Tomorrow
It happened three years ago, about two weeks before New Year's Eve.
| Series | |
|---|---|
| In The Dark | |
| Original Broadcast Date | |
| 1993 | |
| Cast | |
| Joe Frank | |
| Format | |
| Absurd Monologue, 28 minutes | |
| Preceded by: | A Special Family |
| Followed by: | Taylor |
| Purchase | |
Tomorrow is a program Joe Frank produced as part of the series In The Dark. It was originally broadcast in 1993.
Synopsis
Joe recounts family events 3 years ago, about 2 weeks before New Year's Eve. His father, drunk, jumped from the balcony of his condo in Marina del Rey, breaking both heels. 2 days later his mother moved out. His father told him to put a tracking device on her car. Joe objected, but the father threatened to cut Joe out of his will.
They found out that she had moved in with a divorce lawyer, John Tyler. She planned to divorce her husband, marry Tyler.
5:30: Joe and his girlfriend, Linda, went to a New Year's Eve party at the home of the 'famous writer-drunk' Henry Bulshofsky(sp?)[1] and his girlfriend Carol in San Pedro. They were invited because Linda worked at Carol's sandwich shop. Linda wore a 'skin-tight leopard-print spandex suit with a deep scoop back' that she disliked but made her hot. Carol was jealous. Bulshofsky told Joe that he'd never make it as an actor because his eyes were dead, bragged about his drinking exploits. He got angry because his guests weren't drinking enough, angrily threw them out. A group of Germans who were hanging out outside relished this display of temper.[2]
16:30: After they left Linda insisted on changing out of her outfit. Back at his apartment they got a message from Joe's mother: Tyler had died at a party, she's at her husband's condo.
17:00: Linda and Joe went to his father's condo, heard the story of Tyler's death, got drunk, partied.
19:40: Joe explains why he will live his life fully.
22:10: Joe tells us how happy he is. (He has the company of his faithful companion, Ollie.)[3] He blows 3 noisemakers, interprets their meaning: 'Doesn't that evoke the spirit of the evening, while at the same time casting into the future the potential of things yet unborn?' … 'An overtone of life's bittersweet, tantalizing moments, the frivolousness of nature set against human yearning.'… 'what does that suggest, if not self-censorship in a world of limitless horizons?'
23:50: Joe makes New Year's resolutions, some grand, some petty: 'protect the ozone layer and save the rainforest' and 'No more random midnight obscene phone calls.'
25:00: A TV announcer counts down to midnight.
25:40: Joe recites the 'Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow' soliloquy from Macbeth a few times.
Joe's mother leaves his father and he plants a bug in her car. Joe and his girlfriend attend a New Year's Eve party at the home of Bolshovsky (Charles Bukowski?) His mother's boyfriend dies and the family gets drunk together. Life is short, so savor it with all your anatomy. Avoiding a beige existence. An idyllic new year. An analysis of noise makers. Resolutions. MacBeth's "Tomorrow" soliloquy.
Music
- "Goye Kur" - Ali Farka Toure (from The Source, 1992) | YouTube [Intro]
Additional credits
The original broadcast credits state: "[C]reated in collaboration with Mike Meloan and David Rapkin. The story editor was Farley Ziegler. Recorded and mixed by Jerry Summers. Special thanks to Jennifer Ferro."
