"Back to the Future: The Musical"

Great Scott!!! I finally got to see Back to the Future on stage!

 

I had a blast. Basically, this is a show created by people who love the film for people who love the film, and that includes me.

 

The cast was terrific. I always wonder what it's like for a relatively unknown actor to have to take on an iconic role associated with a famous actor, but Caden Brauch was a terrific Marty McFly. He had the same youthful energy and excitement Michael J. Fox brought to the film role. Burke Swanson was a hilarious George McFly. When he came out at the end as the successful version of George, he looked almost identical to Crispin Glover in the film. Zan Berube had a terrific energy as Lorraine, and Don Stephenson was appropriately bonkers as Doc Brown. Ethan Rogers was a hilarious and imposing Biff Tannen (his bio in the program describes him as "much nicer in person" than Biff). The role of Goldie Wilson is beefed up in the show and Cartreze Tucker did a wonderful job, especially in one song where he really got to show off his amazing singing voice. And of course, it was a kick to see the DeLorean, kitted out as the unlikely time machine.

 

The songs are all original, except when "Johnny B. Goode" is performed at the dance, and at the end of the show, when the cast performs "The Power of Love" and "Back in Time". A lot of work goes into this show, and they use a lot of projection for locations and to give the DeLorean the appearance of speeding up to the crucial speed of 88 miles per hour. And yes, O'Reilly Auto Parts still lists the flux capacitor on their website. It was a total nostalgia fest for the 1980's, including era fashion and hair, as well as costumes duplicated from the original film.

I didn't get a picture of it when I was leaving (because I was driving), but there was a DeLorean in the parking garage with the license place TIMELESS (I can't remember the exact abbreviation as I passed it quickly). So cool.

Back to the Future: The Musical is a lot of fun and I highly recommend it. It's playing at Segerstrom Center for the Arts through January 5 before heading to San Diego and the rest of its North American tour.

 

Now I just need to find a real time machine so I can go back to the 80's and stay there.

Me: YES

 

Credit to Screenwriters Utopia on IG.

Christmas Words of Wisdom

In the old days, it was not called the Holiday Season; the Christians called it "Christmas" and went to church, the Jews called it "Hanukkah" and went to synagogue, the atheists went to parties and drank. People passing each other on the street would say "Merry Christmas!" or "Happy Hannukah!" or (to the atheists) "Look out for the wall!" (Dave Barry)

I wish we could put some of the Christmas spirit in jars and open a jar of it every month. (Harlan Miller)

What is Christmas? It is tenderness for the past, courage for the present, hope for the future. (Agnes M. Pahro)

Christmas waves a magic wand over this world, and behold, everything is softer and more beautiful. (Norman Vincent Peale)

One of the most glorious messes in the world is the mess created in the living room on Christmas. Don't clean it up too quickly. (Andy Rooney)

Wouldn't life be worth the living

Wouldn't dreams be coming true

If we kept the Christmas spirit

All the whole year through?

(Unknown)

In the face of seasoned waves of evil

That we would sing that old noel

That we would hang lights on branches

That we would give gifts to others

Even if that gift is only ourselves-

This, this is a defiance seemingly impotent

Against the principalities and powers who

Daily conspire to convince us that

We are alone and love is a lie.

But do not be deceived for the demons themselves

Tremble at such quaintness.

Sisters and Brothers, Christmas on.

(John Blase)

Works for me!!!

 

Slouching toward Christmas

It's been a pretty quiet month so far and I haven't been posting the usual Christmas stuff this year. No particular reason. Maybe next year. One thing that has been great around here is the weather. The past couple of years spring and even summer has been frequently overcast, but this month it's been bright and sunny around here. The kind of weather you'd expect during spring and summer but noooooo...

 

Although it looks like that's about to change. Maybe even some rain on Christmas Eve!

 

 

Anyhoo, Merry Christmas from the beautiful beach!

 

Christmas with Joan and the kids

Gotta wonder what Christmas was really like in that house. So scripted, plus I would have loved to have heard the kids address her as "Mommie Dearest." 

Days of Christmas

Ya think?

December is finally here!

