James Gilbert, Leslie Patrick, Kurt Kleinmann, Tim Honnoll (l-r)
In 2002, after 17 years of producing our Living Black & White™ shows to sold-out crowds in Dallas, we took It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Murder! to NYC for a limited run. It was an amazing experience! Our Executive Director Barb Weinberger wrote weekly posts back to friends in Dallas, chronicling what it was like to live and work in NYC. We called it “The New York Report”. Here are some highlights:
- One day we decided to get some additional publicity for the show. We had several cast members get dressed up in full makeup and costumes, and we took the subway to the TKTS booth in Times Square. Our actors attracted some attention, but not as much as you might think! After all, this was NYC, where one of the daily “acts” in Times Square is a nearly-naked cowboy playing guitar. People were accustomed to seeing weird things and going about their business. But it was fun and our black-and-white Santa Claus was a big hit!
- I developed a theory that people in NYC are no less polite than anywhere else, as long as (this is critical!) they have the TIME to be polite. And sometimes the politeness came from the strangest places! One day my mother was visiting and we were taking the subway somewhere. The car was super crowded, nowhere to sit. Then a thug-like character (complete with tattoos, piercings, baggy pants, and attitude) graciously stood up and gave his seat to my mother! I thought of this later in the evening when we were leaving the theatre. Across the street was a well-dressed man, relieving himself by peeing against the building. In NYC and in life, you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover!
- Lots of small memories come back to me!
- NYC in 2002 was the first place we ever saw a “Texas burger” offered on the menu, where the secret ingredient was a fried egg!
- If you are seriously wounded and in need of medical attention, DO NOT call 911 and wait for the ambulance. You’re much better off dragging your bleeding body to the nearest subway stop and hoping for the best. NO ONE gets out of the way of emergency vehicles in NYC.
- Don’t bother apologizing if you bump into someone on the street. First of all, it happens a LOT! Second, you may not get the response you expect. I apologized for bumping into a young woman and she said “You bet you are, b*tch.” That’s when I also learned not to make eye contact!
Producing It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Murder! brings back these memories and more! In the end, we were thrilled to do the show in NYC, and we were even more thrilled to get back to DFW.
Because, in the final analysis, this is where our heart is!