Sunday, October 17, 2010

Goodbye to History

Long before I thought I would ever be on Broadway or win a Tony for a show I wrote and performed, I was doing Comedy Clubs. Amigo the Snake was the opening character for those shows.
As part of his routine I would stick his tail with a pin to prove the lack of nerve ending in his skin.(it's funny when you see it). For that bit of business I used a real hat pin, borrowed from my Mom's sewing kit. I used the same pin when Amigo was called out of retirement for "The Two and Only".
That pin was with me for every performance of the show from workshop to off Broadway and on... Until tonight.
Tonight Amigo and I were performing the same routine with that pin. As I exited the stage the pin fell to the stage and rolled into the crack outlining the trap door lift, dropped through and it was gone.
The stage hands helped me look for it for about an hour in the bowels of the pit. It was literally like looking for a needle in the abyss.
It could be any where among the magic props and set pieces under the Princess Theater stage but was not to be found.
I had a stand by pin that has been waiting its turn for at least twenty years that performed admirably for the second show. But it wasn't the same.
I have written about my superstitious nature regarding talismans so you know that it was more of an event than should have been.
That pin will forever be a part of the Coral Princess as a testimonial to my time here. Some one may find it one day and cast it aside as nothing. They will never know nor care that it is a rare and authentic Broadway prop.
Goodbye to the history of that object which is important only in my life story.
Have I over thought this event?
As you were,
Jay
www.monkeyjoke.com

3 comments:

P. Grecian said...

I understand. I have a pair of cufflinks like that.

Superstition is useful. I have spent decades not quoting from The Scottish Play.
It has kept me from death and destruction.

Bob Conrad said...

I get the point.

Linda said...

huh.... for whatever reason, I always wondered how many times you've stuck yourself with that pin... and we never knew...