and moved.

Here’s a short list of the return we got on that day-long investment of our time:

• The ability to say we saw the show that beat out “Slave Play” for the 2020 Tony. Some theater folks are still irate about that one.

• A deeply considered and fully realized story arc for the couple, Toby Darling (Deejay Gray) and Eric Glass (Adam Turck), gay gents in their early 30s, living in NYC and contemplating getting married. You know those shows / plays / movies where you feel cheated because some key corner or aspect of the central relationship goes unexplored? This play delivers on every fascinating quirk of these compelling characters, from their rather explicit sex to their formative childhoods (Glass’s laid out right up front, Darling’s devastatingly detailed in the final act).

  

• A gobsmacking, hilarious, heartbreaking, damn-I-didn’t-know-he-was-THAT-good performance from Gray. It would be easy (and wrong) to say Gray just plays himself. Sure, there is a sharp sassiness and boyish sexiness that could be construed as an exaggeration of Gray’s personality. But Toby is broken and desperate and mean and seductive in a thoroughly unique way that Gray embodies with astounding clarity. From the subtlest tossed off responses to one of the most flamboyant flame-outs you’ll see on stage, Gray commands attention and pays it back with a performance that will engross you while it’s unfolding then persist in your memory for days after.

• A quieter, more sensitive, but no-less-impressive portrayal of resolute positivity by Adam Turck. If Gray is the tempestuous storm that speeds this sailboat forward, Turck is the rudder that keeps everything on course. His character has almost too many positive traits – caring, smart, supportive, engaged, devoted, AND a good cook – and yet Turck makes him thoroughly relatable... and forgivable when Eric makes a few questionable but plot-spurring choices. 

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New talent! Lukas D’Errico, a junior at VCU, starts out a bit demure in his first of two roles, Adam, a wannabe actor and son of wealthy parents. But by the time he is alternating between that character and Leo, a homeless sex worker, it’s clear that an exciting new talent has emerged here in Richmond. Pay off: we can now say we saw him when.

• New to Richmond talent! William Vaughn is a recent arrival from NYC and also has two key roles, playing the author E.M. Forster, the pseudo-narrator of much of Part 1, and Walter, an older gay man who acts as a bit of a mentor/teacher for Eric. Vaughn turns both characters – who could easily have come across as gimmicky or slight – into fully formed empathy-inducing humans. The dividend here will pay out the next time Vaughn is cast in town; whatever the show, it’ll be better with his presence in it.

• A cavalcade of gay history, cultural conversation, issue wrangling, and vital remembrance of how the clash of politics and healthcare smashes victims in its midst, leaving even survivors with permanent scars. It’s hopeful to think this show takes steps toward crossing ‘doomed to repeat it’ off the debt sheet.

Just like this show goes on all day, I could go on all day about it. Lucian Restivo directs the hell out of it; the tech components are fabulous, particularly the bookshelf-centric set; and the rest of the extensive supporting cast shines.

I could say more but at this point I’m just wasting precious time you could be using buying your tickets. ROI? My oh my -- yes! Your life, mind, heart and soul will all be enriched.

Tickets at https://rtriangle.org/.

The show must go…urp

I often feel empathy for what an actor goes through on stage. This was the first time I can remember feeling horrible for what an actor was going through backstage.

The Saturday, Feb. 5th performance of “Murder for Two” at Swift Creek Mill started off pretty much as expected. As director Tom Width mentions in his curtain speech, the first few minutes are a bit odd: an extended bit of wordless stage business between the production’s two actors, Mark Schenfisch and Emily Berg-Poff Dandridge. Still, the actors moved through it briskly and settled quickly into the farcical murder plot that propels the show. Dandridge plays no fewer than 9 characters, all suspects in the killing of a famous author at his surprise birthday party, while Schenfisch plays Officer Marcus Moscowicz who takes it upon himself to solve the crime.

About 10 minutes into the main body of the show, Dandridge exited stage left in the middle of a scene. The show contains plenty of quick comings and goings so it didn’t seem odd. Schenfisch continued with some dialogue and, within a moment or two, Dandridge was back, flamboyantly portraying the dead author’s wife, complete with a southern drawl and a limp. Somewhere along the way, Schenfisch was joined by another character…but not another actor: his fellow officer, Lou, was represented by muted-trumpet “whah whah” sound effects similar to the adults in Charlie Brown cartoons.

