This is the first opportunity I've had to check in since returning from the Fest. It was delightful to be able to see Teresa, Philippe, jimbo, evan_hanley, Julia99 and others again, though I'm very sorry to learn that I missed meeting Lydia!
Philippe, thank you for sharing your report of your time in Tarrytown. I didn't realize this was your first time seeing Lyndhurst. It sounds like you made the most of your weekend by checking out the local sites of interest. Your description of your dream-induced deja vu reminds me of the plot of Michael Balcon's Dead of Night! What an eerie experience that must have been!
I no longer have the stamina to write full-length recaps, but I will hit a couple of the high points. It was a thrill to see Back From the Dead to Haunt Me played on the big Festival screen. This was my third time getting to see the film, and I notice new nuances to the performances every time. I know how much work everybody put into this project, and I was gratified by the audience's positive reaction to it (and especially to the twist ending). The film was shot on location at Seaview Terrace with the participation of the owner, Denise Carey, and so it includes a number of inside jokes geared toward people who have been to Seaview. However, I was glad to see that a general audience was able to relate to the movie and appreciate its humor too.
I only attended three of the star panels, Sharon Smyth's, Marie Wallace's, and Jerry Lacy's. Sharon was a delightful speaker, very down-to-earth and friendly. She recognized several people in the audience as her Facebook friends and greeted them by name. She was also the first person to address the "controversy" of the movie, even polling the audience as to who did and did not like it (the split was about 50-50). Sharon herself seemed to lean toward the latter camp, admitting that she thought certain scenes in the movie didn't need to be there and extolling Jonathan Frid as the one and only Barnabas. However, she expressed her dismay over the polarization of the fandom in the wake of the film, and did not try to fan the flames between the camps.
Sharon also shared a funny anecdote about working with David Hennesy, remarking that she naively trusted him because of his experience on the show, and sometimes allowed him to get her into trouble. For instance, he once persuaded her to get inside Barnabas's coffin, then sat on the lid, trapping her inside and causing her to miss her cue! She explained that she didn't have many friends her own age because of her odd work schedule (commuting to NY during the week and returning to Philadelphia over the weekend) and didn't mingle with the much older adult cast members, so it was a real thrill to work opposite someone her own age. She also freely confessed that her acting career came to an end because she became cocky and uncooperative as she entered her teens. Finally, when her exasperated mother confronted her about whether she wanted to continue acting or not, Sharon declared she wanted to quit. However, she didn't seem to think the move was a great loss to the acting world, and joked that she got the role of Sarah more because of a superficial resemblance to Jonathan Frid than because of her talent.
Marie Wallace was very gracious, thanking the loyal fans from around the country who have turned out to see her recent stage performances in the NY area. She shared her memories of performing in "Gypsy," especially of participating in the legendary "Christmas Tree number," which has never been replicated since the original run due to prohibitive costs. She also described an art show that the cast put together, as many of the actresses had taken up painting as a hobby during the show's run. Ethel Merman purchased two of Marie's paintings to gift to relatives.
Jerry Lacy spoke about working with Woody Allen on Play It Again, Sam, saying that Allen's even more neurotic than the characters he plays. He also revealed that the Trask-bricking scenes were accomplished using a three-sided wall. I asked about his work on Dr. Mabuse. Citing the original film and emphasizing that this movie is a new incarnation, Lacy described his role as that of an evil hypnotist who wants to enslave the world and rule over the ashes. The movie will likely not be ready for release until December at the earliest. Evidently, the director is some kind of prodigy, a man in his early 20s with some 20 films already under his belt.
I missed Lara and Kathryn's panels (and the Mabuse teaser) because I took that time to walk through Lyndhurst and its greenhouse/rose garden. Unfortunately, I made a wrong turn on my way back and ended up trudging through the woods on the River Walk path (aptly named because the walkway turns into a river during a heavy downpour) just as the rain started to come down in earnest. After carefully retracing my steps along the slippery road back to the Fest tent, I was completely soaked and more interested in getting back to the hotel to dry off and change clothes than in sticking around to watch videos or hear the Frid tribute. I would love to hear details of what Don Frid had to say about his Uncle Jonathan from anyone who did attend this event.
Considering the small scale of the Fest event, it was a much fuller and more satisfying day than I had anticipated, but it still flew by much too fast. I can't believe that the biggest event of my summer boiled down to only a few hours in a day. Whether next year's event is on land or sea, I certainly hope for a return to the 2.5 day format so that I can at least have more time to visit with my friends, in addition to checking out more elaborate programming.
ProfStokes
