What’s Playin’ at the Roxy?
The Daily News
1 Ah, the DN!
2 I forget about it during holidays and times when I’m not in school.
3 It is literally in its seventeenth year, although until 2004, it was really not online.
4 It existed for a while on my old ybdrama.com website, which is now rusting in the weeds due to overcharges by Geocities.
5 It contained a few DN archives as well.
6 I have hard copies dating back to 1996.
7 It used to consist of ten or eleven fast items and out. I printed it on different colors of paper, and used a variety of fonts.
8 The “logo” font was originallyTimes New Roman, which is the font at the top of the page. For the record, I print the copy at Arial 4. The copy started out in Times.
9 It originally had no pictures.
10 For those new to the DN, it began in 1996 as a means of communicating with the company of Guys and Dolls, which I was directing at Yerba Buena High School in San Jose, California. It is difficult for a director to get word out to everybody involved in a play, as things will always change on a calendar. The Daily News was a means of getting word out immediately as tp where the show was headed, as well as any daily changes that might happen regarding rehearsals.
11 This was a few years ago. Email was still not a universal thing. Today it is relatively easy to communicate with casts, crews, musicians, and all the rest.
12 The title is taken from the song Guys and Dolls, which begins with among other lyrics, “What’s in the Daily News? I’ll tellya what’s in the Daily News…story about a man bought his wife a small ruby with what otherwise would have been his union dues…that’s what’s in the Daily News…”
13 Ah, what the heck. Here are the lyrics to that wonderfully brilliant song:
What’s playing at the Roxy?
I’ll tell you what’s playing at the Roxy.
A picture about a Minnesota man falls in love with a Mississippi girl
That he sacrifices everything and moves all the way to Biloxi.
That’s what’s playing at the Roxy.
What’s in the daily news?
I’ll tell you what’s in the daily news.
Story about a man bought his wife a small ruby
With what otherwise would have been his union dues.
That’s what’s in the daily news.
What’s happening all over?
I’ll tell you what’s happening all over.
Guy sitting home by a television set
That used to be something of a rover.
That’s what’s happening all over.
Love is the thing that has nipped them.
And it looks like Nathan’s just another victim.
NICELY (spoken) Yes, sir!
When you see a guy reach for stars in the sky
You can bet that he’s doing it for some doll.
When you spot a John waiting out in the rain
Chances are he’s insane as only a John can be for a Jane.
When you meet a gent paying all kinds of rent
For a flat that could flatten the Taj Mahal.
Call it sad, call it funny.
But it’s better than even money
That the guy’s only doing it for some doll.
When you see a Joe saving have of his dough
You can bet there’ll be mink in it for some doll.
When a bum buys wine like a bum can’t afford
It’s a cinch that the bum is under the thumb of some little broad.
When you meet a mug lately out of the jug
And he’s still lifting platinum folderol
Call it hell, call it heaven
But it’s probable twelve to seven
That the guy’s only doing it for some doll.
(interlude)
When you see a sport and his has run short
Make a bet that he’s banking it with some doll.
When a guy wears tails with the front gleaming white
Who the hell do you think he’s tickling pink on Saturday night?
When a lazy slob takes a goody steady job,
And he smells from Vitalis and Barbasol.
Call it dumb, call it clever
Ah, but you can get odds forever
That the guy’s only doing it for some doll
Some doll, some doll
The guy’s only doing it for some doll!
14 Frank Loesser wrote that incredible song. The original script was by Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows and was borrowed from two short stories by author Damon Runyon: “The Idyll of Miss Sarah Brown” and “Blood Pressure.” It was a bit of a hit on Broadway, for its time, and it won a Tony award in 1950 for Best Musical.
15 In 1951, Guys and Dolls won the Pulitzer Prize for drama. Unfortunately, playwright Abe Burrows had a run-in with the House Un-American Activities and was blacklisted. The Trustees of Columbia University rescinded the award that year, and subsequently no award was given for Drama.
16 In 1955 a film was made featuring Marlon Brando, Jean Simmons, Frank Sinatra, and Vivian Blaine. It captures the entire Runyonesque world of thugs, dolls, and wiseguys, and helped make the musical a classic. A revival in 2009 brought this delightful show back to the masses, and it remains a gem to this day.