Then, about 5 minutes later, Dandridge popped off stage again, only this time a bit more abruptly. Schenfisch stuttered a bit and started ad-libbing some tenuous lines. An amazingly quick-thinking tech person in the sound booth started responding to the ad-libs with impromptu “whah whahs” but the awkwardness was palpable.

Within a minute or two, Width was back on stage saying the show was going to have to pause. Someone behind me asked, “Is this part of the show?” Width explained: Dandridge wasn’t feeling well. As more murmurs started to rise, an audience-member asked “Is it COVID?” a question that Width was quick to rebut by outlining the testing protocols in place for the actors. It was probably something she ate or a stomach bug, he said, an answer that, given that the Mill is a dinner theater, had a couple patrons murmuring a bit more pointedly.

I know Emily a little: she was an amazing teacher for a dance program my son performed in for several years. I know her enough to be certain that she was doing everything she possibly could do to make it through the show and that her body was rebelling. Consummate professional that she is, I’m sure her sense of responsibility and “show must go on” attitude was compelling her to the stage even as her sick stomach was driving her back into the bathroom.

On stage, Schenfisch was demonstrating a charm completely consistent with his character in the show, settling behind the piano to pull a solid rendition of “Fur Elise” out of his memory banks. After he was done, Width was back out with a rope and a pair of scissors, asking for volunteers for a magic trick that thoroughly delighted the crowd.

Then Schenfisch was back, this time with a full-throated rendition of Sara Bareilles’s “Love Song,” which I appreciated as much for the reminder of this great song’s existence as I was for his committed delivery and solid piano accompaniment (again, pulled impromptu from memory).

And here’s where I swooned because theater people are amazing. The standard joke/complaint I’ve heard from thespians over the years involves a patron approaching them and asking “How do you remember all of those lines?” Not to downplay that very important skill but prodigious memorization only scratches the surface of most theater performers’ skills. 

Schenfisch was reinforcing a reality many casual fans may not be aware of: Most successful people in the theater are double-threats, if not triple, quadruple, or more. “Murder for Two,” with both actors singing and playing piano, was already an obvious showcase for this but, with his improvisation and quick-thinking, not to mention his musical direction of the show, Schenfisch bolded and underlined his multiple capabilities. 

As most people reading this know, Width is a director, actor, writer, set designer, and magician, just to name a few of his obvious talents, and he does all of these things at a very accomplished, professional level. 

My impression is that people look at someone like a professional athlete, for instance, recognizing that they put in hours honing their skills, running, lifting weights, working with trainers, getting guidance from coaches, etc. That kind of dedication can be obvious in an athlete: it shows up in their physique and in their ability to perform physically in a way others can’t. Even though the interruption of the performance was unfortunate, both Schenfisch and Width were given opportunities to flex for the crowd. The crowd was clearly impressed.

Eventually, the Mill’s managing director showed up to make it official: the performance would not continue. Even though I didn’t see the show I expected, I ended up just as happy to witness one of those wonderfully weird events that only happen with live theater (and that the Artsies spent a whole awards program highlighting back in 2020).

Luckily, I was able to drag my lovely wife out the following week to see “Murder for Two: Stomach bug-free edition.” And you want to talk quadruple threats? Dandridge is a revelation in her role. In the abbreviated edition of the show, I only saw her portray maybe 4-5 characters – impressive enough, even when brief. In the full show, by the time she gets around to scampering around on her knees to depict three distinct members of a boy’s choir, I was wondering how she could possibly have any more accents or body-language characterizations up her sleeve. Sure enough, there was still more to come.

And while Dandridge deserves heaps of praise for this performance, there is wizardry in how Width has helped her define her characters and then reinforced some of the transitions with clever staging. Something as simple as having Dandridge pass behind Schenfisch on stage while switching characters proves incredibly effective.

By the way, I exchanged messages with Emily and she was fine a day or two after the interrupted performance. I didn’t get details on what ailed her but, in the aftermath, I expect she was mostly feeling embarrassed. She needn’t be: patrons at that performance got a singular treat that may end up being more memorable than the full show. I’ll never forget Barksdale’s “Souvenir” back in 2009; it was a great production but the specific performance I saw was bizarro-world unique. 

This is not a review so I’ll not say much else about “Murder for Two” (I’d suggest checking out Julinda’s or Claire’s instead). I will say: I’m not typically a fan of farce but this production ends up being a snappy good time, thanks to the talents of Schenfisch, Dandridge and Width (his set design being yet another stand-out). It’s a show I typically wouldn’t enjoy seeing once. I’m distinctly happy to have seen it – and loved it – approximately 1.25 times.