THE WILL OF GRACE – May 6, 2023 First of all, The Belasco is stunning, an homage to the days when people dressed up to go to the theater, when an orchestra seat to a Broadway show was a dollar, which was expensive when you consider that in those days a struggling actor like me…
Caryn is on personal business in Chicago, she is flying home today. One of her teachers from long ago passed away. They had remained friends over the years. She’s feeling the loss of her friend very deeply. As a matter of fact, when Caryn was going through chemotherapy at The Block Center in Evanston, Tom…
Many of my Italian relatives lived in North Beach when they first immigrated to America over a hundred years ago. I’ve been going there ever since I was born. And each time I’ve gone— including my most recent trip a few months ago— that hollow muscle inside my chest gives me that first-love feeling. And…
I’m not religious. I attended Catholic school from first through third grades. The picture of God on the classroom wall was a caricature of an old white man with a white beard who resembled an Al Hirschfeld self-portrait. The picture opposite Him was of His Son, Jesus. The picture of Jesus looked a lot like…
A FEVER DREAM That night I found myself standing in an old rehearsal hall that was torn down a long time ago. A woman I didn’t recognize was playing a piano I helped carry up the several flights of stairs we had to climb to get there. She smiled as I walked about…
“JEAN: I should have had you wear double condoms. But if you ever do it again, which as a favor to women everywhere you should not. But if you do, you should be wearing condom on condom. And then wrap it in electrical tape. You should just walk around always, inside a great big…