Goodbye to two good men

Two special men left the world yesterday. I didn't know either of them, but I do know their children and so I know the world is less without them.
Michael Jenkins was the father of David Jenkins, the incredible moving force behind Jobsite Theater. David is so full of creativity, intelligence and energy, and love of his animals, friends, theater and music, that I know his father must have been someone pretty special too.

Dean Damon is another man I never met. The father of Haverly, one of my daughter's best friends and longtime roommate, I know a bit more about him. I know he was kind and generous, helping Jesse through those tricky years, flying her out to visit him along with Haverly, never forgetting her at gift giving times, making her a part of his wonderful family. I've followed Dean's failing health by reading his blog and sometimes communicating with Haverly, and I knew he would be leaving soon, but his passing hit me hard when I read about it this morning.
Dean participated in the raising of a beautiful and strong daughter; Haverly's a truly amazing person and a great friend, and I have Haverly, Bill, Linda, Frazier in my heart and mind today. And a promise to always give Haverly the kind of lovingkindness Dean always had for Jesse.

The Lieutenant of Inishmore

Blood, gore, and dead cats.  Not my things at all.   

Darkest of black comedy.  Now you're talking.  

Awesome acting, Irish accents so authentic I couldn't understand some of it but I sure got the gist, and damn good very violent special effects.  

Gotta admit I had an issue with the dead cats but they were not quite real enough to truly offend and the brilliant Jobsite crew balanced it out with a photo exhibit of their own beloved cats.  

Do Not Miss This One if you are in Tampa.  Jobsite gets better every single time. 

Picasso at the Lapin Agile

Mark and I saw this play, by Steve Martin, years ago in New York and loved it then.  It's a clever and provocative fantasy about Picasso and Einstein, both in their twenties and clearly brilliant but not famous yet, meeting at a cafe in Paris.  The Jobsite production is wonderful, set and costumes completely convincing and the acting is really excellent (though I would have liked a better Elvis impersonator but that's just a minor quibble).  We saw it later in the run than we see most Jobsite plays, so all that's left is one last week.  Don't miss this one, Jobsite is getting better and better.

And I love the Ferdie Pacheco portraits on exhibit at the theater.  But why no price tags?  I guess they would be out of reach anyway, but sure did love the Picasso, and the Einstein especially.

Embedded

If you live in the Tampa Bay area, don't miss the Jobsite Theatre production of Embedded. You have this weekend and next to get out there and get yourself all riled up for the election. Hilarious, infuriating, unique, intelligent, it's good, provocative theater. And the masks are really so cool.

Wonderfully Wordy Playwrights

Fascinating article in today's New York Times about two of my favorite playwrights, Tom Stoppard and Edward Albee. Unfortunately I have yet to see productions of so many of their plays, since I have been living here in Tampa for the last couple of decades. I'm thankful that Jobsite Theater has been doing some provocative stuff in the last few years and this spring they are even doing Stoppard!