Skip to main content

For a True Story Part I: Plays



I am a whore for a true story. I can’t help myself. Knowing that what I am reading or watching has really happened captivates me. The inspiring, fascinating, and sometimes horrifying stories fill me with intrigue and delight. Here, the curiosity might just kill this cat. Depending on the story I either feel better about myself or not. That is, there are incredible people who have risked or sacrificed their lives for advances in medicine, civil rights, law, and all aspects of society. The depths people will go to; to fight for changes they believe in just blow me away. It makes me wonder if I have that kind of courage and conviction. It is easy to believe you would do anything for someone you loved, but could YOU really risk your job, family, and life?

On the other hand, there are those stories too scary to be true, it boggles the mind. That people can live in their own world full of hate, violence, and even filth never ceases to amaze me. That is where the element of truth is the most fascinating. I can go over and over it in my mind but it will never make sense. It is this sense of bewilderment that hooks me most to a terrible but true story. I want to figure it out, explain away this bizarre behavior but I can’t. I think this is also the element that attracts me to stories about serial killers. I can’t comprehend that behavior and so I read and watch all I can but there will always be that barrier. I guess that’s a good thing. All that’s left is to sit back in amazement and thank the good Lord it’s not my story. 

Once I started to make a list of the true stories I love and wanted to share, I quickly realized this topic would become my next series. Every day this week I will add another component to my true stories list that I love and think you will be interested in too. I will be giving brief descriptions, hopefully enough to convince you to check it out. For those interested, the links beside each story will direct you where you can find more information and either see it, read it, or watch it.

As you can tell, a large part of my life revolves around attending plays.


Here are some of those true stories... (cue the Law & Order chime)

  • Million Dollar Quartet – based on an impromptu recording session on December 4, 1956 with Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, Johnny Cash, and Elvis Presley.


  •  Gypsy (not currently on Broadway, but see the book “Gypsy: Memoirs of America's Most Celebrated Stripper) - tells the story of a young woman with the most demanding and famous stage mother of all time. Gypsy Rose Lee and sister Baby June grow up in the world of vaudeville and she eventually strikes out on her own with her striptease act.

  •  Jersey Boys- tells the story of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons as they rise from Jersey boys to superstars.
  • Thurgood (filmed live on Broadway and shown on HBO) - tells the story of Thurgood Marshall’s before, during, and after his time as a U.S. Supreme Court Justice.
www.hbo.com/movies/thurgood/synopsis.html


Check back tomorrow; For a True Story Part II: Movies!!

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

For My Madness During Migraine Awareness Month

Last weekend as I sat staring at the blank page in front of me, I was still surprised and elated that I had an entire day to myself and unlike past experiences it was filled with what I wanted when I wanted it. There were a few rough moments but when I consider the previous twelve hours (and the days to come) have been better than the last week. Especially this last week even though I had braced myself ahead of time, I just didn’t know I should have braced for a more serious episode. I am a chronic migraine sufferer for so many years I don’t quite remember when they started exactly which is ironic because I can remember every special event they have ruined. I remember plays or dinners I was at where I don’t remember what happened but I could tell you what I felt minute by minute. It amazing how the mind works, especially when it’s operated by a migraine brain. In the last few years, specifically the last few years since I have been going to the Montefiore Headac

For Find Out Friday - Why Do Emery Boards Make My Skin Crawl?

You know that sound a fingernail makes when it scratches against a chalkboard?  You know that feeling the sound of that action gives you? I, like most people, hate that sound.  I instantly feel like scrunching my shoulders up to my neck and closing my eyes.  I feel the exact same way when I am using an emery board to file my nails. This annoying sensation has a name: “grima” which is Spanish for disgust or uneasiness. This term basically describes any feeling of being displeased, annoyed, or dissatisfied someone or something.  It is a feeling that psychologists are starting to pay more attention to as it relates to our other emotions.  Emery boards are traditionally made with cardboard that has small grains of sand adhered to them. It is the sandpaper that I believe makes me filled with grima.  According to studies that are being done around the world, it is not just the feeling that we associate with certain things like nails on a chalkboard or by using emery boards

For a New Chain of Mexican Fast Food: “Dos Toros Taqueria”

When it comes to fast food there are the names we are familiar with: McDonald’s, Burger King, Wendy’s, and Chipotle.  In you live in New York City, there is a new kid in town: Dos Toros.  Dos Toros is relatively new to this area but with any hope there might be one in your town soon.  Started by two brothers, Leo and Oliver Kremer, from Berkeley, California, the Mexican food you find here is inspired by food they loved growing up.  In California, the brothers grew up worshipping Gordo Taqueria, a favorite of Bay Area residents since 1977 (now promptly added to my San Francisco to eat list). Much of the recipes and even decor found at Dos Toros has been modeled on Gordo. Before moving to NYC in 2008, the brothers were living very different lives. Leo was the bassist for the band “Third Eye Blind”. Oliver fresh out of college, considered working in the technology or finance industry. Both disillusioned with their lives, they decided to pursue something they have l