17 And it started all of this.
18 The Daily News was originally a communication vehicle for the show. In my own way, I couldn’t hold back from making commentaries and goofs on daily living. It became a morning ritual.
19 I would make a simple hard copy, arrive at school early, and post it on the wall in the entrance hall to the Performing Arts’ building. Ponch and I would then tank down some of his performance-enhancing coffee, and listen to the giggles and discussions.
20 It was always laughs, and a great way to start the morning.
21 It is still going, right here in the 3 a.m.
22 Moving on, Part the First: The DN as a topic of the DN is a rarity. I do this occasionally for the benefit of the newly initiated.
23 I have no idea what drives me to keep composing this drivel, except that it keeps a bit of history alive for a lot of people who have worked on shows with me.
24 That is a LOT of good times, to be sure.
25 In 2004 I discovered Xanga. Remember Xanga?
26 Xanga was one of the earliest means of building a website without having to learn HTML, which to me was like learning Martian.
27 Once people caught on to Xanga it became this explosively creative means of expressing themselves. People posted thoughts, feelings, recipes, poetry, artwork, and photography in what was at the time a smorgasbord of creativity.
28 I absolutely loved Xanga.
29 Like anything, the success of Xanga invited cheaper offshoots. My Space came down the shoot with a focus on music. It became the next hip thing. I wasn’t at all a fan, because it was more a gimmick, and all of the freshness and fire of Xanga dampened into shorter pieces and snide remarks. It did have people posting some of the same sorts of things, but it wasn’t nearly as creative, nor as explosively fun as was Xanga.
30 And then came Facebook, originally a place for people in college to post short remarks to each other.
31 Facebook looked intelligent to me, but I eventually became somewhat banal, with people posting random thoughts in short sentences, a far cry from the explosively creative days of Xanga.
32 Facebook morphed into the odd creature it is today. It invented its own language and style, and while it does allow for all sorts of creativity, most of it is cheap shots on news feed.
33 It also has recently become a loudspeaker for blowhards and opinionated sorts.
34 I won’t say I avoid it like the plague, because it is sort of fun to scroll around and waste time.
35 I remember distinctly when I first hopped on the Facebook train. Christine Choi, who played Adelaide in Guys and Dolls, wrote me this when I first arrived: “Hey H! Welcome to Wastebook!”
36 You gotta love it.
37 Moving On, Part the Second: Where is all this leading?
38 I never know. It’s always done in the middle of the night. Once I start, there is no turning back.
39 If it takes me too long, Phoebe wakes up and thinks it’s meal time. Sometimes she wakes up two or three times, wiggles around, barks, and wants to go outside.
40 I usually have to think of what to put down here, and then I’m off to the races.
41 I awakened last night at 1:59 after almost five hours of sleep. It is now around 3:30, and I am still at it.
42 I have always maintained that I don’t write this. It writes itself.
43 I will maintain that this morning as well.
44 Moving on, Part the Thoid: I began this with writing about the DN. What caused it was the fact that Xanga isn’t keeping up with the times.
45 The fonts continually change. The pictures don’t appear on some people’s computers. Highlights appear in the print. I give commands and they no longer work.
46 Things change.
47 I Googled Xanga concerns, and a lot of people have the same stuff happening. Evidently Xanga has no answer.
48 Sidebar: I love that “Google” is a proper verb, one of the only proper verbs I could think of in the 3 a.m.
49 AnywayZ…
50 I worry about the DN. As far as I’m concerned, it is my companion. It writes itself, and it has a relatively good following. People glance at it, avoid it, and then give in and read this stuff. And they chuckle.
51 The next day they think, “I’m not going to waste my time reading that guy’s stuff!”
52 And then they take a look, and then they chuckle.
53 It’s coffee and oatmeal. It’s a nice way to start your day, especially if a guffaw causes hot oatmeal to fly out of your nose.
54 It’s a nice way to start your day. Hmmm. Nice slogan. Think I’ll adopt it.
55 Meanwhile…
56 Xanga has to take care of those concerns. It isn’t a huge issue, but if the fonts are shrinking and things getting highlighted; if the pictures aren’t showing up or loading in too slowly, then I may need to change to another “blogging” place.
