Jimmy and Others Honor Herman Wouk

[phjim]

According to the Washington Post, Jimmy Buffett honored novelist Herman Wouk and sang some songs from the musical "Don't Stop the Carnival": "Wouk & Remembrance: Library of Congress Again Honors Novelist"

But it was the sockless Buffett -- bounding onstage, he promptly shed his shoes as well -- who offered the evening's most startling change of pace.

"People have asked me for years, 'How the hell did you and Herman Wouk get together?' " Buffett said. Long story short, he'd somehow gotten the idea of turning Wouk's "Don't Stop the Carnival" -- in which a New York PR guy plays out midlife fantasies on a tropical isle -- into a Broadway musical.

So Buffett wrote Wouk a letter. "Who are you?" the author replied. But he eventually signed on, despite the fact that he didn't know what reggae was. "Don't Stop the Carnival" ran for a few weeks in Miami in 1997.

"We never made it to Broadway, but the carnival is still happening," Buffett said. Then he proved it with a medley of songs from their collaboration. Seated onstage, Wouk smiled and mouthed the lyrics.

USA Today has a nice review "Jimmy Buffett reunites with Herman Wouk

But Buffett's shoes weren't fitting. Saying he was "terribly nervous" and remarking on "the tough crowd," he took off his navy blue blazer and his black loafers and sang a medley of Carnival songs he said he had put together yesterday in his Sag Harbor, N.Y., studio. Wouk smiled and sang along with some of the words. "We never made it to Broadway," said Buffett, grinning at the elderly Wouk, "but the carnival is still happening."

[z-man]

A nice review in USA Today also:

http://blogs.usatoday.com/entertainment ... jimmy.html

Charming the small Capitol Hill crowd: Buffett. He worked with Wouk to bring his Don't Stop the Carnival novel to life as a musical years ago. It played in Miami and the Bahamas, but never made it to Broadway, as the two had hoped. "He and I have been perceived as an odd couple," Buffett said, "And the shoe probably fits."

But Buffett's shoes weren't fitting. Saying he was "terribly nervous" and remarking on "the tough crowd," he took off his navy blue blazer and his black loafers and sang a medley of Carnival songs he said he had put together yesterday in his Sag Harbor, N.Y., studio. Wouk smiled and sang along with some of the words. "We never made it to Broadway," said Buffett, grinning at the elderly Wouk, "but the carnival is still happening."

[Jollymom21]

My son actually made it down to the Library of Congress yesterday. He got a seat in about the 8th row sitting amongst many "suits" -- Congressmen and the like. He said it was all very interesting -- everyone had a little anecdote to tell, but Jimmy's was by far the most entertaining, performance aside!