I am delighted to see the subject of "1776" the film on these boards. I had planned to bring it up myself many times. It is a significant work with connections to our show.
      First, you can spot Daniel Keyes after repeated viewings, although he probably has the least lines of our DS alumni. He plays Josiah Bartlett, New Hampshire delegate. He gets a few close-ups. Near the beginning of the film he is the delegate speaking just before the fire alarm scene. Another moment he speaks is when they are debating the Declaration, requesting an amendment. Both Keyes and David Ford (John Hancock, Massachusetts) look much more youthful than on their DS appearances, due to very different make-ups and with Ford sporting a full auburn wig and clean shaven face. His voice is unmistakable, and he gets a few lines in the song, "Cool, Cool Considerate Men."
       Likewise, Virginia Vestoff is much softer, playing the strong but lovesick Abigail Adams. She has a great singing voice. The original cast recording is available on CD still, and the booklet includes a nice rare photo of her. Her part is the largest of the DS actors, and she's so good, anchoring every scene she is in with sincere marital love and the struggle with the lengthy separations from  her husband John, that it's heartbreaking to remember the loss of her life and talent at such a young age.  The commentary track by the director and screenwriter remark highly on her contribution but be aware, neither ever mentions Dark Shadows and may for all I know be oblivious to any connections.
       Emory Bass's part (Judge Wilson, PA) may be described and small but pivotal. He looks the most like he did on his DS appearances. Like David Ford, he's around most of the film, but doesn't get to shine until the climax. All four of our DS performers carried their parts over from the Broadway production, of which I believe on Virginia was working almost full time on DS during the run, although Bass also at  least appeared once while doing the play.
        Their are some other tangential connections to DS as well: Ken Howard (Jefferson) was romantically involved with Donna McKechnie for some time (see her autobiography for details), William Daniels (John Adams) appeared on the "Night Stalker" TV series as a guest, and William Hansen (Cesar Rodney, DE) appeared in Dan Curtis's "Frankenstein" as Prof Waldman and in "Save the Tiger" with Lara and Thayer. There are probably numerous theatre productions and possible soap connections as well. Like DS, "1776" the movie is more theatre than film, and is cast almost entirely with stage actors rather than primarily film actors.
        I think in any manner, the film stands on its own. All the performances are great, most especially William Daniels, Howard Da Silva as Benjamin Franklin and Broadway legend John Collum as SC delegate Edward Rutledge. The songs get into your blood with repeated listenings, and the script is generally true historically and resplendent with wit and all this manages to move along quite well for its almost 3 hours length, which really may be the only thing preventing it from being a part of a regular DS weekend event. I do wish the CD has included a making of featurette rather than only a limited participation commentary track, but the quality is very good, including many previously deleted scenes.  Since I bought this both for its DS connections, and the fact I always simply enjoyed it from old tv viewings, I must say Diane has fallen in love with it and it's now one of her favorite movies, as I say to her, the title '1776' now refers to the number of times she has watched it.
   
Tarrytown or die!


Michael 

Diane and I are pretty psyched about going, because as I posted earlier, we didn't have a California trip in our plans this year.
      I haven't been on the boards much for the past few months as I can no longer access them at work, where I have always done most of my posting. I don't blame my job, instead I feel lucky that I was able to access it there for as long as I did. This year I'm also very busy as well as Master of my Masonic Lodge. Check out our website at  http://www.joppa40.org/  You will get to see a funny photo of me in a tri-corner hat, which I wore in January to start my year of programs on Virginia's 400th anniversary.
      Anyway, this will be my 10th DS Festival, (Diane's 9th, and our 8th festival togther  ) and I've enjoyed every one. And this year, as we know will be very special. Looking very forward to meeting our old friends and meeting new cousins.
        Michael

I just want to acknowledge that it was really our beloved Nancy who broke this news in the "Jonathan Frid and Crypts" topic, which I hadn't read until after I posted the Shadowgram in full. Nonethless, it was great thrll when I woke up today and Diane said, "You gotta read this, honey." 
Again, looking very forward to seeing everyone on this special weekend.
Michael

                                     

ShadowGram Online Dark Shadows News Updates List
Marcy Robin's Cyberspace "Dark Shadows" News Update List
An Internet Publication of SHADOWGRAM
< ShadowGram@aol.com >

Number 168. April 21, 2007.

