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Volume 18 Issue 44 | March 17 - 23, 2006
Villager photo by Jefferson Siegel
A scene from The Advenures of Dick Danger, a snarky spin on radio shows of yore. It runs every Friday night at the Bouwerie Lane Theater.
The gumshoe without a clue returns to off-Broadway
By Jefferson Siegel
An unusual and entertaining show debuted earlier this month at the Jean Cocteau Repertorys Bouwerie Lane Theatre. Part radio drama, part Saturday morning, two-reel cliff-hanger, The Continuing Adventures of Dick Danger puts a snarky new spin on the Golden Age of Radio.
A brief synopsis cant do justice to the ongoing plot. But try to imagine: Dick Danger is a 40s-style private eye trapped in the present. His former therapist, a German who suffers leg cramps at the slightest twinge of sexual arousal, wants Danger dead. The therapist hires a former debutante, Clara Baldridge, who has fallen on hard times, to kill Danger. But, Claras homicidal tendencies crumple into lust at the sight of Dangers hirsute chest. And thats just in the first few minutes.
Im to dress in black, Clara tells Danger, wear no underwear, and hum the single The Real Thing by American Idol runner-up Bo Bice.
Why black? Danger ponders aloud in one of the many understated exchanges in this screwball, 21st century version of a mystery radio show.
Long before television scorched viewers retinas and scrambled their sensibilities, American homes tuned to imaginative radio dramas for evening relaxation. Over time, though, radio serials faded under the onslaught of television and all but died out by the sixties. Towards the end of that drug-fueled decade, an homage to radio drama briefly appeared on vinyl records. The Firesign Theater capitalized on cultural memory in a half-dozen albums of headphone-worthy comedies, including the seminal Further Adventures of Nick Danger.
The current production carries on that trippy satire of 1940s hard-boiled detectives, improving on it with tight, creative writing and spot-on period costumes.
As the play proceeds and each well-crafted innuendo begins to sink in, the plot thickens. Danger phones the media to alert them of the dastardly murder scheme. He is surprised to learn that his press contacts, Judith Miller and Jayson Blair, are out of work.
The lights dim and the scene changes to a cafe south of the border, where plans are afoot to move Wal-Marts to Mexico. As the therapists henchmen plot scenarios in a rapid, song-filled patter, El Gato Blanco appears as a potential savior. El Gato, the Clean Avenger may, or may not, save the day with his keen fashion sense.
If it all sounds part-psychedelic and part-MTV-ish, its because creators Chris Boal and brothers Gregory and James Wolfe worked on early 1990s MTV shows, including Pirate TV and Colin Quinn.
They were also the first overnight VJs (video jockies) on the music channel, where their spontaneous offbeat humor took root as their routines ran wild on camera. Around the same time, Boal and the Wolfes premiered the original Dick Danger at the 29th Street Repertory Theaters late-night comedy cabaret. Staging a new show every two weeks, the episodic comedy played for over two years, before Greg Wolfe founded the Moonwork Theater Company, which puts 21st century spins on another old entertainer, Shakespeare.
Danger goes to great lengths to recreate the feeling of live radio theater on stage. One imaginative scene puts Clara and Danger in a vertical bed, post-coitus. The bed is really a sheet held by another character, who interrupts the action by dropping the sheet for his moment in the spotlight. Even the stage-left announcer plays a part, alternately narrating interstitial moments while agonizing at his own lack of achievement in the theater world.
More than one loose end remained at the end of the first episode. Audience members left wondering whether El Gato Blanco would defeat the Wal-Mart Mercenaries with his keen fashion sense. Or if Danger would escape from the potentially evil but very alluring Clara Baldridge. Youll have to tune in this Friday to find out.
Tickets to The Continuing Adventures of Dick Danger include complimentary beer before and after the show, which runs every Friday night at 11 pm at the Bouwerie Lane Theatre, 330 Bowery at the corner of Bond Street. For more information, call 212-358-5738.
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Posted by jessica on
East Bay Escape for Sunny Trails & Picnics
By Marguerite Richards
If you're beginning to curse the magical mist of San Francisco, we understand. This is California, people. Sheesh! Where's the sunshine? We know our fairytale fog can start to feel comedic or even tragic after a while. So if you're getting a hankering for heat, we suggest you head over to the East Bay for a hike in the sun. Check out East Bay Parks for many great ideas.

subset: commoncrawl


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Number: 111-18
Date: July 28, 2009
The House Passed H.R. 3325,
"WIPA and PABSS Reauthorization Act of 2009"
On July 28, 2009, the House passed H.R. 3325, the "WIPA and PABSS Reauthorization Act of 2009," by a voice vote. This legislation would extend funding authorization for the Work Incentives Planning and Assistance program and the Protection and Advocacy for Beneficiaries of Social Security program through fiscal year 2010.
The bill does not include any other provisions.


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Small Cool 2007: Hark! An extension is upon us!
Contest Master here. For my first major act as Contest Master, I hereby decree the new deadline for submissions to the 2007 Smallest Coolest Contest to be midnight (eastern standard time) Monday, April 16th.
While I know that many of you are waiting til tomorrow to submit your great small spaces, there are likely many others who haven't had the time to get it together.
We will still start posting entries next Monday, April 9th, and we will still start the voting then.
Please don't delay. Don't underestimate your talents. And don't worry . It'll be fun. Share your world with us. Enter your home, kitchen, nursery, or office/tech environment now!
If you have any questions, send them to contestmaster AT apartmenttherapy DOT com


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|Episode Description
|Thursday, Sep 26, 2013 - 1:30 PM
"Kindness with Friends"
Percy's New Friends - Percy wants to make friends with the wild animals on Sodor. When he approaches a squirrel, it runs away. He tries to make friends with a bird but it flies away. D
Mountain Time
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