Thursday, November 21, 2024

Come See Me in a Movie of a Play of What Some Say was a Charade Tomorrow Night! by Trav S.D.

From late 2018 through late 2019 I had the honor of performing in Jason Trachtenburg’s Lee Harvey Oswald musical Me and Lee at a bevy of off-off locations throughout NYC, including Sidewal…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 09:54AM

Sitting Bull and the Show Business by Trav S.D.

November is Native American History Month; next year (2025) will mark the 350th anniversary of King Phillip’s War, the beginning of the end for the native people as the dominant polity …

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 06:32AM
Wednesday, November 20, 2024

For World Children’s Day: “The Lost Children” by Trav S.D.

November is Native American History Month; next year (2025) will mark the 350th anniversary of King Phillip’s War, the beginning of the end for the native people as the dominant polity …

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 10:54AM

For Fifth Avenue’s 200th Birthday: On the Misnamed Fifth Avenue Theatre by Trav S.D.

Hungry I guess for any kind of positive story to tell, local press in New York is trumpeting the news that Fifth Avenue has now reached its bicentennial as one of the city’s main thoroughf…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 07:42AM
Tuesday, November 19, 2024

Larry King: A Good Face for Radio by Trav S.D.

Broadcast legend Larry King (Lawrence Zeiger, 1933-2021) passed away so recently that this post can almost serve as an obituary. We lost him during the Covid pandemic, though at age 87, as i…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 09:54AM

The Curse of Clawson by Trav S.D.

November is Native American History Month; next year (2025) will mark the 350th anniversary of King Phillip’s War, the beginning of the end for the native people as the dominant polity …

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 08:48AM
Monday, November 18, 2024

Pile-Up on Tobacco Road by Trav S.D.

November is Native American History Month; next year (2025) will mark the 350th anniversary of King Phillip’s War, the beginning of the end for the native people as the dominant polity …

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 10:54AM

Accentuating Johnny Mercer by Trav S.D.

How so major a show biz figure as Johnny Mercer (1909-1976) has escaped our attention here on Travalanche ’til now is a head-scratcher (I think it’s because he was essentially a post-vau…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 10:54AM
Sunday, November 17, 2024

Lee Strasberg Reconsidered by Trav S.D.

Never having met the man, I have never been quite certain why the very idea of Lee Strasberg (1901-1982) has always filled me with knee jerk repulsion. One learns about him chiefly by readin…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 06:36AM

On Native American Clowns by Trav S.D.

November is Native American History Month; next year (2025) will mark the 350th anniversary of King Phillip’s War, the beginning of the end for the native people as the dominant polity …

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 06:36AM

The Endeavors of Edna Murphy by Trav S.D.

Some brief acknowledgement this morning of the career of silent and early talking film actress Edna Muphy (1899-1974). This fetching colleen started her life in New York City. Work as a mode…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 04:18AM

Truly Unruly, Jack Lescoulie by Trav S.D.

I count it as a measure of how quickly show business will bury you that though I was born around the time Jack Lescoulie (1912-1987) was drifting out of network television, I never heard of …

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 04:18AM

The Howards of Hollywood by Trav S.D.

The title of this post is of course a play on The Howards of Virginia (1940) See how clever? They radiate about as much Americana as the fictional Virginians in that Cary Grant movie. Though…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 04:18AM
Saturday, November 16, 2024

The Dish on George Petrie by Trav S.D.

I became (mildly) interested in George Petrie (1912-1997) after rewatching The Day After during the Covid lockdown. I needed something to cheer me up! And I was curious to see how it held up…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 08:48AM

Songs of The American Indian Movement by Trav S.D.

November is Native American History Month; next year (2025) will mark the 350th anniversary of King Phillip’s War, the beginning of the end for the native people as the dominant polity …

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 08:48AM
Friday, November 15, 2024

The Brief Candle of Bertha Galland by Trav S.D.

Stage actress Bertha Galland (1876-1932) enjoyed a decade at the top during the first 10% of the 20th century, often spoken of in such terms as “the next Modjeska“. She left acting in he…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 07:54AM

How the Mohawks Built New York by Trav S.D.

November is Native American History Month; next year (2025) will mark the 350th anniversary of King Phillip’s War, the beginning of the end for the native people as the dominant polity …

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 06:42AM
Thursday, November 14, 2024

The Liltin’ Miss Martha Tilton by Trav S.D.

