Barrymore by William Luce

Got this idea to do this play while looking at a photo from a show I did a few years ago, as Saunders, in Lend Me a Tenor.
I saw Christopher Plummer play John Barrymore on Broadway in March 1997 and thought it was great. He won a Tony Award. I had already reluctantly accepted the fact that I reached the point in my life where I’d have to play older character roles. By this point, I had also played Neils Bohr in Copenhagen: 

and Mr. Mushnik in Little Shop of Horrors:

John Barrymore (1882-1942) was one of the most talented and interesting people ever. I became a fan back four years earlier when I was researching for the role of Barrymore's ghost in I Hate Hamlet.

Since I had already produced True West, I knew I had to produce Barrymore. You get tired of the routine after so many years of waiting for a local theater to do a play you’d want to act in, then audition and think, “God, I hope I get it. I hope I get it.” Sometimes you have to do it yourself. It’s a pain in the ass and a lot of work, but that’s the price of doing what you love.

There was a preview performance at the Baton Rouge Little Theater’s Second Stage in September 2006.

We went to Nice, France for my birthday in October and I performed Act One of it there in a hotel room for my step-dad and his wife.

There were performances at Ascension Community Theater in Gonzales in October 2006 and then at the Baton Rouge Dinner Playhouse in January 2007. One more performance at Baton Rouge Little Theater in May 2007. We invited the theater reviewer to the shows in October. The response was favorable.

Nick Cardona's 'Barrymore' a tour de force
Ascension theater play to get encore in BR in January
By GEORGE MORRIS
Advocate staff writer
Published: Oct 26, 2006

“Barrymore” is an actor’s play. But is it an audience’s play?

Well, it helps if you’re interested in an old theatrical dynasty — or just enjoy watching a really good individual performance.

Nick Cardona plays the title role in this play about John Barrymore, the sibling of Lionel and Ethel Barrymore, who dominated stage and, later, screen, in the early 20th century.

John Barrymore initially resisted entering the family business. When he did begin acting, he became popular in light roles until playwright Edward Sheldon convinced him that he had greater acting power. Barrymore earned great acclaim for his performances in Shakespeare’s “Richard III” and “Hamlet.”

Offstage, however, Barrymore was a boozehound and skirt-chaser; the latter propensity contributed to four divorces and the former to illness and memory loss.

The play opens in 1942, the last year of his life, by which time he had become almost a caricature of himself, who alternately accepted his status with wry humor and longed to recapture his old glory.

There is a delicious irony in William Luce’s play — it asks an actor to be what John Barrymore had ceased to be. Cardona delivers. Jack Wilson directs.

When “Barrymore” opened its weekend run at the Ascension Community Theater, a question was posed to Baton Rouge theater veteran Jerry Leggio at intermission: Was there another local actor who could pull off this role? He couldn’t come up with a name. The silence said everything.

Those unfamiliar with Cardona must not attend area theater. He has performed in pretty much every company in pretty much every conceivable role — dramatic, comedic, leading man, flunky, singing, dancing, you name it. There have been times when it seemed the laws of physics were all that prevented him from performing simultaneously in different theaters.
“Barrymore” expands Cardona’s credentials. It is, essentially, a one-man play (Johnny Worsham speaks unseen as Frank, the off-stage prompter.).

Such plays test the actor’s powers of memorization, since there are no other actors whose own dialogue provides cues, and the ability to command the audience’s attention. Cardona passes both tests with flying colors. He personifies both the wise-cracking, dissolute, past-his-prime Barrymore and, in flashes, the actor who made Richard III come alive.

Audiences who want a glimpse of this bygone theater giant will get another chance in January when Cardona brings “Barrymore” to the Baton Rouge Dinner Playhouse.

Advocate staff photo by HEATHER MCCLELLAND
Nick Cardona performs a scene from ‘Barrymore,’ a one-man play about actor John Barrymore.

