| LIVE at Gunther's Tap Room Sunday, September 28, 2008. |
KEROUAC SUNDAY IN NORTHPORT FEATURES PLAY & POETRY
Sunday, September 28, 2008, Gunther's Tap Room in Northport, New York hosted a daylong tribute to former Northport resident and
author Jack Kerouac on the upcoming 39th anniversary of his death.
The celebration and tribute began at 3:00 PM with the return
performance of an original one-act play, "Jack's Last Call: Say Goodbye
to Kerouac", written by Massapequa playwright Patrick Fenton and
directed by Ed Dennehy.
"I am delighted that 'Jack's Last Call' was so well received last fall
at Gunther's that it is making a return engagement this September,"
said director Dennehy.
At 9 PM, local poet BG Cassidy once again presented "The
Kerouac Connection." Since 1996 Ms. Cassidy has been host to this
entertaining evening of poetry reading and music at the legendary
Northport bar where Jack used to hang out.
Admission to all of the day's performance events at Gunther's Tap Room, 84 Main Street, Northport, Long Island were free.
"Jack's Last Call: Say Goodbye to Kerouac" is a one-act play featuring
Long Island actors Drew Keil as Jack Kerouac; Jack O'Connell as Leo
Kerouac; Sonya Tannenbaum as Memere Kerouac; Derek McLaughlin as Neal
Cassady; Suzanne Guacci as Jan Kerouac; and Steve Ryan as the Newsday
reporter who narrates the story.
Theatrical sound design by Sue Media Productions with additional mixing and on-site audio
engineering by Marc Weiner.
It's the end of summer in 1964. A major cultural shift is starting to
happen in the US, and on his last night in Northport, the America Jack
Kerouac saw through a rear view mirror riding along side his road
partner Neal Cassady is slowly playing again in his mind. Long after a
small going away party that he has thrown for himself is over, Jack
keeps on drinking as he prepares to move to Florida with his mother. He
reflects back on his fame, his youth as a football star in Lowell,
Massachusetts, and the worry that his time has come and gone. As he
sums up parts of his life to the audience in a bittersweet narrative,
he receives a series of soul-searching phone calls from his daughter
Jan.
In addition to being a stage play "Jack's Last Call: Say Goodbye to
Kerouac" was adapted for public radio by SueMedia
Productions and has been featured on more than 40 radio stations since
its April 1, 2008 release.
The play was also presented by the Image Theatre Company in Jack's
hometown, Lowell Massachusetts in summer 2007 and winter 2008, and
moved from "the town to the city" by them for a successful six night
run at Boston's Playwright Theatre in July 2008.
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| Suzanne Guacci as Jan Kerouac |
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Joining The 2008 Cast:
Suzanne Guacci as Jan Kerouac.
Suzanne has spent several years performing in regional theatre and independent films on Long Island, in New York City and in New Jersey. Currently she produces, writes and directs for Aspire Productions, a small independent production company.
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| Steve Ryan as the Narrator |
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| Sonya Tannenbaum as Memere |
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| Derek McLaughlin (Neil, front) and Drew Keil (Jack) |
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| Jack O'Connell (Leo, left) and Drew Keil (Jack) |
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