Dave’s Gone By Interview (7/9/2016): JAMES LECESNE

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Dave Lefkowitz interviews playwright James Lecesne

Topics include: Word of Mouth, The Absolute Brightness of Leonard Pelkey, Trevor, LGBTQ.

Aired July 9, 2016 as part of the “Dave’s Gone By” radio program hosted by Dave Lefkowitz.

Please Note: Segments extracted from “Dave’s Gone By” may have music and other elements removed for timing and media re-posting considerations. For the full interview with all elements, please visit the audio of the complete original broadcast:Full Episode

All content (c)2016 TotalTheater Productions.

More information on Dave’s Gone By: http://www.davesgoneby.com

Dave’s Gone By Skit: RABBI SOL SOLOMON’S RABBINICAL REFLECTION #35 (1/22/2012): Gay Tel Aviv

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RABBI SOL SOLOMON’S RABBINICAL REFLECTION #35 (1 22/2012): Gay Tel Aviv

Shalom Dammit! This is Rabbi Sol Solomon with a Rabbinical Reflection for the week of January 22nd, 2012.

It is rare for the traditionally downtrodden and fearful Jewish people to have a gay old time.  But if they want an old gay time, guess where they should go?  Not Christopher Street, not Miami, not Madrid – believe it or not the answer is Tel Aviv.

In a worldwide survey by GayCities.com, Tel Aviv, Israel, was voted the best gay travel destination of 2011.  Unfortunately, 2011 is over, so…they kind of missed the boat on promoting it, but still – what a feather in the beret for Israel as a place of tolerance, empathy and, one imagines, musical theater.

Now, I’m sure not all Jews are thrilled about this.  The Orthodox Rabbinate is probably wringing their beards over the moral destruction of the holy land whenever two men wanna hold hands and cross pukels. But the rest of us know: live and let live.  Just like New York, Tel Aviv has a giant annual Pride Parade, where, just like New York, all the Jews on the sidewalk are too short and can’t see anything. 61 percent – higher than anywhere else in the world – 61 percent of the Israeli population supports gay marriage.  As the joke goes, why should straight people be the only ones allowed to be miserable?  Gay people even serve openly in the Israeli armed forces. This is not surprising, since a soldier never leaves his buddies’ behind.

But seriously, Israel takes a lot of lumps from Palestinian apologists, self-hating Jewish liberals, anti-Semites and people who look for any excuse to question why America supports Yisroel with money and military hardware. Here is your partial answer: Do you think Syria would make the gay cities list?  How about Lebanon? Saudi Arabia? Iran?  The so-called new Egypt?

Try being a homosexual in any one of these places and see where it gets you.  I’ll tell you where it gets you: pummeled with stones and hanging from a tent with your shmeckel cut off. Granted, some homosexuals may enjoy this, but most would not.  Most would prefer the freedom to be what they wanna be in Tel Aviv.

Now, I myself am not gay, but some of my best friends take it up the Hitler hole. And just as Israel itself is a sanctuary for Jews just in case, someday, nowhere else in the world will accept and protect them. Perhaps Tel Aviv can stand as that place for people of the GLBTQAFRZN13Y persuasion. And maybe Haifa will one day be a refuge for the retarded, and quadriplegics will romp in Ramat Gan, and stutterers will hold conventions in Petach Tikvah.  Let Israel be the foreign legion: the place where good people with the odds against them can thrive and be winners.

May Tel Aviv stand as a lesson, a goal, a model of how life could be for all of us.  Open, free, supportive, and decorated fabulously.

This has been a Rabbinical Reflection from Rabbi Sol Solomon, Temple Sons of Bitches.

(c) 2012 TotalTheater. All rights reserved.

Dave’s Gone By Skit: RABBI SOL SOLOMON’S RABBINICAL REFLECTION #22 (8/28/2011): Reb Levin

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Rabbi Sol Solomon’s Rabbinical Reflection #22 (8/28/2011): REB LEVIN

Aired Aug. 27, 2011 on Dave’s Gone By.
watch on Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ItywotfPBcg

Shalom, Dammit!  This is Rabbi Sol Solomon, with a Rabbinical Reflection for the week of August 28th, 2011.

