And the Oscar Goes to….

February 15, 2020

Michael, Mandy Patinkin and Marta



Kathy and Erin

Marta



And the Oscar Goes to….

Kathy always tells me that I can’t say no to anyone when they ask me something and I must admit there is some truth to that statement. It is my natural inclination to want to help people out and so I always want to assist in any way that I can. So when I was asked recently to join the Board of Directors of the Tropic Cinema, I once again agreed with a little trepidation but also a lot of excitement.



Andy and Jamie

Christa

Carla

I knew that the Tropic had been experiencing some troubles finding its footing recently, but thought I could possibly bring some new thoughts and insight to the organization which I truly love. It got off to a rough start as the director of the theater, who is a close friend resigned over some artistic differences with the board at my first official board meeting. That hurt me personally a little, but I resolved to stick it out and work to make this transitional period as smooth as possible and to be a part of what I hope will be an exciting new period for what is truly one of the cultural jewels of the Key West community.



Gwen



Randy and Elissa

To start that process off, Kathy and I attended our first official event at the Tropic since I joined the board, the annual Oscar Gala held at the theater to watch the Academy Award show. There was a good vibe and a great crowd on hand for the party and I already feel pretty good about the future of the Tropic. I know there are a bunch of dedicated people ready to do what they can to make sure that the future is bright. We can’t do it alone so I would urge all my friends who enjoy great cinema to support the Tropic, either by making a financial donation, or by coming out and seeing some of the best cinema ever at the theater.





Meg with young fans



We were back at the Tropic the next evening for the weekly Friends of the Library lecture series where our friend Meg Cabot was the featured speaker. A packed house was on hand to hear Meg's hysterical powerpoint presentation about her latest work. Even though I have seen the talk a few times, i never tire of hearing it as Meg is funny and interesting and just plain enjoyable to be around and listen to.



The biggest event of the week, at least for us personally is the trip this week bringing my mother Marta and my sister Michele to Key West. Months ago when my mother announced that her memoir was going to be released, both of my sisters and myself all agreed to host book release events in our respective homes. The first was to be held in December of last year in Winston-Salem, NC where my mother lives as do my sister Marika and her husband Brian.

Marta and Kathy

At that time Kathy and I began planning to host an event for Marta around the Valentine’s Day holiday as it happened to coincide with a visit to Key West by one of my mother’s favorite performers, Mandy Patinkin. I believe that seeing Mandy in concert certainly was the impetus for Marta to visit in the first place. Unfortunately, before even the first book event took place, my mother suffered some heart issues and while in the hospital recovering from those suffered a serious stroke that prevented her from attending the event in Winston-Salem and put in serious jeopardy any trips to Key West or anywhere else for that matter.


Marta on stage at TWFAC

Mandy



I honestly did not think she would ever be up to traveling again but used the planned trip to Key West as something of a carrot to dangle in front of her to keep her doing all the rehab and recovery that she had to undertake. Last week we got confirmation from her doctors that she had done all the work and was well enough to travel, so long as she was escorted by someone. So I flew up to North Carolina and picked her up and brought her to Key West.

Marta and Mandy



It was a pretty good trip and my sister Michele joined us in Atlanta from her home in Indianapolis and we all came down in time to attend the Mandy Patinkin concert at the Tennessee Williams Theater. Marta and Michele had front row seats, while Kathy and I sat in our standard seats a row behind, we always get season tickets for the theater. Afterwards my friends at TWFAC had graciously arranged that Marta and I could sneak backstage and meet Mandy, a kind gesture that I cannot thank them enough for arranging the opportunity which Marta loved.
 
Mandy with Stanley and Judy Zabar

Mandy could not have been kinder and spent a good deal of time chatting with her and posing for photos, it was a pretty magical way to start off Marta’s Key West adventure and seeing her that happy made all the trouble of a somewhat difficult journey worthwhile. I took mother back to TWFAC on Monday evening, this time to see the traveling Broadway production of Jersey Boys which was terrific. At the same time Kathy and Michele were across town at the Key West Theater attending a concert by iconic singer Judy Collins.

Judy Collins









https://www.tropiccinema.com/