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The Deuce Club, 8.9 08/09/2007 - 8:00 PM

Ging Gang Goolagong.

I’ll explain that in a moment, but some Tribal matters first:

Familyhawaii_3

As requested, the guessing game is back.  This photo shows a Tribe member on vacation with her family in Hawaii.  First hint: her son is 2.5 years old.  (See, it pays to read the OT threads.)  Thanks for sending it in!

Tournaments: Jay will be at Cincy.  [ETA: And so will codepoke -- he'll be there on Friday.)  We’re starting to build a longer list of TWers who will be at the US Open (updated list will be posted next week), and gatherings formal and informal are being planned.  Don’t forget to email me if you’re coming!

And now to relieve your suspense.  Why is Heidi mocking Evonne Goolagong’s name, you ask?  Well, I’m not.  I’m quoting from Peter Morgan’s Broadway hit play, Frost/Nixon, which tells the behind-the-scenes story of the famous David Frost interviews in which Nixon finally admitted some responsibility and contrition for Watergate.

Yes, that’s right.  There I was, excitedly reading cast bios and waiting for the lights to go down, when I saw that Evonne Goolagong is a character in the play.  I sat there blinking, trying to process how on earth she could possibly be involved.  Luckily for my attention span, that mystery was solved in the first several minutes.  The play starts with Nixon’s resignation speech, and then shifts to David Frost, who that very same day was all hair and teeth and British charm in Australia, interviewing Evonne Goolagong.

Frost introduces her as the first Australian Aboriginal woman to win a major, and also as having recently announced her engagement.  Goolagong comes out on stage in a red-and-white tracksuit.  He then opens the interview by saying, “Now, Evonne, you cannot do this to us.  You cannot possibly change your name.  Goolagong is the best name in the world.” Instead, he suggests that her husband should change his name, and jokes, “Is his first name Ging Gang?”

She laughs along a bit uncomfortably and says, “No, it’s Roger.”

Goolagong

There’s another line or two, and then that’s it for Goolagong, but it’s only the beginning of Frost’s transition (according to the play) from lighthearted playboy talk-show host to hard-hitting journalist who wins his fame back at the price of Nixon’s final ruin.  (Incidentally, Frost is still alive and kicking; he has a show on English-language Al-Jazeera.)

Tennis is everywhere.

If you’re in NYC, this play closes on August 19, and I highly recommend it.  It does drag a little at one point during the taping of the interviews, and I would have liked a touch more characterization for Frost, rather than relying on the narrator’s assertion of his genius for TV.  This would probably be especially helpful for an American audience, which isn't as likely to know Frost, and would also balance the play a bit more.  But the performances are simply unbelievable, and the staging is very good—minimal set, restrained use of a bank of TV screens.  If you won’t get to see it before then, never fear, because shooting on the film version starts a week after the play closes (with the two big stars, Michael Sheen and Frank Langella, reprising their roles), and there’ll be an American tour of the play next year.  Evonne Goolagong: coming soon to a a theater near you.

Next week’s installment of Heidi’s Broadway Adventures will hopefully be a review of Terrence McNally’s play Deuce, starring Angela Lansbury.  That also closes August 19, so run over to see that now if you’re around.

And don’t forget to keep sending news and notes, as well as your own theater review or discovery of tennis mentions in the oddest of places.  Better yet, take a photo and send it along!

--Heidi
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Posted by svelterogue 08/09/2007 at 08:08 PM

who IS that lovely lady? hmmmm. not ruth, missie and jake are all grown.

rudy3?
Posted by AmyLu 08/09/2007 at 08:10 PM

Is that Jenn in the photo?
Posted by ptenisnet 08/09/2007 at 08:13 PM

beckham.
Posted by Bismarck 08/09/2007 at 08:14 PM

i think Jenn mentioned a hawaii vacation (during wimby?, i remember bad tennis watching time zones, but no family, lol)

so my guess is: Jenn.
Posted by Schwab/patrick 08/09/2007 at 08:15 PM

AmyLu,
My guess also. She is the one who woke up very early to watch Wimby while on vacation
Posted by Beth 08/09/2007 at 08:19 PM

that is Jenn - and Adrian - what a cutie
am I right?
Posted by Beth 08/09/2007 at 08:21 PM

heide - trying to e mail you about a possible west coast super saturday gathering
unable to connect with link provided
can you email me ?
jenn and I are trying to see if there is any interest in this kind of gathering
thanks for your help!
Posted by ptenisnet 08/09/2007 at 08:22 PM

Beth
It's socialdirector@tennismagazine.com
Posted by Jenn 08/09/2007 at 08:37 PM

Hi guys! That's me in the picture with my husband, Paul, and my son, Adrian. A bit surprising to click on The Deuce Club thread and see this picture come up on my screen...eeek.