Martha Tilton (1915-2006) was a popular singer of the big band era who made her mark on record, radio, television, and film. Tilton was raised in Corpus Christi, Texas; Edna, Kansas; and fin…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 11:12AM

From the West to the Western: Native American Representation in Classic Hollywood by Trav S.D.

November is Native American History Month; next year (2025) will mark the 350th anniversary of King Phillip’s War, the beginning of the end for the native people as the dominant polity …

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 08:02AM
Wednesday, November 13, 2024

The Legacy of Devil Bill Rockefeller by Trav S.D.

This is to be a post about the Rockefeller Family (and don’t worry, there are pop culture angles, which ought to be obvious.) It’s customary to pick up the narrative with John D. (1839-1…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 01:24PM

For November 13: An Odd Couple Finding Aid by Trav S.D.

The narration from the opening credits in the first season of the sitcom The Odd Couple has provided the pretext for November 13 being an annual day to celebrate the show. The choice of date…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 01:24PM

On the Intractability of Tribes by Trav S.D.

November is Native American History Month; next year (2025) will mark the 350th anniversary of King Phillip’s War, the beginning of the end for the native people as the dominant polity …

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 09:06AM
Tuesday, November 12, 2024

Neil Young: Old Man by Trav S.D.

I’ve taken to embracing round anniversaries, so I considered pushing this post on Neil Young (b. 1945) off ’til next year. But who knows if any of us will be here then? And it happens to…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 12:54PM

John R. Neill: Illustrator of Oz by Trav S.D.

November 12 was the birthday of illustrator John R. Neill (1877-1943), primarily associated with L. Frank Baum’s Oz books. While W.W. Denslow had illustrated many of Baum’s earlier stori…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 03:42AM

The Genocidal Writings of L. Frank Baum by Trav S.D.

November is Native American History Month; next year (2025) will mark the 350th anniversary of King Phillip’s War, the beginning of the end for the native people as the dominant polity …

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 03:42AM
Monday, November 11, 2024

The Geraldine Page Centennial Celebration at Torn Page by Trav S.D.

Starting tooday (November 12, 2024), Torn Page is marking the upcoming centennial birthday of the late, great stage and screen actress Geraldine Page (1924-1987). They’ll be screening Page…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 10:06AM

An Undelivered Speech to the Clowns on Opening Night of the Coney Island Clown Skool by Trav S.D.

I was honored to give the opening speech on opening night of Glen Heroy’s Coney Island Clown Skool at CIUSA last night. Congratulations to him and to all concerned for getting this wonderf…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 10:06AM

Fort Parker, “The Searchers” and the Downfall of the Comanche by Trav S.D.

November is Native American History Month; next year (2025) will mark the 350th anniversary of King Phillip’s War, the beginning of the end for the native people as the dominant polity …

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 09:02AM
Sunday, November 10, 2024

On Dryden’s “Indian” Plays by Trav S.D.

November is Native American History Month; next year (2025) will mark the 350th anniversary of King Phillip’s War, the beginning of the end for the native people as the dominant polity …

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 08:02AM

Sympathy for Sinbad by Trav S.D.

The title of our post has to do less with the fact that it’s been a good quarter century since the peak of Sinbad (David Adkins, b. 1956) than that the comedian suffered a stroke in 2020 f…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 08:02AM

The Russell Johnson Centennial, or The Education of a Professor by Trav S.D.

What do you do when you’re inconveniently far from home and have a couple of hours to kill between appointments? I know I’m a dying breed, but I often deal with that predicament by ducki…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 03:42AM

All that Chat

2024-2025 BROADWAY SEASON
Jun 05, 2024: Home - Todd Haimes Theatre
Jul 11, 2024: Oh, Mary! - Lyceum Theatre
Jul 30, 2024: Job - Hayes Theater
Sep 12, 2024: The Roommate - Booth Theatre
Nov 14, 2024: Tammy Faye - Palace Theatre
Dec 12, 2024: Cult of Love - Hayes Theater
Dec 19, 2024: Gypsy - Majestic Theatre
Mar 17, 2025: Purpose - Hayes Theater
Apr 01, 2025: Glengarry Glen Ross
Apr 10, 2025: Smash - Imperial Theatre
TBA: Titanic