Clothes that Make and Unmake the Hef
Jan. 4th, 2009 02:38 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
thehefnerSo I'm contemplating my new costume for THE HEFNER MONOLOGUES. Costumes, specifically. I'm forgoing my classic ill-fitting $3.00 polyester shiny blue suit in favor of several layers of t-shirts and using different coats. Even the smoking jacket.*
This especially fits the new format of the show, which is less "sitting around at Bennigans telling everyone the story about something while still having emotional issues tied up in everything," and more, "flashbacks told in the present tense as the John Hefner that I was at that specific moment."** Like, for meeting Tammy with the Rude Mechanicals, I'll wear my black BDU top which I kept from our production of HENRY VI. For Captain Buzzkill, when I'm a bitter teenage outcast, I'll wear my Japanese Evil Dead shirt.
And for the story about visiting the Playboy Mansion at seven-years-old, I was originally hoping to find a He-Man shirt that actually reads "HE-MAN" in big bold letters. Yeah, I was far more of a THE REAL GHOSTBUSTERS*** kid, but I thought it's be perfect to have little John Hefner, the odd Hefner out, wearing a "He-Man" shirt at the Playboy Mansion. Sadly, they don't make any. Yes, they have shirts of He-Man, and some read "MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE," (well, there's this...) but it just doesn't have the same flair.
That said, between the child I was and the intolerant Captain I would become, I think this might just be the shirt to get. If I don't get laughs with that one, I'll know I have the wrong audience that night.
The final touch, however, is that I need a good suit. A matching coat and pants set that doesn't look too fancy, but rather comfortable. A matching pair that, after all the different ill-fitting and oddball shirts and coats, ends the show saying, "This is John Hefner, complete and secure." Well, in this respect, anyway.
I just need to go shopping. I can't do it alone, but it seems even my most enthusiastic shopping partners turn into indecisive mushballs when it comes to what's stylish for the Hefner. Welp, I have until the end of February to find the right one. Here's hopin'.
*Hm. I wonder, should I market the show dressed in the smoking jacket, but with a GL T-shirt underneath, and wearing my Superman PJ's? It's awfully close to my whole refusal to stoop to using the fucking bunny ears, but it could get attention while still showing the "Heffie" totally clashing with and overwhelming the "Hefner," if you know what I mean.
**This not only has made the show fresher and more relevant to me, but it might also ease the minds of some audience members who might wonder if I'm having a nervous breakdown right in front of their eyes and are unsure whether to laugh or not, as either way might result badly.
***I've been spending my sick days rewatching classic episodes of THE REAL GHOSTBUSTERS, the ones written by future BABYLON 5 and Marvel Comics' scribe J. Michael Straczynski. There's a reason this show was actually more formative for my love of the Ghostbusters than the actual movie. His episodes are fucking awesome, up there with Paul Dini's Batman episodes for smart, witty, and thrilling fare supposedly for kids. Like, check this one out if you have the 22 minutes to spare. So great!
This especially fits the new format of the show, which is less "sitting around at Bennigans telling everyone the story about something while still having emotional issues tied up in everything," and more, "flashbacks told in the present tense as the John Hefner that I was at that specific moment."** Like, for meeting Tammy with the Rude Mechanicals, I'll wear my black BDU top which I kept from our production of HENRY VI. For Captain Buzzkill, when I'm a bitter teenage outcast, I'll wear my Japanese Evil Dead shirt.
And for the story about visiting the Playboy Mansion at seven-years-old, I was originally hoping to find a He-Man shirt that actually reads "HE-MAN" in big bold letters. Yeah, I was far more of a THE REAL GHOSTBUSTERS*** kid, but I thought it's be perfect to have little John Hefner, the odd Hefner out, wearing a "He-Man" shirt at the Playboy Mansion. Sadly, they don't make any. Yes, they have shirts of He-Man, and some read "MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE," (well, there's this...) but it just doesn't have the same flair.
That said, between the child I was and the intolerant Captain I would become, I think this might just be the shirt to get. If I don't get laughs with that one, I'll know I have the wrong audience that night.
The final touch, however, is that I need a good suit. A matching coat and pants set that doesn't look too fancy, but rather comfortable. A matching pair that, after all the different ill-fitting and oddball shirts and coats, ends the show saying, "This is John Hefner, complete and secure." Well, in this respect, anyway.
I just need to go shopping. I can't do it alone, but it seems even my most enthusiastic shopping partners turn into indecisive mushballs when it comes to what's stylish for the Hefner. Welp, I have until the end of February to find the right one. Here's hopin'.
*Hm. I wonder, should I market the show dressed in the smoking jacket, but with a GL T-shirt underneath, and wearing my Superman PJ's? It's awfully close to my whole refusal to stoop to using the fucking bunny ears, but it could get attention while still showing the "Heffie" totally clashing with and overwhelming the "Hefner," if you know what I mean.
**This not only has made the show fresher and more relevant to me, but it might also ease the minds of some audience members who might wonder if I'm having a nervous breakdown right in front of their eyes and are unsure whether to laugh or not, as either way might result badly.
***I've been spending my sick days rewatching classic episodes of THE REAL GHOSTBUSTERS, the ones written by future BABYLON 5 and Marvel Comics' scribe J. Michael Straczynski. There's a reason this show was actually more formative for my love of the Ghostbusters than the actual movie. His episodes are fucking awesome, up there with Paul Dini's Batman episodes for smart, witty, and thrilling fare supposedly for kids. Like, check this one out if you have the 22 minutes to spare. So great!