Beth and I are planning a great West Coast SuperSaturday meetup in L.A., so hopefully lots of Tribe members will be able to come.
Posted by AmyLu 08/09/2007 at 08:40 PM

Jenn, it's a lovely photo of you! Your son is absolutely adorable too! :-)
Posted by 08/09/2007 at 08:42 PM

Altogether lovely family Jenn.
Posted by Beth 08/09/2007 at 08:44 PM

thanks - ptenisnet
I will contact her there!
Posted by ptenisnet 08/09/2007 at 08:44 PM

that was me at 8:42.

it's probably weird to leave an anonymous comment such as that one.
Posted by Jenn 08/09/2007 at 08:51 PM

Thanks ptenis, AmyLu and Beth!!
I like the guessing game (a bit weird when its you, though). Its fun to put faces with names/posts.
Posted by ptenisnet 08/09/2007 at 08:55 PM

And you also have to pay attention through out the year apparently.

No one told me that the test covered course material from wimby time.
Posted by Tari 08/09/2007 at 08:58 PM

Aww...ptenisnet. You're just a little grumpy because you were off your game this time. Cheer up!

Jenn, you are lovely! And family too. Sweet pic.
Posted by ptenisnet 08/09/2007 at 09:03 PM

hmph!
on the upside, elena won.
Posted by Jenn 08/09/2007 at 09:07 PM

Thanks, Tari! Enjoying your dirty martini?

Posted by Tari 08/09/2007 at 09:08 PM

Jenn: Mmmhmm. :)
Posted by Ruth 08/09/2007 at 09:47 PM

Lovely family, Jenn! At the last minute, one of my nephews and his wife decided not to bring along their son, my two-year-old grandnephew, on the family reunion cruise last month; and Ill bet that he would have enjoyed it as much as, I'm sure, your Adrian seems to have enjoyed his Hawaian vacation.

Heidi: I think that you'll like "Deuce." I found it quite enjoyable (saw it during previews) even though I expected McNally to have a more substantial story for his play. But the two main performances are absolutely fantastic. If this is Angela Lansbury's farewell to the theatre, it is certainly a grand one. However, since she has moved to NYC, she might be planning to do more Broadway after "Deuce."

I hope that the small number (based on Heidi's earlier post) of those of us who will be at the USO early in the first week will be able to get together, and I'm still hoping that I'll be able to return to USO for the middle weekend TW gathering.
Posted by rudy3 08/09/2007 at 09:50 PM

Jenn, yall are a Cutie Pie Trio!!!
Posted by Ray Stonada 08/09/2007 at 10:06 PM

Wow, Jenn, great looking family all around.

Heidi, I saw Frost/Nixon too and thought it was great - I second your rec.
Posted by jb 08/09/2007 at 10:20 PM

Hey Jenn! Nice pic - your son looks totally delighted about something - plotting mischief no doubt! Nice to be able to put the faces to the names again... thanks heidi
Posted by Sam 08/09/2007 at 11:09 PM

Jenn: Nice pic. Your son is adorable.

Posted by Pete 08/09/2007 at 11:11 PM

Jenn - Adrian sure is cute, so is that handsome debbil of a husband of yours, with his shirt rougueishly flung open! Please submit more photos, folks. This really is fun, inn'it? Don't be bashful, we're all family here! Surely some of you have vacation or pet pics?
Posted by abbey 08/09/2007 at 11:42 PM

heidi, thanks for bringing back the guessing game.

and again, another pretty tw-er. lovely family, too. adrian is soooo cute.
Posted by Andrea 08/09/2007 at 11:46 PM

Jenn-
Great pic! Adrian is too cute :)
Posted by Beckham 08/10/2007 at 12:02 AM

Jenn: great pic...Adrian sure is cute ;)

pt: err I don't remember ever mentioning a 2.5 year old kid...but thanks...he sure is adorable...lol
Posted by ptenisnet 08/10/2007 at 12:18 AM

Aha,
But that's not the same as saying you DON'T have a 2.5 year old kid. You could a done.
jokes aside, i thought i had a good guess going.
Posted by Heidi 08/10/2007 at 12:55 AM

Wow, people are great at the guessing. Just got online and it's over already.

