From Philly on the Phourth

Things have been busy here in the birthplace of Independence, and the Fourth of July celebration is only part of it. Since emerging from "The Middle of Nowhere" (the Randy Newman show at the Prince that closed on June 27th), I've divided my time between well-deserved pleasures, long-deferred duties and much-needed preparations, and I'm pleased to report that the first of the three has been winning.

In that category, I offer these pictures from the Blue Ridge Theater Festival's production of my musical "A Is For Anything":





This little show was written in the late 80's, when Alex (now a towering 20) was a tot, and last seen at Gretna Theater nine or ten years ago. The three young actors at BRTF tore into the material with gusto and good humor, and the (mostly young) audience seemed to enjoy it immensely. Many thanks to producer Bev Appleton and congratulations to all involved!

From the intimate to the gargantuan: Other recent pastimes included a meander through Live 8, the juggernaut that rolled into town on Saturday. I hope to have QuickTime video to post soon, but my computer and video camera aren't talking to each other right now - an unforeseen technical glitch that has me stumped for the moment. Of course, there's no shortage of images on the web for this event; indeed, the web seems to have triumphed over old media (TV and dead trees) in its coverage of this global, highly networked event.

And in the deferred duties department, I visited the dentist for another swell morning spent chewing on scalpels. While my gums heal, I fantasize about my pending movie-star smile and shun the taco chips.