Bloomsday

A message from my friends Tom and Nancy Shawver, owners of Kansas City's Bloomsday Books:

We have closed the open shop, but the Bloomsday celebration continues in a very big way! Next Saturday, May 17th , in conjunction with the Kansas City Literary Festival on the Country Club Plaza, the Bloomsday play will be performed. It starts at O’Dowds Irish Pub and progresses to street performances on the Plaza before concluding with the Molly Bloom soliloquy on the main stage. Sylvia Stoner has once again put together a marvelous cast of professional equity actors and talented amateur thespians.

Here are the times, locales and scenes:

• 3:30-4:30 pm, O’Dowd’s Little Dublin pub, the two bar scenes at the Ormond Hotel where Bloom drinks some wine, avoids Blazes Boylan and gets insulted by the bigoted one-eyed Citizen (Sirens and Cyclops). This will be inside the pub and, therefore, uncensored.

• 5:00 pm, in the courtyard outside Scandia Down. Leopold sees Gerty on the beach (Nausicaa). This, like the other outdoor scenes, has been edited somewhat for sensitive ears.

• 5:30 pm, at the corner of Pennsylvania and Nichols Road. In the maternity ward of the hospital (Oxen of the Sun). Bloom and Stephen Daedalus begin to bond.

• 6:00 pm, outside Victoria’s Secret. Bloom and Stephen in Bella Cohen’s bawdy house (Circe) turn into something akin to swine.

• 6:30 pm, outside Panache Chocolatier. At a cab hut our heroes come down from a rough night and Bloom suggests a cup of cocoa (Eumaeus).

• 7:00 pm, the Festival Main Stage. Bloom returns home and Molly gives her soliloquy (Ithaca and Penelope). …and Yes I said Yes I will yes…

This is a progressive performance beginning inside O’Dowd’s and moving outside to be among the bustling street crowds of the festival. It ends with a grand finale on the stage. We have rented costumes from the Missouri Repertory Theater (there will be music as well) and the actors are working hard in rehearsals. It would be lovely to have all you Bloomsday Books veterans show up to give Sylvia and the players additional support. Most of the audience won’t have a clue what’s going on, but then who did in the beginning? Strangers will think you are so sophisticated when you knowingly nod at some Joycean line. And wear your Bloomsday t-shirts, rugby shirts and/or hats if you still have them.

We hope to see you there. Look for our Bloomsday Books table where we'll be selling books.

Tom and Nancy Shawver

As an old time Bloomsday guy (I have emceed the proceedings at the old Crestwood location and even "acted" if you can call it that, in the play) I will don my faded old Bloomsday T-shirt and be there. I hope you will too.