My friends, there are so many wonderful Jews who have contributed so much to the world: Jonas Salk, Albert Einstein, Irving Berlin, me… And yet, every once in awhile, we’re confronted with a yiddle, who doesn’t know his tush from his middle.  Jews who are evil or ignorant or who merely seem to deny the existence of soap and deodorant.

And so, for every hundred Baruch Spinozas, we get a Bernie Madoff.  For every thousand Bob Dylans, we get a Kenny G.  So now it pains me to say there’s a Jewish leader going viral on the internet with a homophobic rant.  Rabbi Yehuda Levin – and I use the word “Rabbi” loosely, like the way I use the phrase, “I’ll pay you next week,” Rabbi Levin took to the web a few days ago, specifically the day an earthquake struck northern Virginia, and shockwaves were felt all the way up to Manhattan.  Loony Levin took this as a sign that HaShem was punishing New York for legalizing gay marriage.

Don’t take my word for it – here’s the Flatbush flake himself:

(transcript of audio)  “There’s a direct connection between earthquakes and homosexuality.”

Really?  So the Japanese are all gay?  The Chinese in 1976?  San Francisco in 1906?  All right, San Francisco I get, but Peru?  India?  Portugal – well, it happened in Lisbon, so maybe God got confused and thought they said “Lesbian.”

Rabbi Levin goes on to say:

(transcript of audio)  “In New York City and State, where they opened especially on Sunday early after they passed the homosexual marriage law.  They couldn’t wait until the regular Monday, but all the county clerks had to open early to service the homosexual couples who wanted to get married.”

Hey, you should be happy.  At least they didn’t open Saturday.  And that is an interesting choice of words.  The clerks had to “service” these homosexual couples.  That’s not marriage, that’s a threesome.

The Rabbi goes on to draw a spurious comparison between the new marriage laws and the story of Sodom, where strangers threatened to rape Lot’s family.  To Reb Levin, the intruders weren’t wicked because they terrorized the family with sex and violence.  No, the wicked part was that their targets were buttholes instead of mouths and twats.

We then get that old saw about natural disasters being God’s response to sinners.  Usually, this claptrap comes out of the mouths of born-again goyim on Sunday morning TV.  Shameful!  Not so much for being delusional, but for pre-empting Matlock.

Still, Rabbi Levin saves his best line about homosexuality till near the end – no pun intended.

(transcript of audio)  “You have your shaken your male member in a place where it does not belong.”

Learn this phrase now, because you will no doubt be hearing it on Jimmy Kimmel, Tosh O., The Soup, and, strangely enough, “Bob the Builder.”

(transcript of audio)  “You have your shaken your male member in a place where it does not belong.”

Let me tell you something.  If you ever had to take a pee in the Port Authority men’s room, you have shaken your male member in a place where it does not belong.

Look, I am not gay, but some of my best friends have acquaintances who know people who are gay.  So why can’t people live and let live?  The only good thing this Jewish jughead says in the whole video is, “We do not hate homosexuals.”  He feels bad for them.  Well, so do I.  Now that they can get married, they’ll be as miserable as the rest of us.

As for Rabbi Levin, his greatest worry is that legalized homosexuality is just another rung on society’s downward spiral.  Or, as he puts it:

(transcript of audio)   “We want everyone to understand that if these kinds of activities, and continuing to legislate it, until the moral fiber of this country is forced down the throats of the religious people…”

Leaving aside that that sentence has the grammatical clarity of a Thomas Pynchon novel, what an interesting choice of words the Rabbi uses: “Moral fiber forced down the throats of religious people.”  By any chance, Rabbi, would that moral fiber be pink, swollen, blue-veined and have hairy balls underneath it?  And if it does, would that be your lucky day?

This has been a Rabbinical Reflection from Rabbi Sol Solomon, Temple Sons of Bitches. (transcript of audio)  “You have your shaken your male member in a place where it does not belong.”  Never gets old.

