Post by TheWallsScreamedPoetry on Jan 23, 2011 13:14:47 GMT
Morrison Passion Play by Jim Cherry from Chicago.
‘The Lizard King’: Jim's last 36 hours.... by Jay Jeffrey Jones
Jim Morrison who treated his life like living theatre, his life has become theatre, maybe a twist of Morrison's own observation of "did you have a good life? Enough to base a movie on?" The Lizard King by Jay Jeffery Jones examines what the last hours of Jim Morrison's life may have been like, not what factually happened but what could have happened based on the character and personality of Jim Morrison. It takes much the same premise of "there is something about me that explains everything" which is a quote I lifted from a Robert Mitchum movie for a story covering much the same subject. There seems almost a whole genre of literature, of writers exploring their work through the experience of other writers, maybe it's a way for us to come to terms with the parts of ourselves the other artist represents, a good question for the basis of a play.
Playing Jim Morrison is a bearded Stephen Nichols, who played Patch on the soap opera "Days of Our Lives". He plays as Morrison, looking like a death mask Morrison but probably that's what it should be considering what happened. Nichol's hits Morrison’s character almost dead-on. Val Kilmer might look like more Morrison, but Nichols took more chances with the character occasionally seeming effete, but mostly the experience is probably what it would be like to be in the same room with Morrison, as he revisits his childhood recounting his father The Admiral, watching Lawrence Welk in his briefs, and reflecting on his life. In flashbacks we also see Morrison's relationship with Tom Baker from first meeting to the trial for air piracy. Nichols fits our conception of Morrison and that's the appeal as long as the portrayal fits our pre-conceived notions.
Pam as played by Kristina Starman is a more visceral Pam than in The Doors movie, a Pam that seems more alive, and a Pam, Morrison himself described himself as "being the canary that caught the cat", and Starman's Pam gives to Jim Morrison as well as she gets from him. This Pam is imminently more integral to the plot, sharing almost equal stage time with Nichol's Jim Morrison, as they fight, love, receive visitors and remember, we also see her in flashbacks with Tom Baker, and her character is more fleshed out when a girlfriend/sycophant/artist show up in Paris. Although, either weirdly or eerily her voice sometimes has the same timbre or intonation as Meg Ryan's.
In the second and third act we introduced to a couple of characters that are amalgam characters, not based on real people per se, but on combining aspects of several different people in Morrison's and Pam's lives. These are Max, The Doors 'manager' who is in Paris to talk Jim into coming back to L.A. before Jim is forgotten by the audience, but of course his efforts are met head-on by Pam to keep Jim in Paris. The second character I've seen described as Warhol acolyte Edie Sedgwick, but really seems like it could be any number of groupies, hangers-on, or fringe character that Morrison's orbit seemed to pull in. Miami, as she is named is a 'girlfriend' of Pam's who is an artist with a past, and charges Max five thousand dollars for her work, a sheet with her blood on it.
Jay Jones' writing is largely responsible for putting Morrison in the room, he has a good understanding of the character and voice. The musings, observations and poems he puts in Morrison's mouth seem like thoughts Jim Morrison would have, "I hope the killer didn't awake before dawn for something as mundane as Navy brat angst" capture the mood of Morrison trying to come to terms with his life. And the dialogue isn't stilted and doesn't resort to the device of using Doors lyrics as dialogue. It is evident from the grasp of character that Jones not only understands his characters, but he also did his research most notably the flashbacks to Morrison's friendship with Tom Baker are based on Mr. Jones' conversations with Tom Baker in 1981 shortly before his death, and surely accurately reflect Baker's memories and opinions.
Mr. Jones also has a knack for creating poems, while not Morrison's (hard to get the copyrights) the poems nicely mimic Morrison's style. JC.
Jim Cherry is the author of Becoming Angel and Stranger Souls
‘The Lizard King’: Jim's last 36 hours.... by Jay Jeffrey Jones
Jim Morrison who treated his life like living theatre, his life has become theatre, maybe a twist of Morrison's own observation of "did you have a good life? Enough to base a movie on?" The Lizard King by Jay Jeffery Jones examines what the last hours of Jim Morrison's life may have been like, not what factually happened but what could have happened based on the character and personality of Jim Morrison. It takes much the same premise of "there is something about me that explains everything" which is a quote I lifted from a Robert Mitchum movie for a story covering much the same subject. There seems almost a whole genre of literature, of writers exploring their work through the experience of other writers, maybe it's a way for us to come to terms with the parts of ourselves the other artist represents, a good question for the basis of a play.
Playing Jim Morrison is a bearded Stephen Nichols, who played Patch on the soap opera "Days of Our Lives". He plays as Morrison, looking like a death mask Morrison but probably that's what it should be considering what happened. Nichol's hits Morrison’s character almost dead-on. Val Kilmer might look like more Morrison, but Nichols took more chances with the character occasionally seeming effete, but mostly the experience is probably what it would be like to be in the same room with Morrison, as he revisits his childhood recounting his father The Admiral, watching Lawrence Welk in his briefs, and reflecting on his life. In flashbacks we also see Morrison's relationship with Tom Baker from first meeting to the trial for air piracy. Nichols fits our conception of Morrison and that's the appeal as long as the portrayal fits our pre-conceived notions.
Pam as played by Kristina Starman is a more visceral Pam than in The Doors movie, a Pam that seems more alive, and a Pam, Morrison himself described himself as "being the canary that caught the cat", and Starman's Pam gives to Jim Morrison as well as she gets from him. This Pam is imminently more integral to the plot, sharing almost equal stage time with Nichol's Jim Morrison, as they fight, love, receive visitors and remember, we also see her in flashbacks with Tom Baker, and her character is more fleshed out when a girlfriend/sycophant/artist show up in Paris. Although, either weirdly or eerily her voice sometimes has the same timbre or intonation as Meg Ryan's.
In the second and third act we introduced to a couple of characters that are amalgam characters, not based on real people per se, but on combining aspects of several different people in Morrison's and Pam's lives. These are Max, The Doors 'manager' who is in Paris to talk Jim into coming back to L.A. before Jim is forgotten by the audience, but of course his efforts are met head-on by Pam to keep Jim in Paris. The second character I've seen described as Warhol acolyte Edie Sedgwick, but really seems like it could be any number of groupies, hangers-on, or fringe character that Morrison's orbit seemed to pull in. Miami, as she is named is a 'girlfriend' of Pam's who is an artist with a past, and charges Max five thousand dollars for her work, a sheet with her blood on it.
Jay Jones' writing is largely responsible for putting Morrison in the room, he has a good understanding of the character and voice. The musings, observations and poems he puts in Morrison's mouth seem like thoughts Jim Morrison would have, "I hope the killer didn't awake before dawn for something as mundane as Navy brat angst" capture the mood of Morrison trying to come to terms with his life. And the dialogue isn't stilted and doesn't resort to the device of using Doors lyrics as dialogue. It is evident from the grasp of character that Jones not only understands his characters, but he also did his research most notably the flashbacks to Morrison's friendship with Tom Baker are based on Mr. Jones' conversations with Tom Baker in 1981 shortly before his death, and surely accurately reflect Baker's memories and opinions.
Mr. Jones also has a knack for creating poems, while not Morrison's (hard to get the copyrights) the poems nicely mimic Morrison's style. JC.
Jim Cherry is the author of Becoming Angel and Stranger Souls
