Tuesday, November 1, 7:00pm: W.C. Fields for President!
You may not have heard, but we’re in the middle of a Presidential election season! Well, not the middle so much as near the end of a process that has been going on for about a year and a half. And after all that winnowing, all that thinning of a very large pack, the American people in their wisdom managed to select two candidates whom large numbers of their fellow Americans just can’t stand!
It’s time to take a break from all the madness. Which is why I hope you’ll join us one week from today for W.C. Fields for President, a mock campaign event starring the eponymous screen comedian, as played by Glen Heroy of PBS’s Circus. W.C. Fields for President is based on the humor book Fields for President, which was written by the comedian and published just in time for the 1940 Presidential election. The original edition looked like this:
Then it was republished in the early 1970s, just when Fields’ popularity was experiencing a resurgence. In the mid ’80s I got a copy of that edition, and it was highly influential on me. My edition looks like this:
And, lastly, just a few weeks ago it was recently re-released with a new forward by Dick Cavett). Ultimately that (and the current election) are what precipitate next Tuesday’s event. Every shelf should have one. Buy your copy here.
Here’s me and W.C.’s only granddaughter Dr. Harriet Fields at our planning meeting a few weeks back (a.k.a Through the Looking Glass):
The present show was adapted from the book, and is directed by me, Trav S.D. It stars Glen Heroy of PBS’s Circus and will feature special guests, including Lauren Milberger, as Gracie Allen (who also ran a comedy Presidential campaign in 1940).
Our event is going to be held at the Lambs — the historic theatrical club, of which one of the most famous members just happened to be…W.C. Fields. Here is Heroy rehearsing at the Lambs, only yesterday:
And by rehearsing, I mean playing pool. The Lambs is located at 3 West 51st Street, 5th floor. A suggested donation of $10 supports The Lambs Foundation. Attendance is limited, please RSVP to Kevin Fitzpatrick, kevin [AT ]fitzpatrickauthor.com. Again, it takes place Tuesday, November 1 at 7pm.
W.C. Fields for President is part of Fields Fest, a festival of talks, screenings, walking tours and other events celebrating the life and career of W.C. Fields. For more on Fields Fest and some of our other events, go here. Fields Fest is our follow up to the highly successful Marxfest, which took place in May of 2014.
(Travalanche) 