I don’t think it’s necessarily due to the 8′ long, 2′ tall spectacular painting by Irene Neal that since Monday, April 20th at 2:00PM now hangs over my desk, but darnit, it has a huge impact every time I (or anyone else for that matter) comes into the office and sees it. Entitled Song of Summer, this 1999 piece by Irene Neal exudes majesty and joy. Her use of primary colors and organic shapes brings to mind whatever the viewer wants to see. I’ve had several people invoke spirit animals but my favorite comment was from my neighbor Dick who said he thought he saw a golf bag in the belly of this magnificent painting. Here are some close ups of its journey with the intrepid ProPack folks who shipped it from Merritt Island from the artist’s studio, to my home in Toluca Lake. From the ignominious moment when the crate came out of the truck and revealed itself to be too large for the elevator (I had measured with the idea that the painting would be out of the crate before entering the elevator (a ridiculous idea for professional art movers, I soon realized), the journey to it’s spot on my wall was not easy for Edward and Rodrigo; they were determined to get it up the three flights of stairs and safely onto a table, then saw horses to be unsheathed. The day was exciting, and exhausting (for all of us) as they solved problem after problem in the process. I am so grateful to Jeremy at ProPack for sending such a determined team and letting them see this through. And so grateful for the creativity and presence of this artist in the world. Check out her work at the link above. There’s lots more where this beautiful painting came from!
Living with a vibrant piece of art is thrilling, invigorating, uplifting and inspiring. There is such a thing as a creative force field, and this work has it. I am so blessed to have added another work by Irene Neal to my collection.
Speaking of creative force fields, I began work with such a group last week when I began stage managing a revival of Ain’t Misbehavin’ with Wren T. Brown and Gayle Hooks of the Ebony Repertory Company, housed in the sanctity of the Nate Holden Performing Arts Center. Get tickets at the previous link. We run May 23-June 8th only! Wren and Gayle have the capacity of attracting class A artists and they have done so again here. The small cast includes American Singer and Songwriter Ledisi, Chester Gregory, Connie Jackson, Marty Lamar, and Natalie Wachen. The Musical Director, William Foster McDaniel has at least thirty-eight years of experience with this piece, having started as the Associate Conductor on the 1988 Broadway Revival, starring Nell Carter, Andre DeShields, Ken Page, Armelia McQueen, and Charlaine Woodard, all of whom are immortalized in the libretto with the parts named after them. Billy has extraordinary deftness in his understanding/rendering of this piece, playing from memory and guiding the new members of the cast to learning complex harmonies and nuances of Fats Waller’s Music. Others in the ERT creative force field are Dominique Kelley (Choreographer), Andrew Schmedake (Lighting Designer), Danny Fiandaca (Sound Designer), Wendell Carmichael (Costume Designer) and we are performing on the well-preserved bones of the set by dear Designer John Iacovelli, who died shortly after the production we are remounting opened in 2023. The power of this group of artists has it’s own force. I’m loving being back at work with Wren in particular (after our 2015 production of The Gospel at Colonus. Feel free to go back and look at accounts from that production which I wrote about quite a bit from the first days through the remount of that show. It was a thrilling collaboration and I’m feeling so fortunate to be in the fold again with Ebony Repertory Theatre.
Other vibrancies in my life include the recent celebration of our Dad’s 95th birthday, he exhibiting a vibrancy at 95 which is truly stunning. All three of his children f(rom his first wife) and our remaining spouses feted him at the Capital Grille in Burbank and a delicious evening was had by all. My brothers and I don’t get to be together often enough, so we took a picture of the pre-cake festivities in the afternoon.
Other vibrancies – I walked in support of finding a cure for Pancreatic Cancer at the invitation of my friend Crystal and her team had a great time walking along the beach in Santa Monica last Saturday, then having brunch at The Whaler. Had a great time and for a worthy cause and in memory of Crystal’s dad and his sister. The day was a little overcast, but there were over 3,000 people there to show support and it was a great day. Thank you, Crystal, for getting your team organized and raising over $1000 personally for this important cause!
On the book front, the finalized recording is being approved by yours truly and then will be available soon. Hope you can have a listen for those of you who are moving through the world with your own vibrancies. Listen in the car, or while you exercise at the gym! Let me know what you think and I’ll be sure to let you know here when it goes on sale. I have an author page now. You can see it here.
lifeinthethe8tre 