Well, mama came back from an Andy Warhol show with very new respect for that kooky, quiet, strange shadow-man (who loved kitties, as I mentioned recently) and his myriad works of art. You have to respect a guy who just painted “what I knew best”, as he says in a film. And he ate the same thing, over and over, for years, which was Campbell’s soup and drank Coca Cola and so decided to simply paint them as supermarket icons that everyone would recognize.
He made no excuses for wanting to be famous and consequently, mixed with the rich and famous with glee. Mama tells me the story of when she was young (er) and first heard The Velvet Underground and loved the voice of Nico, and mama and her friend, Nan, learned to laugh like Nico so that they could do it at parties and be hip and cool…oh, the things we do when young, mama says. And there we were, laughing throatily, huh, huh, huh when anyone made a joke or when a laugh was required and we thought we were really something. And everyone said, hey, you two sound just like Nico, haha! So much for that…
Maybe we all feel we are really something when we are young and dumb, or young and immortal, or young and invulnerable, or young and naïve. I certainly thought I was the cat’s myow (no pun intended) when I sauntered into that back yard where mama had put out food. I was so cool that I could take it or leave it and of course, being a cool kitty, I took it and never looked back.
But tonight, mama and papa went to “Jesus Christ Superstar” so it’s sort of old home week around here. And mama tells me that Ted Neely is now 70 and HE WAS THE STAR in the production in Rome!!! And guess what else, mama asked, he was INCREDIBLE! I wish I could have heard his mind-blowing voice, which mama says is a bit like David Bowie, resonant and full of tremolo that fills the room, and one’s heart with admiration.
A funny thing happened though. A young woman in the audience leapt up and hugged Mr Neeley as if he were the real Jesus, and that was a bit strange, mama said.
Well, you never know how that particular musical will affect you. Maybe when that young lady got home, she realized that Jesus lived a long, long time ago. Maybe she was just acknowledging his amazing voice…
Sort of like mine, when I’m hungry.
Or maybe she just wanted to hug Mr. Neeley!