I'm one of those people who, at the end of the year, can't start on one holiday until the other has passed. As far as I'm concerned, it's still summer through the end of September. Then on October 1, fall has officially arrived and I go from sunny summer vibe to autumn vibe. The fact that we're at the tail end of Daylight Saving Time becomes more and more apparent, until the time change in November and it's dark around 5pm. I always find the return to Standard Time to be kind of depressing, so it's nice to have the holidays as a distraction.

So on October 1 I bust out the autumn decorations, pick up some mini punkins, and that's pretty much the decor for October and November. I have a few Halloween decorations that are brought out, but I don't do a lot of full-on decorating until Christmas. Which for me doesn't start until we get through October and November.

So first I have to get through Halloween. Once that's over, the focus is on Thanksgiving. Even with all the Christmas stuff out in the stores I can't go there until we get through Thanksgiving. I can only do one holiday at a time.

 

But the day after Thanksgiving, I'm in full-on Christmas mode! Decorations, come on out! And also, the first Christmas blog post of the year:

Words of Wisdom

Slow month.

You, too, can make gut-wrenching magic out of your fiction by driving your tale to a conclusion further than you ever thought it could go. --Elizabeth Sims

You can't be precious about writing. You have to write it, get it down, and then you fix it. --Aaron Sorkin

The creative adult is the child that survived. --Ursula K. LeGuin

Art washes from the soul the dust of everyday life. --Pablo Picasso 

Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep moving. 

--Albert Einstein

 

Susan Smith denied parole

Hard to believe, but it's been thirty years since Susan Smith was convicted for the murder of her two young sons in 1994. This week she was eligible for parole for the first time and was denied. Good.

 

I've seen footage of Susan at her hearing and I have to say it gave me flashbacks to her performances at the time of the crime. The non-existent tears (you'd think she'd have figured out how to work up actual tears by now), the self-pity, the apparent lack of true remorse for her actions. She just wants out of prison. She claims to be Christian now and while I have my doubts, that's between her and God. But it was tough to listen to her state that God forgave her for her actions and she hoped the parole board would feel the same way. I mean, it's like nothing's changed. Thirty years in prison and she's the same person who offed her kids in the hope that the rich guy in town would marry her and solve her money problems.

 

"Tearful."

One of the things that really sticks in my mind during that period is finding out not only that she had been arrested for murder, but had admitted to it. I worked at an office in West Los Angeles and that day was a co-worker's birthday, so a bunch of us took her to lunch, and that lunch ran long. We finally got back to the office and shortly thereafter the news broke, and what I remember most is how angry everyone was. We had a lot of young (20's-30's) women in the office and a number of them had very young children, and none of us could fathom how someone could do that to her own children. People were pissed, and it wasn't just us - that was the prevailing response to the horrible news of what Smith had done to her sons.

I don't know what she thought would happen after she let that car, with her children strapped into the back seat, roll into John D. Long Lake. My guess is that she thought everyone would feel sorry for her, especially (hopefully) the guy she'd been dating who'd broken off with her because he didn't want the baggage of someone else's children (my guess - there were other issues and that was a convenient excuse). Some time would pass and eventually the car would be found, and everyone would assume that the "carjacker" dumped it in the lake. More time would pass and the crime would just go unsolved. In the meantime she'd marry rich guy and live it up. The worst part of that scenario is if someone had been arrested and tried for the non-existent crime. Given Smith's sociopathy, I could see her playing along and having an innocent man convicted figuring it would get her off the hook. I could see her doing that. What a terrifying thought.

David Smith, the boys' father, showed up to argue against her release. His wife and daughter also spoke, as did the prosecutor at the time of the crime and the current prosecutor. One of the hardest things about listening to them was when David pointed out that thirty years only amounted to fifteen years per child. 

 

Unless she does a complete 180 at some point, I don't think she's ever getting paroled. I think she was delusional to think she'd be released the first time she was eligible, given the heinousness and notoriety of her crimes. Smith will now be able to apply for parole every two years, but hopefully she'll continue to rot in prison for the rest of her life.

Little angels.

Happy Turkey Day!

Cover reveal!

We have an official cover reveal for Angel City Beat, the upcoming Sisters in Crime Los Angeles anthology that includes my story "Unbeatable", which involves an undefeated racehorse, a dead jockey, and a pet psychic.

 

 

 

We still don't have an exact release date, but it looks like officially it will be sometime in December.