|
[ Home ]
[ About | Reviews | Search | Submit ]
Dick Hardesty and his young partner Jonathan are going on a vacation to New York, where they will visit Dick's former partner Chris and his new partner, Max. Max is stage manager for a performance of a new play at an off-Broadway theatre, and Chris is the set designer. Dick and Jonathan have been invited to the premiere of the play, but they arrive a few days early, so they can do some sightseeing. However, the night before they arrive, the leading man is killed and an understudy has taken over the role. Jonathan and Dick want to stay out of the way, but Tait Duncan, the backer of the Whitman Theatre, asks Dick to look into Rod's death, hoping that no one associated with the theatre is responsible for the murder. Dick and Jonathan sightsee. It's quite a shock to see them going to the World Trade Center to admire the complex, but this book is set a little over 20 years ago. They also see Cats with Betty Buckley and Chorus Line on Broadway, besides meeting all the people involved in the Whitman and sitting in on several of the last rehearsals. The book has a murder in it, so it is technically a mystery. All the clues are there so the reader can solve the case if he is so inclined, but even more so, the book is about relationships. Rod was a slut. He seduced every man he met, conquered them, then threw them over. Gene Morrison, the playwright, wrote the play for Rod, hoping that it would restart Rod's career and take him to New York, from their home in California, permanently. Several long-term monogamous gay relationships are also portrayed. The director of the play and his partner had been together for 45 years, Tait Duncan is in a different sort of relationship, but it too is stable. And Dick and Chris, after having been together for many years, separated and are now in new, stable relationships. Dorien Grey's point of view is different from that of most of us, yet he is showing us that gay or straight, long-term relationships can and do exist. By setting the books in a time when Stonewall was still within memory and life was a bit simpler, he is showing us that things really haven't changed too much, especially obvious after an election in which a war was tacitly approved and gay marriage was not.
Reviewed by Barbara Franchi, November 2004
[ Top ]
QUICK SEARCH:
Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)
[ About | Reviews | Search | Submit ]
[ Home ]
|
