Piece Description

Jack's Last Call: Say Goodbye to Kerouac written by Patrick Fenton, is directed by award winning audio dramatist Sue Zizza, and takes place at the end of summer 1964. Based on a recording that was made in Kerouac's Northport, Long Island living room, as he and his mother, Memere, pack to leave for St. Petersburg, Florida - the place where he would finally end his many road journeys - this play blends the reality of that last night with other moments in Kerouac's life to create an image of an artist in transition. On this last night in New York, as Jack hosts a going away party for himself, he thinks back to the America he saw, riding alongside Neal Cassady, as they drove back and forth across the US. Throughout the beer-soaked night, Jack reflects back on fame, the fame he tried unsuccessfully to hide from in Northport, and a cultural shift taking place in America that has him worried that his time has come and gone. As the memories play through his mind, Jack also receives a series of soul-searching phone calls from his daughter, Jan, who is desperate to connect with the man she believes is her father. Scenes from Jack's Last Call: Say Goodbye to Kerouac were recorded on location at Gunther's Tap Room in Northport, NY - one of Jack's favorite haunts - and features music by Composer David Amram, who scored the 1959 Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg, and Neal Cassady film "Pull My Daisy". Narrated by Len Cariou, Jack's Last Call is an honest portrayal of, and an elegy to, the man who wrote On the Road, which helped to shape a generation and a nation. "Great writing, excellent audio mix and effects...a superb piece of work." ~ Tom Lopez - ZBS Foundation. "This play shows Jack at a difficult time in his life, and it does it with a rare understanding of how he tried to deal with the dilemma of unwanted celebrity while finding a way to continue pursuing his goals as an author. Fenton has created a moving portrait of a unique artist, rather than another dreary "Beat" stereotype. Bravo!" ~ David Amram, Composer.