(c) 2011 TotalTheater. All rights reserved.

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Dave’s Gone By #304 (2/15/2009): FARGONE

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Here is the 304th episode of the long-running radio show/podcast, Dave’s Gone By, which aired Feb. 15, 2009. Info: davesgoneby.com.

host: Dave Lefkowitz
guest caller: Stagebuddy technical director Jessica Tooma

Featuring: Dave tells of his trip to Fargo, North Dakota. Plus: Stagebuddy.com’s Jessica Tooma. Inside Broadway (Speed-the-Plow) and skits about the economic stimulus.

00:00:01  DAVE GOES IN
00:04:00  GUEST: Jessica Tooma
00:11:00  DAVE GOES FURTHER IN
00:15:00  SKIT: Stimulus I w/ Hermann Glogauer
00:18:00  DAVE GOES OFF on Fargo, ND
00:33:00  SKIT: Stimulus II w/ Eustus Roosevelt
00:37:00  INSIDE BROADWAY – News (37:00) & Speed-The-Plow (42:00)
00:46:00  SKIT: Stimulus III w/ Peter Fitzgerald
00:49:00  DAVE GOES OUT

February 15, 2009 Playlist: “North Dakota” (Lyle Lovett).

Jessica Tooma
Speed-the-Plow
Fargo, ND

Dave’s Gone By #272 (5/11/2008): RISING DAMP

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Here is the 272nd episode of the long-running radio show/podcast, Dave’s Gone By, which aired on NY’s WGBB-AM radio, May 11, 2008. Info: Davesgoneby.com.

host: Dave Lefkowitz
guest co-host: Jeff Goodman
guest: Dennis V. Damp (“The Book of U.S. Government Jobs”)

Featuring: Peter Fitzgerald of WGLFAR chats with author & employment expert Dennis Damp (The Book of U.S. Government Jobs). Plus: Inside Broadway (A Catered Affair, Glory Days). Featuring guest co-host Jeff Goodman.  

00:00:01  pre-show excerpt – “Dog Story”
00:10:00  DAVE GOES IN
00:24:00  GUEST: Dennis V. Damp
00:42:00  INSIDE BROADWAY – News, A Catered Affair, Glory Days
00:19:00  DAVE GOES OUT

May 11, 2008 Playlist: “A Job of Work” (Tom Paxton), “I Love My Mom” (The Roches).

Dennis V. Damp
Glory Days
Jeff Goodman
your host

Dave’s Gone By #261 (2/24/2008): FLYING LEAP

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Here is the 261st episode of the long-running radio show/podcast, Dave’s Gone By, which aired on NY’s WGBB-AM radio, Feb. 24, 2008. Info: davesgoneby.com.

Host: Dave Lefkowitz
Guest co-host: Jeff Goodman
Guest: Paul Rudnick of Grow-a-Frog

Featuring: Dave and guest co-host Jeff Goodman chat with Grow-a-Frog frog keeper Paul Rudnick. Plus: the satirical News Gone By.

00:00:01   Pre-show Excerpts: Not Gay and Oprah’s Big Give
00:07:00  DAVE GOES IN
00:16:00  GUEST: Grow-a-Frog’s Paul Rudnick
00:42:00  NEWS GONE BY – includes Mets Rant & Pig Farmers
01:10:00  DAVE GOES OUT

Feb. 24, 2008 Playlist: “Stand By Your Ham” (UK pig farmers), “Bein’ Green” (Van Morrison).

Paul Rudnick
Grow a Frog
Jeff Goodman
your host

Dave’s Gone By #246 (11/11/2007): THE PALACE OF ATHENA

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Here is the 246th episode of the long-running radio show/podcast, Dave’s Gone By, which aired on NY’s WGBB-AM radio, Nov. 11, 2007. Info: davesgoneby.com.

host: Dave Lefkowitz
guest co-host: Jeff Goodman
guest: singer-songwriter Athena Reich

Featuring: Part one of Dave’s chat with singer-songwriter Athena Reich; Inside Broadway and banter.