*********************************************
Hello, Dark Shadows Fan,

ShadowGram (SG), The Official Newsletter & News Source for Dark Shadows (DS), announces the following breaking news.


*** JONATHAN FRID GUESTS AT THE 2007 DS FESTIVAL CONVENTION

THE DARK SHADOWS FESTIVAL presents a special convention on August 17-18, 2007, at the Westchester Marriott Hotel in Tarrytown, NY, celebrating Jonathan Frid's 40th Anniversary of his first appearance as Barnabas Collins.

Jonathan Frid will appear in person at the event, presenting a dramatic program on stage as well as hosting a selection of his favorite moments from DS and a question-and-answer session with the audience.

Jonathan also will attend a Saturday night, August 18, banquet at the hotel, at which he will personalize a unique, commemorative autographed photograph of Barnabas for each banquet attendee.

The celebration marks Jonathan Frid's first appearance at a Dark Shadows event in over a decade!

The Festival also will host a Friday, August 17, day trip to the nearby Lyndhurst Estate, site of Collinwood from the 1970 and 1971 MGM motion pictures "House Of Dark Shadows" and "Night Of Dark Shadows."

Friday evening at the hotel will welcome several other DS stars in person.

Full and ongoing details will be announced shortly on this SG Online Updates List and in the upcoming SG #110 and subsequent SG print issues. (Subscription information for the published SG Newsletters is later in this Update.)

A U.S. postal mailing will be sent soon to all fans who send a self-addressed stamped envelope (SASE) to: Dark Shadows, P.O. Box 92, Maplewood, NJ 07040. Information also will be posted soon at www.darkshadowsfestival.com. Fans also are invited to visit Jonathan's official website now at www.jonathanfrid.com

Please do not send any payments to the Festival until the schedule and prices are announced by SG and the Fest.

It is highly recommended that all fans who plan to intend this convention make hotel room reservations immediately, by calling the direct Westchester Marriott Hotel Reservations Line at 1-800-882-1042. Be certain to mention "Dark Shadows" to receive the special discounted sleeping room rate of only $129.00 (+ tax) per night. This rate is only available for three nights starting Thursday, August 15 and ending Sunday, August 18.

The Westchester Marriott Hotel is at 670 White Plains Rd., Tarrytown, NY 10591. 914-631-2200. It is approximately 25 miles (45 minutes) north of Manhattan on the eastern shore of the Hudson River at the Tappan-Zee Bridge. The hotel is accessible by air, train, and driving. Closest major airports: JFK, LaGuardia, and Newark. Main highways: US-87, US-95, US 287, Route 9, and Route 119.


*** All fans attending the Fest event are invited and encouraged to share their photos and reports with SG. Your sharing helps each SG published issue be as complete as possible. Please send all materials to SG's e- or postal- mail addresses below. A Contributor's Copy issue is given in thanks for major input.

*** Subscription information for the SG print issues follows.
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You can pay online for your subscription/renewal using PayPal and ShadowGram@aol.com


Thank you.

Marcy Robin
ShadowGram Editor / Publisher
Marcy Robin, P.O. Box 1766, Temple City, CA 91780-7766
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*****************************************************************

SHADOWGRAM (SG) is the * Official * "Dark Shadows" Newsletter. Much of its news is provided by the show's personnel and those involved in the 1966-71 TV series, 1991 TV series, and 2004 WB pilot. Established in 1979, SG works directly with individuals, companies, and others involved in DS' creation, distribution, promotion, merchandise, etc.

Regular SG print issues are published throughout the year, with free bonus complimentary breaking-news published updates as needed.

Brief Update bulletins are posted on this ShadowGram Online "Dark Shadows" News Updates List / Marcy Robin's ShadowGram "Dark Shadows" Cyberspace News Updates List. These posts are sent via e-mail between regularly-published issues to quickly notify fans of time-sensitive developments. Each e-mail Update is expanded and detailed in the subscription postal-mail print issues. You also can receive this identical SG Online Update by joining the ShadowGram Group at yahoogroups

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Whenever your e-mail address changes, please notify me immediately. Please include your old and new e-mail addresses. If you do not wish to remain on the Online "ShadowGram / Marcy Robin's Cyberspace Dark Shadows News Update List," please notify me directly via return e-mail. Thank you.

