I bought a VHS copy online that I'll watch whenever I watch everything else I bought.

It has a cartoonish quality to it, kinda like PEE WEE'S BIG ADVENTURE, with lots of bright colors and small, cheap sets like you'd see in an 80's music video, and it feels like a really long SESAME STREET skit with Edward James Olmos as Oscar The Grouch. I've never seen him in a comedic role before this.

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After those comments about The Wonderful Ice Cream Suit, I have put your postings on 'ignore'.

Yup. Or, as Josey Wales would say, "I reckon so."

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"I don't know anything."

Saw the original Organic Theater production of The Wonderful Ice Cream Suit in Chicago, in the mid 1970's. Stuart Gordon directed then, and he directed the Roy Disney version later. Joe Mantegna performed as Gomez in the film as he had done on stage. There was, in between, a stage version performed as a musical, in Pasadena, California. THAT was very exciting, and drew a large audience.

I enjoyed the film version. Saw it in an actual movie theater in Chicago. Ray attended opening night. That night, it snowed quite a bit and Ray walked in from Michigan Avenue all covered with a dusting of snow. That wonderful ice cream suit was on screen that night, and I'd venture to say everyone enjoyed it. I rented the video years later, and I enjoyed it again. So it's sad, sad, very sad to a point of near tears, no, in fact, tears indeed [ and pull out a kleenix or two ] to see someone like grasstains not enjoy it and relate it to something she was impressed by on some cheapie TV kid's program.

Oh well, you know, that's show biz...


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This message has been edited. Last edited by: Nard Kordell,

Hey!!! I never wrote that I didn't like it. In fact, "I liked it" was exactly what I wrote. Read my post again. I never edited anything out. I thought it was a little cheezy, but I like cheese, I love cheeze, I can't get enough cheese. Mmmm... cheese.

Also, on another thread I listed PEE WEE'S BIG ADVENTURE as one of my all-time faves and I compare the cartoonish quality and bright colors of THE WONDERFUL ICE CREAM SUIT to that in Tim Burton's film. No, Nard, I never wrote that I didn't like it. Now, dry your eyes and I'll let you watch SESAME STREET.

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ALSO IN THE CHICAGO PLAY WERE DENNIS FRANZ AND BRUCE "MESHACH" TAYLOR.

LATER
PATRICK

I wasn't even aware it was available on VHS! It's a wonderful short story. I'll have to check it out. Thanx!

Well, here's what the local critic had to say about my version of the play:

Albuquerque Journal, September 2nd, 2006

'Ice Cream Suit' Serves Up Sweet Parable

by Barry Gaines

For the Journal

It has been a long time since I have come away from the theater thinking that a play was “sweet,” yet the Teatro Nuevo México production of “The Wonderful Ice Cream Suit” at the National Hispanic Cultural Center is just that. Written initially as a short story in 1957 by science fiction writer Ray Bradbury, the play has the innocence of a children's story. It was offered for only four performances.

In the barrio of East Los Angeles , Gómez, a man whose ideas and plans have somehow never come to fruition, sees a white suit in a store window. The suit gleams with possibility but costs $60. Gómez has only $10. Painstakingly he searches for other men with his build to join a sartorial consortium to buy and share the suit. As the play begins, Gómez has found Manulo, a would-be singer and guitarist; Dominguez, potentially a suave dancing man; and Villanazul, a reader who hopes to speak compellingly. Gómez next convinces Martinez , pining for a lovely lady he sees in the window of her second-floor tenement, to add his money. In desperation, Gómez includes Vamanos who is, to put it gently, a slob in his dress and personal habits.

The six men purchase the suit, and each has a half an hour to wear it that evening. The magic suit seems to bring out the best in each wearer. More importantly, the six individuals become bound to each other in friendship, and each is stronger because he is no longer alone.

As directed by Michael D. Blum, “Ice Cream Suit” is family entertainment. Except for a single “one-finger salute,” there is nothing offensive or coarse. The men do, on occasion, take off their pants, but that is only to put on the magic suit. Jaime Pardo, Ed Chavez, James R. Chávez, Ron Mier, J. Santiago Candelaria, and Joseph A. Wasson, Jr., play the six vatos with gusto and charm. Their timing could be tightened, but their roles suit them well. Candelaria also serves as choreographer, and dancers Jacqueline Wilson, April Weber, Schlrae Padilla, Beatriz Villegas, and Christopher J. Pettitt add to the evening's wholesomeness.

Some of Director Blum's choices work better than others. The suit constantly shines like the Holy Grail, but the time it takes to put on the suit is covered by back projections that last too long. The battle-to-save-the-suit, however, is performed in slow motion and is hilarious. The play is an endearing parable about dreams, self-discovery, and friendship.

That sounds like a good review to me, Michael. Congratulations! And now I'm in the mood to watch the video again this weekend!

i enhorabuena!

quote:

Originally posted by Michael D. Blum:
...but the time it takes to put on the suit is covered by back projections that last too long.

Ah, Michael, does this mean you really only had one suit? Or had your costumier not thought of using velcro for quick changes?!

Nope, SEVEN different suits, all Velcro'ed to beat the band. But try to get an actor to put his pants on in the dark....

Michael, great review. I, too, would love to see your play if there was any chance to have it produced here in South Florida. My wife and I were very happy to attend Joe Adler's F451 at the Gable Stage in the Biltmore Hotel in Coral Gables. Saw it twice and enjoyed it immensely.

Will you ever be coming to South Florida?

Sometime I really WILL have to have an all night Bradbury-a-thon and read all these books and watch all these films I've acquired but not got to!