57 I never saw the DN as a “blog.” I always thought of it as the DN, my own little whatever that I don’t really write. I see it more as a world that has decided to ride along with me and enjoy the goofiness.
58 So a piece about a piece.
59 Works for me, I imagine.
60 Well, despite Xanga’s best efforts not to cooperate with the artistic integrity of this folderol, I will continue to put this stuff out, using Xanga.
61 It’s sort of a part of the past that I intend to keep, and to bring to the present.
62 Time to go. I have some old movie playing on TCM, and it clearly has a bunch of Damon Runyon sorts talking the wiseguy talk.
63 And I would be remiss in my duties as a lifelong 49er fan if I didn’t wish they and their fans all the best this weekend. Mark me: they are statistically a better team than the Packers. They don’t need to beat the Packers. They need to beat the Packers’ quarterback.
64 The TCM film that is on is called Love is a Racket. I just looked up and saw a guy reading a newspaper that started on fire.
65 It was the New York Times.
66 Thank goodness for small miracles. Sometimes it’s nice when a coincidence doesn’t happen.
67 Think you.
68 Have a great weekend, and go Niners!
69 Peace.
www.xanga.com/bharrington
What’s Playin’ at the Roxy?The Daily News1 Ah, the DN!2 I forget about it during holidays and times when I’m not in school.3 It is literally in its seventeenth year, although until 2004, it was really not online.4 It existed for a while on my old ybdrama.com website, which is now rusting in the weeds due to overcharges by Geocities.5 It contained a few DN archives as well.6 I have hard copies dating back to 1996.7 It used to consist of ten or eleven fast items and out. I printed it on different colors of paper, and used a variety of fonts.8 The “logo” font was originallyTimes New Roman, which is the font at the top of the page. For the record, I print the copy at Arial 4. The copy started out in Times.9 It originally had no pictures.10 For those new to the DN, it began in 1996 as a means of communicating with the company of Guys and Dolls, which I was directing at Yerba Buena High School in San Jose, California. It is difficult for a director to get word out to everybody involved in a play, as things will always change on a calendar. The Daily News was a means of getting word out immediately as tp where the show was headed, as well as any daily changes that might happen regarding rehearsals.11 This was a few years ago. Email was still not a universal thing. Today it is relatively easy to communicate with casts, crews, musicians, and all the rest.12 The title is taken from the song Guys and Dolls, which begins with among other lyrics, “What’s in the Daily News? I’ll tellya what’s in the Daily News…story about a man bought his wife a small ruby with what otherwise would have been his union dues…that’s what’s in the Daily News…”13 Ah, what the heck. Here are the lyrics to that wonderfully brilliant song:What’s playing at the Roxy?
Comments (1)
I come here mainly because we’re both 49er fans. And if I remember correctly, we’re both Colin Kaepernick fans. I am DEFINITELY a Jim Harbaugh fan, which in fact is why I’m a 49er fan. Again. After several years of NOT being a 49er fan because I couldn’t take it when they fired Steve Mariucci.One thing that I AM is a Guys and Dolls fan. So I particularly liked this entry.One thing I am NOT is a CBS fan. I have an irrational dislike of CBS mainly becasue of Leslie Moonves but I also like the hell out of Terry Bradshaw, Howie Long, Jimmy Johnson (well, I don’t really like him but he’s a way better speaker than Bill Cowher even if he is a much lousier couch than Cowher) and Curt Menafee, especially compared with the CBS crew. I particularly don’t like Boomer Esiason. So anyway, I’m here, avoiding listening to Marino and Sharpe, who also can’t talk very plainly but at least they’re more intelligent than Boomer.Should be a good game, though. Denver-Baltimore, I mean. And Dan Dierdorf is about as good a color guy as there is around.But the big game is tonight. My preseason pick was Denver vs. Frisco in the Super Bowl.But I’m worried about the Packers. Damn they’re good. But so are our guys.If you didn’t read John Branch’s brilliant story in the Times this morning, you can link to it at my place.Thanks for the Daily Noose lyrics. They’re great!Best regards to you.In friendship,Bob (aka twoberry)