History of The Talented Talent Bros -- Chapter XI

It is a testament to how much I enjoyed working with the Weasel folks that even before our run ended I was looking into some way to reunite us all for another show. I can honestly say that I have never felt that way about a cast before. It was during a performance one night, while listening to Tony’s striptease scene, that I realized I had just such a vehicle sitting at home in a manilla folder. I had already outlined our next show … and I had done it over a decade before.

Outline of an Unfinished Play

Quincy & the Showgirls was the working title for an outline to a play that I had dreamt up sometime in the early ‘90s. The plot involved some complex mistaken identity / double identity stuff that was inspired by the Carmen Miranda / Groucho Marx film Copacabana. It revolved around Quincy, a washed-up comedian who was trying his hand at being a theatrical agent and his one client, his gorgeous burlesque dancer girlfriend Trixie. Trixie, as sweet as she was, had no higher aspirations than to be a showgirl and marry Quincy, who refused to get married until he could afford to support her. Ironically, Trixie was the only one bringing home the bacon.

Enter Quincy’s home grown, corn fed younger sister from Indiana (Indiana?) Ethel (Ethel?) who just so happens to be a terrific singer and is hoping her big brother can give her a leg up in the big city (which is never defined, although we assume it to be Las Vegas). Suddenly Quincy has another client who he tries to sell to Herbert, the owner of the club/theatre that employs Trixie. Herb is interested, but wants to know if Quincy has any other clients … perhaps somebody more exotic? Quincy, lying through his teeth, says that he also represents Nancy Nefratiti, an Egyptian songbird that only performs under a veil and who would certainly be out of Herb’s price range. Herb says that he’ll be the judge of that and would like both ladies to audition for him that afternoon.

Some quick change magic and a few little white lies and Ethel is going on with the charade not knowing the duplicity involved. Naturally Herb likes them both and hires both on the spot. Yikes! Now poor Ethel will have to perform as two people each night. Meanwhile, Herb’s kooky secretary Jean is suspicious of the duplicity and could unravel everything at any point in time were she not out of her mind. Jean’s dilemma is complicated further by an unrequited love for Richard King (wow, original name there, huh?), the house Elvis impersonator. Obviously, hilarity ensues.

The outline also featured a number of other fun little elements … Jean’s day dreams would become full-on song and dance numbers and Mr. King’s Elvis would age through the course of the play, going from young Elvis to fat-sequined Elvis (inspired by the Elvis stamps that had come out recently). Quincy would accidentally go on stage as a showgirl, the bank would try to foreclose on Herb’s establishment, Mr. King would flirt with and chase Nancy Nefratiti before recognizing true love and a police detective would arrive attempting to arrest Nefratiti for not having proper immigration papers.

Was it Ahead of It’s Time?

It was a busy, convoluted idea … no wonder I never bothered to finish writing it. But now I had inspiration … Bob’s Burlesque. The club where Roy (Tony) did his dance number in Weasel Erotica. I could see it, and cast it, now: I would play Quincy (after all, why not have the worst comic play the worst comic), Anne McDaniels could play Trixie, Rebecca Sponseller would tackle Ethel/Nefratiti, Herb would become Bob and be played by Matt, Richard King would become Tony King and be played by … Tony King, Jeremy Sykes could come back as the dim-witted detective, Jennifer Sandella was just kooky enough to be Jean … my God, it was perfect! Bob’s Burlesque would be our next show. It wouldn’t be a sequel to Weasel Erotica, but something of a parallel universe to Weasel Erotica. I was even trying to decide how I could work Gary & Weezie (the weasels) in for a cameo.

So, I set to work revising the story … turning Quincy & the Showgirls into Bob’s Burlesque. There would be full scale production numbers, dancers and showgirls, sequins and feathers. Although not necessarily musical theatre (only in Jean’s fantasies would people break out into song for no reason) we would see and enjoy elements of the shows being performed at Bob’s … particularly Ethel, Nefratiti and Mr. King. This could work. This could really, really work.

After a few months of writing, tweaking and day dreaming I put Bob’s Burlesque on the back burner though. As it was shaping up there was no way this could be the next Baby Hippopotamus Production … it was just too much. If Weasel had cost $14K to produce, then this thing would cost $50K easy … dancers, musicians, Vegas-style costumes, a proper venue … how in the world could this get produced out of my back pocket when I was already having a hard time just paying my bills? I enjoyed the story and dreamt about how much fun it would be to do … but was it worth the cost?

The Broken Jump

Plus, I was already invested in this other idea I had. The Broken Jump was originally dreamt of as a film taking place primarily on trains telling the story of a couple of vaudeville comedians. It would be an atmospheric piece (with dingy theatres, snow covered train stations, soot and ash) that would un-romanticize the era of American vaudeville. The original idea had come up in 2002 and was very different than the show that would be produced in 2007. For one reason or another I saw this concept as a perfect opportunity to tell a very personal story, a very different story. The events of the past five years would alter The Broken Jump beyond recognition.

While on a business trip to San Jose, CA I found myself in a hotel room writing not what I thought was amusing and would be fun, but rather writing from the very core of my being. I admit to a sense of excitement and fear as, for the first time in my life, I opened up my very soul and put it on a page. This story was morphing into something very personal … the issues, the atmosphere, the dialogue … it was all me. It came out quick, and in something of a haze. When I looked over it I questioned whether it was something I could even share … much less produce.

It was lacking in structure, much of the dialogue sounded like it came from my voice only and not the different characters, it was vague on certain elements and situations … but it was my story. My heart … my hurt …

But would anybody get it? Would anybody enjoy it? I had to find out …