Compulsion

there was nothing truly different that occurred Tue - Th. John and I continued on our course of getting to know each other again. On Friday, John had a gig "on the rez". He was playing with a cover band at an Indian Casino up near Sacramento. I passed on the opportunity to listen to Top 40 in a smokey environment with a bunch of gamblers, as appealing as that sounded. Instead, I decided to take advantage of going to see a play at Berkeley Rep, which I had been hearing about, "Compulsion" starring Mandy Patankin.

The play, compulsion, was about the writer who brought The Diary of Anne Frank to the publisher, and his obsession with getting the play written and shown on Broadway. Sadly, this compulsion nearly caused his wife to kill herself, and nearly caused him to collapse mentally. The play is told through voice over with images cast onto the wall and with marionettes. It was powerfully played by the small cast and crew on a tiny, intimate set.

It was interesting to go by myself, especially since this was a conscious decision, rather than by default. I enjoyed that I had that choice- wait for John and go with him or go now, alone.