Merry Christmas from Donny Hollenbeck

This is a repeat of my post from last year, but I'm really busy working on the script for the movie of Small Town Boys and you know what it's like working on a deadline, not to mention this new project we've got going at McKay-Gemini. I told Mustang Bobby to just put up the same thing and maybe I'll be able to have something more to say at New Years. - DH

Mustang Bobby asked me to say a few words, and since he's the author and I'm just the character, I don't have a choice, do I?

So, I just want to say thanks to all of you who've been following my life story -- such as it is -- this year. It's kind of interesting to look back to all those years ago and remember what was going on back in L.A., and I hope you're enjoying it. It brings back a lot of memories.

I know MB's been a little slow in putting up the chapters. That's my fault, actually; you just don't spill your guts all at once, and so I've been stringing him along a little. Don't worry; I'll let him pick up the pace after New Year's.

Anyway, Merry Christmas from me, Danny, Eric, Greg, and the rest of the gang at Small Town Boys. Thanks for looking in on us, and keep in touch, okay?

Dramatic News

I can now cross one more thing off my Life Goals list.

The Manhattan Repertory Theatre of New York has selected my play, Can't Live Without You, for its Winterfest 2008 series. It will open on Wednesday, January 23 with additional performances on Friday, January 25 and Saturday, January 26. Tickets are $20 (with a complimentary beverage) and are available through their website or by calling 646-329-6588.

What this means is that I will be a New York-produced playwright.

A lot of the credit goes to Rachel Charlop-Powers who read the play at the William Inge Theatre Festival last April and fell in love with it. She's been the driving force behind this production, and I will be eternally grateful to her.

Oh, yes, I'm going to see it, and if you're in the New York area, please come and see it.

As a little background, this play merges two characters from my works -- Donny Hollenbeck of Small Town Boys and Bobby Cramer of Bobby Cramer -- into one story. I started working on Can't Live Without You in the winter of 2001 when I was having a writer's block on Bobby Cramer and hadn't yet resumed work on Small Town Boys. So the Donny who is in the play isn't the "same" Donny in novel; he's a writer living with his girlfriend in the Florida Keys. But in a lot of ways, they are similar; they're both going through life almost oblivious to things around them until something startles them to the point of waking up and seeing their life from the third person.

Can't Live Without You is a romantic comedy in two acts and I had a lot of fun writing it. I've been trying to get theatres and producers to read it and even workshop it since I wrote it, but this opportunity at the Manhattan Rep came out of Rachel's efforts and I am very happy -- and fortunate -- to have a friend like her with such enthusiasm and love for the story.

Anyway, if you're in the NYC area, I hope you'll come see it, and I hope that you like it.