00:00:01  DAVE GOES IN
00:11:00  INSIDE BROADWAY – Strike, Poll, & Runner Stumbles
00:25:00  GUEST: Athena Reich
00:52:00  DAVE & JEFF – On TV
01:02:00  DAVE & JEFF – Bad Bosses
01:09:00  DAVE GOES OUT

Nov. 11, 2007 Playlist: “Back To Canada,” “Merry Go Round,” “Concentrate,” “The Ballad of Chicken Shower” (Athena Reich).

Athena Reich
Jeff Goodman
your host

Dave’s Gone By #225 (6/10/2007): PEDI-PHILES

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Here is the 225th episode of the long-running radio show/podcast, Dave’s Gone By, which aired on NY’s WGBB-AM radio, June 10, 2007. Info: davesgoneby.com.

Featuring: Dave chats with actress and entertainer Christine Pedi. Plus: Inside Broadway, with critic Simon Saltzman on the Tonys

host: Dave Lefkowitz
guest co-host: Jeff Goodman
guests: actress Christine Pedi & critic Simon Saltzman

00:00:01  DAVE GOES IN
00:03:00  INSIDE BROADWAY – the 2007 Tonys (w/ Simon Saltzman)
00:20:00  GUEST: Peter Fitzgerald interviews Christine Pedi
00:56:00  The Wedding Choker
00:58:00  DAVE and JEFF – “The 2007 Tonys” (w/ Jeff Goodman)
01:10:00  DAVE GOES OUT

June 10, 2007 Playlist: “The Bitch of Living” (“Spring Awakening”), Christine Pedi medley.

Simon Saltzman
Simon & LucyAnn Saltzman
Dave `n Jeff Goodman

Dave’s Gone By #210 (3/4/2007): PUT ON YOUR SUNDAY CLONES

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Here is the 210th episode of the long-running radio show/podcast, Dave’s Gone By, which aired on NY’s WGBB-AM radio, March 4, 2007. Info: davesgoneby.com.

host: Dave Lefkowitz
guest: actor and Carol Channing impersonator Richard Skipper

Featuring: Dave chats with Richard Skipper, and WGLFAR’s Peter Fitzgerald chats with Richard Skipper as Carol Channing. Plus: World Weird Web & Inside Broadway (Journey’s End, The Voysey Inheritance) .

00:00:01  DAVE GOES IN
00:12:00  GUEST: Richard Skipper
00:30:00  Peter Fitzgerald interviews Richard Skipper as Carol Channing
00:45:00  INSIDE BROADWAY – News, Journey’s End, Voysey Inheritance
01:01:00  WORLD WEIRD WEB – You Tube
01:10:00  DAVE GOES OUT

March 4, 2007 Playlist: “I Put My Hand In,” “Hello, Dolly!” & “So Long, Dearie” (Hello, Dolly!).

Richard Skipper and Carol Channing
Journey’s End
The Voysey Inheritance
Evan Pappas
your host

Dave’s Gone By #199 (12/10/2006): VITAE SIGNS

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Here is the 199th episode of the long-running radio show/podcast, Dave’s Gone By, which aired on NY’s WGBB-AM radio, Dec. 10, 2006. Info: davesgoneby.com.

host: Dave Lefkowitz
guest co-host: Jeff Goodman
guests: VP of the Woodmere Gay/Lesbian Front..and Rear, Peter Fitzgerald and resume experts Mark & Jeanne Simon

Featuring: WGLFAR’s Peter Fitzgerald chats with resume experts Mark & Jeanne Simon. Plus: banter with guest co-host Jeff Goodman and the satirical News Gone By.

00:00:01  PreShow: Come On Down!
00:09:00  DAVE GOES IN: w/ Jeff Goodman
00:19:00  NEWS GONE BY
00:46:00  GUEST: Peter Fitzgerald chats w/ Mark & Jeanne Simon
01:05:00  DAVE GOES OUT w/ Jeff Goodman

December 10, 2006 Playlist: “Love” (John Lennon).

Jeff Goodman
your host