Post 13 - March 24, 2020
Day 13…
Yesterday, 6 out of 7 of Trumps top seven revenue producing clubs and resorts had to close because of the coronavirus restrictions.
That is why he took to the airwaves yesterday and announced that he was going to take a look at reopening businesses next week.
That’s the reason. This is negatively impacting him.
Not because it is the right thing to do.
Not because ANY health professional thinks that it’s a good idea.
Not because any of the science underlying this pandemic supports this idea
HE is making less money.
The first order of business is to save lives. So said Governor Cuomo this morning. What a difference a day makes - Cuomo pulled no punches this morning. He really laid into the federal government this morning.
This, in part, as a response to Dan Patrick, the Lt. Governor of Texas who said yesterday that Grandparents should be willing to sacrifice themselves for the good of the economy.
Take that in. According to this piece of garbage, a significant portion of the population of the United States should be willing to die so that the economy can recover sooner.
The good news is that Trump can’t reopen anything because he didn’t close anything down in the first place. The states did. Trump didn’t shut down anything. This isn’t under his control. Even the bible-thumping Governor of Louisiana spoke yesterday about the importance of staying at home and social distancing. We are being led on a State level. They are who is taking care of us.
The government MUST enact the Defense Production Act and force manufacturers to make the ventilators that we need. This isn’t a virus that JUST attacks the elderly, it attacks everyone. Across the board. The young have a better CHANCE of surviving this, but they certainly aren’t immune to being killed by this. There are things that the federal government can do, and they need to do it.
Now.
It is dangerous to keep listening to the nonsense coming out of Trump’s mouth. The “cures” he is touting are not proven and are, in fact, sometimes dangerous. There were reports of somebody dying yesterday because they took too much of one of the unproven drugs the erroneously announced yesterday would cure Covid-19. Be smart. STOP listening to him. The curve is getting steeper, not flattening.
Stay at home.
That’s what we can do.
Stay at home and stop meeting up with people out on the street.
Use FaceTime and Zoom and Skype.
It won’t be forever but if we don’t do this it will last longer.
Please, just stay at home.
I just heard that Julia Miles, the founder of The Women’s Project passed away this week. In the late 1970’s she started The Women’s Project to give women a chance to tell stories that matter to them and that were created by them.
In the late 1970’s this was a brand new idea.
While I was still in college, I was lucky enough to work on several projects with Julia and The Women’s Project the most notable probably being the revue A… MY NAME IS ALICE. We started the show in the basement of The American Place Theatre on 46th Street then ultimately moved downtown to The Village Gate on Bleeker Street in the Village where we ran for a year and a half. ALICE was a revue of songs and skits - each written by a different team - by or about women. It was directed by Julliane Boyd (who now runs The Berkshire Theatre Company) and Joan Micklin Silver (a noted film director of movies such as HESTER STREET, CHILLY SCENES OF WINTER and CROSSING DELANCEY). The original cast included Alaina Reed, Charlayne Woodard, Mary Gordon Murray, Randy Graff and Roo Brown. Other incredible women who became part of the cast over the run included Jackee Harry, Donna Murphy, Tonya Pinkins, Marva Hicks, Vanessa Bell Calloway and Annie Golden.
Throughout my career, I have been lucky enough to work for a whole array of truly accomplished women.
Off the top of my head, and I am sure I am leaving many out:
Stage Managers like Nancy Harrington, Renee F. Lutz, Susan Green and Elisabeth Farwell - all of whom, gave me my career.
Directors like Julie and Joan, Julie Taymor, Graciella Danielle, Carey Perloff, Susan H. Shulman, Evan Yionoulis, Elizabeth Swados…
Producers like Kumiko Yoshii, Lauren Mitchell, Rosita Sarnoff…
And incredible performers - Patti LuPone and Bernadette Peters for example- who have created careers that have lasted decades (and kept me employed for years).
All of these women, and countless, countless others that I have been privileged to work for and with, owe something to women like Julia Miles who led the charge beginning in the 1970’s.
I can’t help but think what would be happening in the country now if we were being led by a woman.
RIP Julia. And thank you.
https://www.playbill.com/article/julia-miles-founder-of-wp-theater-passes-away
The JERSEY BOYS NCL Bliss company are almost all home. The Australians, who seem to be the last people in transit, are all getting closer. Some of them should be landing in Sydney almost as I write this. Wishing all of them the best.
Everybody out there -
Stay at home.
Stay healthy - physically and mentally.
Reach out to friends and family - you’ll be amazed what a little FaceTime can do to lighten up the day.
Stretch. Our muscles need as much attention as our souls.
Remember - we are ALL in this.
There is nobody, anywhere on the PLANET who is unaffected by this.
Together, we will get through this - separately.