"The Story Goes On" -The Live Concert

A couple years ago, I sang back ups on Alexandra Billings's live concert CD, "The Story Goes On." I didn't know we were recording that night! or, at least I had forgotten by now...
Here's a clip from the show below and, if there's a problem with the link, you can go directly to the YouTube site here.

The Alone Medley from the forthcoming DVD The Story Goes On


In July, I get to share the stage with Alex again, as well as Stephen Rader, Jeremy Rill and Honey West. I'm not sure who else is involved yet, but the talent on the stage alone will make it well worth attending. It's a benefit for Bailiwick Repertory. More info to come!

I'm going on in Hedwig and the Angry Inch

Well, it turns out that Hedwig @ ATC is getting extended again (the show is really fabulous) thru June 13th and it turns out, I'll be going on in the role of "Yitzhak" (Hedwig's husband) on Sat, June 6th, for the 8pm and 11pm shows.

Details here.

looking thru old photos

wow, i have a lot of photos...way more than i can share here, but i thought this one was fun. it's a photo of nick garrison & I from the production of hedwig we did back in 2001 (pre 9/11)...yeah, can't believe it's been 8 years already, but i still love the show---so it's been fun to re-visit the story and then to see old photos.

...and for those who are not familiar with the show, i'm the "guy" on the left. yup.

a great show

Hey guys....HAPPY SPRING!

Just wanted to give you an update on what I'm working on these days...I'm understudying the role of Yitzhak in HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY INCH at American Theatre Company (in Ravenswood). I love this show.

I had the priviledge of working with the fabulous Nick Garrison (Hedwig) 8 years ago on this show at the Broadway (now "Lakeshore") Theatre. And I just met Sadieh Rifai (Yitzhak). She is as heart-breaking as Yitzhak as she is sweet in person. You are in good hands with these people, so have a blast & go see the show. I'm not planning on going onstage for this one, but I'm working on the material just in case, of course!

Details below.... Cheers!


for schedule & tickets, please visit the ATC website.

So much to clean up from the Bush Years—The “Conscience” Regulation

Let me get this straight…

If I am a Catholic waiter, I don’t get to decide whether or not to serve someone the “roast beef sandwich” they ordered on a Friday during Lent, do I?
I don’t get to decide to just serve them “tuna on white” & they have to deal with it, right???
Or, if I’m a Jewish waiter, I don’t get to say to my customer “Sorry, you’ll be served a plate of lunchmeat only, no bread for YOU during Passover---it’s against MY religion.”

Sounds silly….but wow, the “conscience” regulation was the same concept.

Doctors, pharmacists, etc, should not have that choice either. If it’s a legal drug or service (oh yeah, and THEIR JOB)—they should have to DO their job, just like everybody else in the world. If they don’t like it and morally disapprove of some of the job requirements, they should find another profession, yes?

The whole “conscience” regulation went way too far. I’m hoping it will end soon.

Here’s an article that was in the news today.



Obama Administration to Reverse Bush Rule on 'Conscience' Regulation
Policy Provides Sweeping Federal Protections to Health-Care Workers Who Refuse to Provide Care That Violates Their Beliefs
By Rob Stein
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, February 27, 2009; 11:41 AM

The Obama administration has begun the process of rescinding sweeping new federal protections that were granted in December to health-care workers who refuse to provide care that violates their personal, moral or religious beliefs.

The Office of Management and Budget announced this morning that it was reviewing a proposal to lift the controversial "conscience" regulation, the first step toward reversing the policy. Once the OMB has reviewed the proposal it will be published in Federal Register for a 30-day public comment period.

"We are proposing rescinding the Bush rule," said an official with the Health and Human Services Department, which drafted the rule change.

The administration took the step because the regulation was so broadly written that it could provide protections to health-care workers who object not only to abortion but also to a wide range of health-care services, said the HHS official, who asked not to be named because the process had just begun.

"We've been concerned that the way the Bush rule is written it could make it harder for women to get the care they need. It is worded so vaguely that some have argued it could limit family planning counseling and even potentially blood transfusions and end-of-life care," the official said.

After the 30-day comment period, the regulation could be lifted entirely or it could be modified to make the protections more specific, the official said.

"We support a tightly written conscience clause. We recognize and understand that some providers have objections about abortion, and we want to make sure that current law protects them," the official said. "We want to be thoughtful about this."

The new rule empowers the federal government to cut off federal funding for any state or local government, hospital, health plan, clinic or other entity that does not accommodate doctors, nurses, pharmacists or other employees who refuse to participate in care they find objectionable. The Bush administration adopted the rule at the urging of conservative groups, abortion opponents and others in order to safeguard workers from being fired, disciplined or penalized in other ways.

Women's health advocates, family planning proponents, abortion rights activists and others condemned the regulation, saying it would create a major obstacle to providing many health services, including family planning, infertility treatment and end-of-life care, as well as possibly a wide range of scientific research.

The move marks the latest challenge to the Obama administration's attempt to find more of middle ground on issues related to abortion. President Obama has said repeatedly he hopes those on both sides of the issue can work to reduce the number of abortions by preventing unwanted pregnancies and by offering support to women who do get pregnant and want to continue their pregnancies.

