Thanks, Midnight.  It's been a great day (except for the weather - it's way too cold for Florida.)

Brian

Okay, here's the scoop on the newly-packaged set--that's what it is: newly-packaged.  The back cover is nearly identical to the previous release, including the same descriptive text, picture and catch-phrase "Be seduced by the darkness."  The AR is listed as 1:78.1, the running time as 592 minutes, in Dolby surround, etc.  It's a 3-disc set (front cover description) just as the previous release was.  Frankly, I'm not even going to open the package, but will send it back to Amazon and get my $32.00 back.

But at least we now know. . .

Brian

I learned about Conard Fowkes's passing Tuesday morning from my supervisor, who learned the sad news late Monday evening.  Connie (his nickname for those of us who knew him) visited the Orlando Equity office in 1997 to set up the VITA tax program for Central Florida actors; I enjoyed conversations with him the last time I had business in our New York office.  He was a very nice man, though his very candid comments could often leave one feeling quite small--but I have to say, he was always right! And he could be very humorous and had a great laugh.  As Carol says in the article, he will be missed--by all of us.

There is more about Connie on the Equity website:  http://www.actorsequity.org/NewsMedia/news2009/dec16.conardfowkes.asp

Brian

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MIDNIGHT!! 

I haven't checked out the youtube vid but--I was there!! in 1971 and remember seeing the last show...the whole last week, in fact.  Of course, I've seen them all again several times on Home Video during the past 20 years or so. 

Brian

So are these edited-down versions of the stories to capture the essentials of the story, or are they just 6 - 9 episodes from those storylines?  (Seems like an awful lot of work for little gain to edit the many, many shows from these stories into a 3-hour mini-movie-type story.

Fred Olen Ray, in my opinion--which is based on seeing quite a number of films he produced/directed over the past 29 years--is the Roger Corman of --well, of the last 29 years.  Fred Olen Ray makes Dan Curtis look like Robert Wise...

Brian

Considering the somewhat recent vampire musical based on the Lestat mythology (and wasn't there a Dracula musical within the last decade?  -- I don't recall), a DS Broadway musical comedy would die a FAST death.  Only a DS musical stage show that enhances the drama and romance (ala Phantom of the  Opera and Jekyll and Hyde will have any success...and only if written by Broadway pros (of which I am not one, even though I once thought I knew how to approach this concept....LOL.)

Brian