Wednesday, December 6, 2023

For St. Nicholas Day: Twas the Night Before Christmas — For Several Weeks by Trav S.D.

For whatever reason, we are ringing the Christmas bell hard this year. Some years it scarcely seems to exist; this year we have jumped in with both feet, having already posted on Oneofus’ …

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 11:24AM
Tuesday, December 5, 2023

Little Richard: I Am Everything by Trav S.D.

We first posted on “Little Richard” Penniman (1932-2020) back in 2012, and have had occasion to mention the long, tall shadow he cast on American music over 50 times on Travalanche. As a…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 10:12AM

50 Years Ago: Serpico by Trav S.D.

The release date of the motion picture Serpico (1973) was 50 years ago today. We went back and re-watched this classic of my youth a few months ago, prompted by Isaac Butler’s excellent bo…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 09:12AM

Blythe Daly (Blithe Nightly) by Trav S.D.

Don’t get confused! I don’t mean Blythe Danner or Tyne Daly, but just what I said, Blythe Daly (1901-1965), although I’ve seen many spelling permutations of same, including Blyth Daly,…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 08:06AM

A Towering Task: The Story of the Peace Corps by Trav S.D.

This is not a review but just a notice that today is the release date for the new documentary A Towering Task: The Story of the Peace Corps. Full disclosure: I have a dog in this hunt! My so…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 08:06AM
Monday, December 4, 2023

Jethro Agonistes: The Further Adventures of Max Baer, Jr. by Trav S.D.

In spite of the fact that I have done posts of Max Baer, Sr., as well as The Beverly Hillbillies, Paul Henning, Buddy Ebsen, Irene Ryan, and Nancy Kulp I’m pretty certain I’d never have …

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 09:12AM
Sunday, December 3, 2023

Hosannas for Fool’s Mass by Trav S.D.

As promised a few days ago, I traveled out to Park Slope to see the first performance of the 25th Anniversary season of Dzieci Theatre’s Fool’s Mass last night. This is the second of a p…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 05:54PM

The Les Crane Show by Trav S.D.

Today would have been the 90th birthday of talk show host and actor Les Crane (Lesley Stein, 1933-2008). There is an Icarus-like quality to Crane’s brief fame. He was nationally prominent …

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 11:24AM
Saturday, December 2, 2023

The Panto Returns Tonight! by Trav S.D.

Well, I’m still grinning from ear to ear. I was one of the lucky few hundred who were at last night’s invited dress for ONEOFUS’s latest holiday panto at the Abrons Arts Center, Sleepi…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 11:12AM
Friday, December 1, 2023

The Sassafras of Sarah Silverman by Trav S.D.

Yes, it’s true, Sarah Silverman (b. 1970) has the same birthday as Woody Allen, Bette Midler, Richard Pryor, and Dick Shawn. Did she just decide to become a combination of all of them? She…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 10:18AM

Fool’s Mass: 25th Anniversary Season by Trav S.D.

Our most devoted readers know that the mission of this blog and our books, talks, podcasts, etc has to do with much more than some kind of “salute to vintage pop culture”. That may well …

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 08:06AM
Thursday, November 30, 2023

For St. Andrew’s Day: Celebrating Glasgow’s Britannia Panopticon Music Hall by Trav S.D.

For Scotland’s National Day we celebrate a Glasgow venue that many claim is the oldest music hall in Great Britain, The Britannia Music Hall (also known in later years as The Panopticon…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 11:24AM

On the Royal Variety Performance by Trav S.D.

November 30, 1912 was the date of the first Royal Variety Performance, also known as the Royal Command Performance. Attentive readers know that this writer is no fan of monarchy and pretty h…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 10:18AM

Beatrice Kerr: Australia’s Champion Lady Swimmer and Diver by Trav S.D.

Just the briefest of tributes to Australian swimming champ Beatrice Kerr (1887-1971), for she had the briefest of show biz careers. Kerr was only about 17 when she won several contests and b…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 09:06AM

Strawberry Letter 23 (Shuggie Otis Turns 70) by Trav S.D.

Full disclosure: I don’t know that I ever would have done a post on Shuggie Otis (b. 1953), all things remaining the same, though indeed I did do a post on his legendary father Johnny Otis…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 08:06AM
Wednesday, November 29, 2023

R.I.P. Sticky Vicky by Trav S.D.

Thanks once again (and thanks daily) to Eve Golden, Cup Bearer to Thanatos, for the sad yet timely knowledge that Spanish burlesque legend Sticky Vicky, a.k.a. Vicky Leyton, a.k.a. Victoria …

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 12:24PM

Dick Zigun’s New Rock Opera Opens Tomorrow Night by Trav S.D.