A Dark Shadows Festival  doesn't get any better than this! Awesome! What a great gift from Jonathan to us. Waiting until August is gonna be tough!  

Michael     

For those of you who have been to Tarrytown before--

I'm thinking of going to this year's fest. I want to go, but things haven't been taken care of just yet on my end. So, what I'm wanting to know is:

1. What's Tarrytown like? Is it town-ish, or is it more bustling and busy?
2. Are thing far away from the hotel? Is the hotel in the "city"?
3. Would you recommend driving? (I don't think I could get mum on a plane, and the train from here would be like $300!!!)

Any other help you could provide would be great! Thanks!

Hello everyone here at the DSBoards. I apologize for my long absence and I have missed everyone. Nothing sinister, I will make another post elsewhere soon on some personal notes.

I fully realize the Tarrytown show is not the best venue for many of the fans, perhaps even a majority. However, for Diane and I its is serendipity. We had not planned on going to California this year, and this sudden decision will actually allow us to attend, mainly we being east coasters and can drive up.

To give my input on Brandon's queries, ...
1.) Tarrytown is small town-like, but one of a series of villages up and down the Hudson. Its kind of the edge or suburbia and a mountain/valley spots. The roads can get congested at times because many of them were never designed for much traffic.
2.) As someone previously noted, the hotel is outside the actual town, so not much of anything is accessible by walking, or really safe to walk to. It is pretty adjacent to the state (is it interstate) highway, right off the exit.
3.) Unlike the NYC shows, or the Hollywood show, this spot is best served by driving. Otherwise, as noted, dining is severely restricted.

On dining, Diane and I had good luck with the nearby El Dorado dinner, I never expect NY prices to be Waffle House anyway, anymore than I would expect Elvis's "American Trilogy" to be on the jukebox there either.  Likewise, if you do drive into Tarrytown Sleepy Hallow, I also recommend "The Horseman" Diner, about 10 minutes from the Marriott.

On the Marriott, on the downside, we also had one day where it took about an hour to get some sandwiches at their grill. They seemed totally unprepared for the convention, but breakfast there was okay. on the upside, they have a pretty nice pool which is indoors but had a skylight that opened when the weather accommodates.

Again, if you have a car, you can cross over the Tappan Zee Bridge over to NJ and there is an "Uber-Mall," probably one of the 4-5 biggest in the US. It has a large number of eateries like a Chinese buffet and a Cheescake Factory. They have pretty much one of any mall store you might want, from Sears and Macy's to Brookstones and Best Buy or some such. It takes maybe 15 minutes to get there.

The Washington Irving home just south of Lyndhurst was pretty cool place to drop by. The house itself was pretty unique and you not only get some insight on Irving and what made him a pioneer American writer, but some real perspective on life on the Hudson in the early 19th century.

The Sleepy Hollow Cemetery is well worth a visit. Somewhere in there are the Mausoleums used in the first movie. Maybe one day, someone can tell me specifically which one, lol.  Nonetheless, the first part of the cemetery has the old Dutch section where the real person who inspired "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" characters are resting. We lucked upon a guided tour once, I can't guarantee when or if they still have them. Washington Irving himself is close by the old church too. Some other of the notables interred there include Elizabeth Arden, Andrew Carnegie, Walter Chrysler, Parker Fennely, Samuel Gompers, William Rockefeller and Harry Helmsley.

You can daytrip from Tarrytown up to Poughkepsie, home of the Culinary Institute of America and college. West Point is also less than two hours away and has two types of tours, a short 2-3 hours, and a longer more extensive one as well. We took the shorter one and still had a great time. It has a tenuous connection to DS in that Edgar Allan Poe once attended there and they will debunk the common myth that he was expelled for spending too much time at Benny Havens Tavern. Quite honestly, the whole drive we did up the river and back down again has really stuck with me for the past few years as enjoyable and well worth it.

Again, the last Tarrytown Show did have a different feel from the NY/CA shows, but I think you can make the most of it. Anyway, Diane and I think if these shows, as I've said before, as like "family reunions" of the DS fans. For that reason alone, we'd hate to miss it.

Michael

Thanks for your great summation, TNickey2003. I think you make excellent points.
Michael 

 

Happy Birthday brocman!!!

Seize the day and make it yours!

                    

Michael 

 

All the best for a Happy Birthday!!!

            

Michael