And good job for me, linking my own email wrong, huh? I'll fix it asap.
Posted by DMan 08/10/2007 at 02:42 AM

I am too much of a newbie here to know who the top picture is.

But I defintely recognize Sunshine Supergirl in red! Thanks for the reference about Evonne in the Frost/Nixon play. Too bad I'll arrive in the Big Apple after the play closes.
Posted by Samantha 08/10/2007 at 05:24 AM

Nice pic Jenn. Hewitt and Rafa in doubles, kind of an odd pair. Go Justine, world #l.
Posted by Samantha 08/10/2007 at 07:42 AM

Did anyone see the final of Age of Love? Well, no big surprise, Phillipousis chose the younger girl over the 48 yr old. I was like come on, he's a playboy. They should have been more honest and chose a guy who really didn't care about age and would really date a woman of any age. A great show, but some of the women were pathetic. I wonder if he'll try to make a come back in tennis. Roger is going to crush Hewitt in straights and I don't give Elena much of a chance against Sharapova. Not with that serve. Hingis has withdrawn, I wonder if she will play the open? I would love to see an Ivanovic and Sharapova final. Ana is playing well enough to beat her. Go Justine, world's #l!
Posted by daylily 08/10/2007 at 07:43 AM

jenn, very lovely picture. glad i peeked in to see it. a perfect accompaniment to the rafa/lleyton photo on the homepage. that was one of a series that i find refreshingly spontaneous and happy for both guys, they really seem to enjoy their time together.
Posted by Tari 08/10/2007 at 08:02 AM

I liked that pic of Hewitt and Nadal as well! Made me smile.

Hi daylily!
Posted by DMS 08/10/2007 at 08:06 AM

Aww what a great picture of the Jenn family, thank you for posting it.
Posted by Jenn 08/10/2007 at 09:15 AM

Good morning everyone. Thanks so much for the compliments on the pic. I feel bathed in the warm glow of the Tribe....:)

Live tennis on in 1.45
Posted by gvgirl 08/10/2007 at 09:18 AM

17 Days until the US Open! 22 days until the TAT Tennis tailgate. Wooo!
Posted by gvgirl 08/10/2007 at 09:20 AM

What a cute picture!
I have a 3 year old!
I always loved Goolagong.

17 Days until the US Open! 22 days until the TAT Tennis tailgate. Wooo!
Posted by Todd and in Charge 08/10/2007 at 11:45 AM

Great pic!
Posted by Atown 08/10/2007 at 11:57 AM

I also saw "Deuce". While I agree with Ruth that the performances of the two lead actresses both were very good, the play itself left a lot to be desired. The plot was lacking and the play was too drawn out in length. To put it bluntly, I was very disappointed with the play.

I was excited by the concept of the play and chose to see it despite the warnings that the Times review provided because I held out hope that Tennis + Angela Lansbury would outweigh the play's shortcomings. Unfortunately that was not the case, and the play failed to keep my attention. Despite my desperately wanting to like the play, I simply did not find it to be enjoyable theatre.

On a completely different note, like Ruth I hope that those of us who will be at the Open early in the first week will be able to meet up. I will be there on the first Wednesday (August 29).
Posted by highpockets 08/10/2007 at 12:05 PM

Jenn, I'm late, but love your photo ... beautiful family.
Posted by Jenn 08/10/2007 at 12:16 PM

Thanks Madame Pockets. Nice to see you around here. We are looking forward to some hard court limericks.

Posted by Beth 08/10/2007 at 04:59 PM

Ok - folks in LA - if you are interested in a SuperSaturday gathering to watch some tennis - please contact Heidi . She is collecting the information for us and we will go from there.

Posted by Heidi 08/10/2007 at 07:05 PM

I saw Deuce last night -- will have a recap and some musings, maybe, next week. But I must say that most people must be agreeing with you, Atown, because the theater was surprisingly un-full. Frost/Nixon was just about packed, same with Year of Magical Thinking. Musicals, of course. But almost the entire mezzanine was empty for Deuce, and it's not a big theater by any means!

Oh well.

I didn't watch any of Age of Love, Samantha, but I heard that Philippoussis chose the younger one. Let's see how long that lasts...

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