That approach has already been tested. Obama angered abortion opponents when he lifted restrictions on federal funding for international family planning groups that promote abortion. The next closely watched decision will be whether Obama lifts federal restrictions on federal funding for human embryonic stem cell research.

Are you familiar with Howard Zinn?

A military soldier turned peace activist, Howard Zinn travels around giving brilliant speeches about world events, peace, and politics.
His website is here.

His book, A People's History of the United States, tells what REALLY happened in our American History, rather than what our schools taught us. I’ve seen some of the readings on public television and they are amazing.

To watch videos of actors reading excerpts from his book, the Peoples History of the United States, at Sundance Film Festival, visit here.

I am on his mailing list and get periodic updates. This arrived in my latest email:

OBAMA'S HISTORIC VICTORY
by Howard Zinn

Those of us on the Left who have criticized Obama, as I have, for his failure to take bold positions on the war and on the economy, must join the exultation of those Americans, black and white, who shouted and wept Tuesday night as they were informed that Barack Obama had won the presidential election. It is truly a historic moment, that a black man will lead our country. The enthusiasm of the young, black and white, the hopes of their elders, cannot simply be ignored.

There was a similar moment a century and a half ago, in the year 1860, when Abraham
Lincoln was elected president. Lincoln had been criticized harshly by the abolitionists, the anti-slavery movement, for his failure to take a clear, bold stand against slavery, for acting as a shrewd politician rather than a moral force. But when he was elected, the abolitionist leader Wendell Phillips, who had been an angry critic of Lincoln's cautiousness, recognized the possibility in his election.

Phillips wrote that for the first time in the nation's history "the slave has chosen a President of the United States." Lincoln, he said, was not an abolitionist, but he in some way "consents to represent an antislavery position." Like a pawn on the chessboard, Lincoln had the potential, if the American people acted vigorously, to be moved across the board, converted into a queen, and, as Phillips said, "sweep the board."

Obama, like Lincoln, tends to look first at his political fortunes instead of making his decisions on moral grounds. But, as the first African American in the White House, elected by an enthusiastic citizenry which expects a decisive move towards peace and social justice, he presents a possibility for important change.

Obama becomes president in a situation which cries out for such change. The nation has been engaged in two futile and immoral wars, in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the American people have turned decisively against those wars. The economy is shaken by tremendous blows, and is in danger of collapsing, as families lose their homes and working people, including those in the middle class, lose their jobs, So the population is ready for change, indeed, desperate for change, and "change" was the word most used by Obama in his campaign.

What kind of change is needed? First, to announce the withdrawal of our troops from Iraq and Afghanistan, and to renounce the Bush doctrine of preventive war as well as the Carter doctrine of military action to control Mideast oil. He needs to radically change the direction of U.S. foreign policy, declare that the U.S. is a peace loving country which will not intervene militarily in other parts of the world, and start dismantling the military bases we have in over a hundred countries. Also he must begin meeting with Medvedev, the Russian leader, to reach agreement on the dismantling of the nuclear arsenals, in keeping with the Nuclear Anti-Proliferation Treaty.

This turn-around from militarism will free hundreds of billions of dollars. A tax program which will sharply increase taxes on the richest 1% of the nation, and will tax their wealth as well as their income, will yield more hundreds of billions of dollars.

With all that saved money, the government will be able to give free health care to everyone, put millions of people to work (which the so-called free market has not been able to do). In short, emulate the New Deal program, in which millions were given jobs by the government. This is just an outline of a program which could transform the United States and make it a good neighbor to the world.

Do you know the guy behind the iconic Obama poster?

Shepard Fairey is his name.

TIME Magazine published a blurb about him on JULY 9, 2001, (VOL.158 NO.1)
"obey giant lives Ads Infinitum"
George Orwell taught us to beware of the sign on the wall reading:
"Obey." It's best to get used to the idea. Way back in 1989, a Rhode
Island School of Design graduate named Shepard Fairey started putting
obscure stickers on buildings to promote a skateboard gang. They got
attention and Fairey, inspired, kept slapping them up as a kind of mass
psychology test: What does the average person make of a public sign that
is, essentially, meaningless? The posters, stickers and spray-painted
designs often bear the image of the late World Wrestling Federation star
obey giant, and the San Diego-based artist encourages like-minded urban
guerrillas to join him in spreading a message with no message. The
result: "Obey" signs in cities almost everywhere, including Tokyo and
Hong Kong. Now, this global in-joke is becoming a lot less subversive
and probably more ubiquitous: Fairey has launched an Obey clothing line
and there's plenty of obey giant merchandise out there. Buyer's Obey!


My husband & I actually saw an obey logo on a brick wall in our Chicago
neighborhood a few years back. He immediately recognized it & explained
how this artist gets around. A few weeks later, the art was covered by a
fresh coat of paint. They had no idea what they had on their wall!

Check out this letter Shepard Fairey wrote to someone who bought his art
& sold it on ebay:
http://obeygiant.com/store/help.php?section=policy

I love that he sticks to his values instead of just making a lot of
money because he can. Mr. Fairey, you have my admiration and I do love
your art!

Now, can somebody please take a stand for concert tickets and sporting
events???