My New Guitar

This video of the Gibson Robot Guitar is from the gibson.com website by way of youtube.com. The thing tunes itself! These new guitars will be delivered in 18 days at 7:00 P.M. to the 400 stores "lucky enough to be chosen to participate in the Robot launch" of these "First Run Limited Edition" Les Pauls. I'll be getting mine in New Orleans. It will be a great guitar to play and/or have as an investment. A Standard model will be out in "late 2008." The following is also from the Gibson Guitar website:

"Gibson Robot Guitar, a new limited edition first-run Les Paul, continues two great Gibson traditions: cutting-edge innovation and a limited edition first run that will surely go on to become a highly sought-after Gibson instrument.

These limited edition Les Pauls, featuring Gibson's amazing self-tuning robotic technology, launch globally on December 7, 2007, at select dealers, each of whom will have only 10 of these beautiful guitars. If previous limited run releases are any indication, they won't have them for very long.

Each limited edition, first run Gibson Robot Guitar will feature a dramatic Blue Silverburst nitrocellulose finish, created especially for this limited run. It will never be used on any other Gibson guitar. Also featured is a certificate of authenticity, a power adaptor for the system's rechargeable lithium battery, and a limited edition first run case with silver tolex and a plush silver interior. Each Robot Guitar's serial number will also be sequentially exact, beginning with "RG0001," and continuing through the end of the limited run.

Many of Gibson's limited run models of the 1950s-guitars that could be purchased for as little as a few hundred dollars-now command huge sums of money as some of the most desirable collectables in the industry, and the same is proving true with Gibson's recent limited runs. If history is any indicator-and it usually is-the Robot Guitar will soon join the ranks of such models as:

1958 Flying V (only 81 produced; typically sell for $100,000 and up)

1958 Explorer (only 100 produced; one example with original Bigsby and custom made plate cover sold for $611,000 at a Skinner Auction in Boston in October 2006; it was purchased new in 1958 for about $250)

1958 Les Paul Standard (only 434 produced; typically sell in the $50,000-$250,000 range)

1959 Les Paul Standard (considered the Holy Grail of guitars; only 643 produced; typically sell in the $100,000-$500,000 range, and up)

1960 Les Paul Standard (only 635 produced; typically sell in the $50,0000-$250,000 range)

The 2004 Gibson Custom Shop Duane Allman Signature Les Paul (only 57 produced, and rarely available for purchase)

The 2005 Gibson Custom Shop Eric Clapton "Crossroads" ES-335 (250 guitars produced, sold out in 72 hours)

The 2006 Jimmy Page Custom Authentic Les Paul (first 25 were signed, played, and numbered by Page himself; $25,000 original price tag, but now typically sell for $80,000-$100,000)

The 2007 Custom Shop Jimmy Page Signature EDS-1275 Doubleneck (25 Aged, 250 VOS models, sold out in less than two weeks)

The limited edition, first run Robot Guitar will certainly follow in the footsteps of these legendary Gibson instruments."

New Word

So, this year I directed two plays and performed in two others. One of the latter I also produced, in two different theaters. Then I auditioned for two more shows and was not cast in either of them. Until the next audition I'm enjoying a "hiatus." So, I am what's commonly known as an actor without a gig, "between projects," or out of work. Therefore, I am a "slacktor." I just invented the word and reserve all rights to the term.

As for the photo, this is obviously a dumpster where you are prohibited from discarding and and all pubes. It is behind a small strip mall at 2660 Lake Tahoe Blvd. South Lake Tahoe, CA. which contains a frame shop, laundromat, coffee shop (Strange Brew), used book store, and hair salon. Thank you kindly for your cooperation.

Blast From the Past

November 1980. I'm 2nd from left on back row. Yes, it is the graduating class, #80-41, Eastern Airlines, Miami, FL. To be based in New York. Seems like a lifetime ago. There were Rubik's Cubes and Sony Walkmans. Within a month, John Lennon would be murdered in NYC. Maybe it was a sign to keep out. By January, Reagan was president and was shot by John Hinkley in March. Later on Pope Paul II was wounded in an assasination attempt, and there was an Air Traffic Controller strike, and a seven week baseball strike, and the first test tube baby was born. Wow.