Hey, you! Come see my show.

By Mark Sam Rosenthal
Photo by Evan Schwartz

Sorry to just say “you” instead of calling you by name, but I really can't remember what your name is! I'm sure you can't really understand what it's like to live life, as I do, in the public eye: surrounded by admirers, buffeted by tens of forgettable introductions each week. But try. Fame can be truly overwhelming and, at the end of the day, if all that slips through my grasp are a few unimportant names I'd say I'm doing pretty good! Of course I am - I'm the one who's famous after all.

Now that that's out of the way, “can we talk?” Some other famous person used to say that, but I can't remember her name either! Anyways, she's old. I'm reading from my celebrity autobiography in the soloNOVA Arts Festival (and still hoping to attract a publisher!), and I'm just desperate for you to be there. Desperate! I can assure you there is nothing more edifying happening in Christopher Street in early June - certainly not so close to the PATH station. (Feel free to cross to the south side as you pass!) The show really has it all - beginning and ending with me! I should stop there. But I'll go on ill-advisedly to say that, as many have reported from past performances, mine is just about “the only show to make AIDS and 9/11 fun again!” That's a quote.

Find out more about I Light Up My Life: The Mark Sam Celebrity Autobiography at the soloNOVA website: www.terranovacollective.org/current.html