Exciting news for fans of Coney Island USA founder Dick Zigun. His new rock opera Killin’ Republicans opens tomorrow night (Thursday, November 30) at Theater for the New City. Though best …

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 10:18AM

John Mayall Turns 90 by Trav S.D.

Born 90 years ago today, British Blues revivalist John Mayall (b. 1933). This year also marks the 60th anniversary of the formation of his influential band, the Bluesbreakers. Most people va…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 08:06AM
Tuesday, November 28, 2023

Happy Albanian Independence Day! by Trav S.D.

Where my Albanians at? Tell me: are there any Albanians in “da house”? Okay. I won’t put you through any more of that. November 28 is Albanian Independence Day. It commemorates the dat…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 10:24AM
Monday, November 27, 2023

Muzzy Marcellino: Whistler for Hire by Trav S.D.

Maurice “Muzzy” Marcellino (1912-1997) was a singer, musician, big bandleader, and professional whistler. We’ll obviously get to the latter accomplishment, it’s the most vaudevillian…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 07:32AM
Sunday, November 26, 2023

The Vaudeville of Ike and Tina Turner by Trav S.D.

Tina Turner (Anna Mae Bullock, 1939-2023) passed away back on May 24. This was too momentous for a hasty, ad hoc memoriam, so I opted to wait and do a more thoughtful tribute on her birthday…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 03:18PM
Saturday, November 25, 2023

The Holistic Harley Granville-Barker by Trav S.D.

Harley Granville-Barker (1877-1946) was a pioneer of the modern English-speaking theatre, with important contributions to nearly every discipline within that compound art form: acting, direc…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 11:02AM
Friday, November 24, 2023

Laurence Sterne and “The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman” by Trav S.D.

Author Laurence Sterne (1713-1768) was born on this day. For those tracking 18th century English (or Anglo-Irish) comic wits, this makes him a bit younger than Swift, slightly younger than F…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 11:06AM
Thursday, November 23, 2023

“Thanksgiving” (1935) by Doris Lee by Trav S.D.

“Thanksgiving” (1935) is the most famous painting of American artist Doris Lee (1905-1983). I thought it worth contemplating today for a couple of reasons. One is that it is from that ve…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 09:42AM
Wednesday, November 22, 2023

For the 60th Anniversary of Dallas: On Some Portrayals of President Kennedy by Trav S.D.

Today marks the 60th anniversary of the assassination of John F. Kennedy. It’s the date we tend to think of when honoring this President. No one remembers his birthday (May 29). They remem…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 02:12PM

“Mae West: The First Plays” Might Be Out Today by Trav S.D.

Mae West passed away on this day in 1980. If she were alive, she would be 143 and couldn’t even pull off Sextette. Yet on this particular November 22, Westian mourners may have some new/ol…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 09:48AM
Tuesday, November 21, 2023

When Chesterfield Choked the Airwaves by Trav S.D.

November 21 was the birthday of James T. Drummond (1834-1897), the founder, 150 years ago, of the Drummond Tobacco Company. And that would probably be of little interest here but for the fac…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 11:12AM
Monday, November 20, 2023

40 Years Ago: The Day After by Trav S.D.

Oh, fiddlesticks, the most important movie ever made is The Wizard of Oz. Anyway, thanks, Kevin Maher, for reminding me that today marks the 40th anniversary of the original broadcast of the…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 02:36PM

Finding Evelyn Keyes by Trav S.D.

Today, we shine a light on Evelyn Keyes (1916-2008), not to be confused with Evelyn Kaye, who played the violin, or Jerry’s Piano Girls, who played the keys. Keyes was a Hollywood chorus g…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 08:06AM
Sunday, November 19, 2023

Of Manson, Myth and Movies by Trav S.D.

This is the farthest thing from a timely post: it contains some old news and some even older news, and is (seemingly) irrelevant with regard to the crisis news of the day, although I believe…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 06:12PM

Steve Railsback: That’s Our Manson! by Trav S.D.

A shout-today to actor Steve Railsback (b.1945). As Bela Lugosi is to Dracula, so is Steve Railsback to Charles Manson, for better or worse. Having played the sixties cult maniac in the defi…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 01:48PM

All that Chat

2023-2024 BROADWAY SEASON
May 30, 2023: Grey House - Lyceum Theatre
Jun 26, 2023: Just For Us - Hudson Theatre
Jul 24, 2023: The Cottage - Hayes Theater
Nov 16, 2023: Spamalot - St. James Theatre
Dec 18, 2023: Appropriate - Hayes Theater
Apr 14, 2024: Lempicka - Longacre Theatre
Apr 17, 2024: The Wiz - Marquis Theatre
Apr 18, 2024: Suffs - Music Box Theatre
Apr 25, 2024: Mother Play - Hayes Theater