I'm in the New York Times.

[Godfrey Arthur]

Thanks, you guys.

I would have preferred no political slant but journalists are clever and can draw stuff out if you without you realising. She didn't misquote me, though, and seemed to be prepared to give the Medora Musical a fair chance.

Congrats Roger you put the PSG in the public eye no matter!






Yeah I see what LAURA COLLINS-HUGHES did.

COLLINS-HUGHES wove a surreptitious pastiche of religion, Americana, a poke at Mt. Rushmore, including a jab at the national anthem.

Machiavellian austerity.


"a solo show by a little-known Broadway veteran, Jared Mason; a Roosevelt bio-play; a gospel brunch featuring singers from the musical."

"The national anthem is part of the revue’s first half, with the audience standing to face a flag.
The surprise, when I looked around, was how few people were joining in the song."


"Mr. Rettig, a liberal who chooses his words carefully in conservative North Dakota, believes that escapism is essential to the show’s appeal. “I don’t necessarily disapprove of that: the fact that people want to see something that could be a time capsule from 30 years ago,” he said. “Because they liked their life a little better then.”

"Still, he said, there was the summer that his friend Mr. Sorensen did a magic trick — “something that looked a bit Harry Potter-like” — and an audience member complained on religious grounds. “They took it out of the show in the end.”

"Other touchy elements remain. Spectators have sometimes objected to the gospel-music segment because other religions are not represented,"

"while the patriotic bits are sensitive in a way they didn’t used to be. He means them simply to celebrate the nation."


“I think the left is as patriotic as the right,” he said. “So I try to stay apolitical; I don’t want to get involved in that out there.”

[Tom Franke]

Congratulations, Roger.

[Larry Allen]

Congrats Roger!!.I grew up 30 miles from Medora and played that gig 1958-1962 on my old Carvin, then Phil Lamprecht took it when I got drafted into the army...you get the perseverance record!! Larry

[Roger Rettig]

For Bob:

Mr Bubble is a constant presence - there's a golf-cart 'dressed up' as the Bubblemobile!!! (Really!)

I did a Medora Christmas Show on tour in ND and MN last year in which I was required to sing a fairly lengthy Mr Bubble commercial jingle (something about 'Dirty Bert' if I remember correctly).

The political slant? Yes, she could have really savaged the show but I think her condemnation was fairly veiled and, all in all, folks around here are pleased with it.

She wanted more negativity from me but I was, after a few moments, on my guard. I didn't gush about it - there's much around here that sits awkwardly with me - but it's a professional job and part of my commitment, once I've signed a contract, is to support the venture.

Medora has provided a sizeable chunk of my income for thirteen years; I'm grateful.

Who will replace me? The MD is Nashville-based and perhaps will know of someone ready and willing to be away from home for four months.

PS: It was a chilly night when they took the photos - those black 'performance gloves' I'm wearing played havoc with my palm-blocking!!!

[Curt Trisko]

I thought the political reference in the article was inappropriate... which is not surprising for journalism, but for some reason I expected the New York Times to not bait us like that. If it was supposed to be an article about a remarkable and colorful show, then they should have done without political references. If it was supposed to be an article about the whatever political opinions are embedded within it (if any), then they should have been straightforward about it. Conflating the two takes away from both.

The reason this hits a nerve with me is that I've found myself in the same boat just playing steel as a hobby - where people want to infer your political beliefs and put you in a box just due to playing a certain instrument or a certain type of music. And it seems that lately people are very eager to judge others based on their political beliefs and include or exclude them because it. For Roger's situation, who's to say that for some future job someone wouldn't google search his name, find this article, and make up their mind about him just because of it.

[Damir Besic]

great job Roger, congratulations ... I played that show once back in 2000, and know everything about the dust problem, I used my Emmons SKH, and after few months of being set up on the stage in Medora, it needed a good cleaning ...

[Roger Rettig]

I think you were 2001, Damir.

Yes, I've spoken with Michelle in SGoN and hopefully they'll be able to do a full-scale clean up when I come through town on my way home next month. Curt, the ptoducer, always pays for this work to be done.

[Damir Besic]

👍

[J R Rose]

WAY TO GO ROGER. 13 YEARS IN THE SAME CHAIR SPEAKS WELL OF YOU. WISHED I COULD OF SEEN AND HEARD YOU. I AGREE WITH CURT TRISKO ABOUT THE POLITICS IN THE WRITE UP. SHE COULD OF LEFT THAT OUT. WHY IS IT THEY ALWAYS TRY TO TWIST THINGS AROUND THAT YOU SAY? WHY NOT JUST ACCEPT THINGS AT FACE VALUE. THE ATTENDING CROWDS DID. THEY ARE THE ONES THAT COUNT NOT SOME OFF THE WALL JOURNALIST TRYING TO MAKE A NAME FOR THEMSELVES. OK, I WILL HUSH NOW, J.R.