By Gordon Hughes
This is the second report I have made from the Bear Republic, California.
Anyone who watched the Rose Parade, Rose Bowl Game or happened to watch horse racing on TVG, as my wife does, any of the NFL games emanating from Southern or for that matter Northern California knows what the weather is like. 75 and sunny. Little or no rain or smog for that matter. It’s the time of year when people in the Midwest break their plowshares over their knees and the old man says to his misses “Martha we’re heading to California”. Well not so fast Mister.
After I wrote my last column about my trip back home I received a phone call from an old friend. I had gone to grammar school with her.
Actually, K through 12. She is a delight. She went to USC to get her teaching degree. She loves kids, is very smart, a really good writer and reads everything she can get her hands on. She pointed out to me, rather lectured me, on the California school system of which we had both been products. Those schools were amazing. Some of the very best in the country. Part of which had made the Golden State Golden. Today they are one of the central failures there. She quit teaching in the system for so many reasons I can’t even begin to cover. All I can say is what a loss, what a shame what a disappointment to the very future of the next generation of Californians. I could restate the issues we encountered last Fall when we visited but those of you who read my column know about those. There is however a new sport in Los Angeles. If you have watched the news on tv or even read the New York Times you are aware, but if you have somehow missed the story… Train robberies are back in vogue. Yes train robbers are adding a new dimension to L.A.’s law and order problems. This is no small issue as the transportation of goods coming into the city are being stolen off the trains while they are waiting on the tracks to be off loaded for delivery. Absolutely unbelievable and it is part of a major rise in crime in the city and surrounding area. Once again the state seems stymied.
Governmental hands tied. Neither political party knows what to do. Meanwhile my wife and I did enjoy the incredible weather while visiting old pals; we did however have to alter our activities; no horseback riding due to homeless camping in the desert canyons. Same goes for hiking and even walking around the city of Palm Springs. So as I said before, it’s a great place to visit but I sure would not want to live there again. So now let’s leave the left coast and travel back to the right coast You may recall that I am a Broadway producer/investor. This has been a tough time for all New Yorkers so I don’t want to do a “woe is me”. That said, Broadway has always been a focal point on so many levels to New York’s economy. Late November and early December brought re-openings on the The Great White Way. We were back in business. Then COVID came back with a vengeance and hit us hard. So as it stands now Diana The Musical has closed along with a number of other shows. Come from Away is running with some brief closures and doing well. Company is doing well even in the pandemic. Closures on Broadway have accelerated over the past season due to, you know it, COVID. One of the stranger occurrences was a one-night closure of Company that had nothing to do with COVID but rather food poisoning. Patti LaPone came out to announce that the show was cancelled for that evening and why. What a trooper she is because she was one of three cast members who was affected by it. So, kind of a quick snapshot of the Great White Way is; shows that have reached the top of their attendance arc that would normally run for another month or so before slowly closing are doing so at a higher and faster rate than would be the usual show’s life. The old business models are not working in the current environment, but there are many smart business and creative people to work through these tough times. So is Broadway back? Sort of, when audiences feel comfortable enough to start coming back monthly, as in the past, rather than once a quarter, we will be back. See you at the theatre. As it stands today life has never been more unpredictable. Crystal ball anybody?
