There I am!! Bushwick, you are too beautiful for words…

A rewrite of an earlier play, PLANET PHUCKETT bears a lot of resemblance to my play PLANET HOSPICE. I had performed it several times in the past, and the world wasn’t ready for it. I also had to learn how to be present. The story of Planet Hospice was (and is) dark. It’s still dark even if I change the title to reflect a more comedic twist on the material.

So why now?

I think the work I’ve done on it over the past two years makes it better. It’s still dark, on a dark topic (mass human genocide wouldn’t have qualified for an episode of GLEE). But I’ve leaned in on the absurd comedy of know that we’re facing the end and being unable to do anything but laugh at the absurdity of it all. 

waiting for a copyright infringement note from Marcus Aurelius

We’re all short-timers on this earth, and some of the things we worry about are small potatoes. I’ve also been feeling a bit more… lackadaisical about my obligations. I don’t like thinking about failure and sadness. It’s time to play a harmonica! Or a slide whistle (or whatever they call them). Do it today! Who is promised another day!

The logo for ATL Fringe. Like the Bee thing.

Seriously though, looking forward to going to Atlanta in June (I know, I just typed that. Atlanta is as hot as hell in June. I’m nuts). 

Here’s a synopsis of what you’re seeing: 

The story of PLANET PHUCKETT is about the increasingly likely prospect that in ten years or less, the Earth will no longer provide habitat for big mammals as a result of global warming. I’ve written a synopsis here, and there is other information about the play in various places. Its predecessor, PLANET HOSPICE, has been produced at the Ithaca Fringe Festival , The Tampa Fringe, and United Solo, an international festival of one-person shows here in New York. I did garner some interesting and positive reviews, which you can find here and here.

Who should see this:

• Everyone who thinks we can fix the climate and make everything better. The chances of that happening are slim, as I explain. If you want to understand where we are, there’s ample science.
• Anyone who wants to hear all the secrets of yeast sex;
• Anyone who misses the sound of a slide whistle and/or harmonica;
• Anyone who wants a time scale on our time left;
• Anyone who wants to laugh at someone in a death shroud;
• Anyone who wants to drive up to the edge of the pit of Despair and laugh.

See you in Atlanta!!

POSTSCRIPT: I found out to my horror last year that a punk band is named Planet Hospice. I don’t think I would have been sued over my play having the same name , but the last thing I want to do is encourage confusion.