Deep in the Hallows of Death

On a whim and fueled by an intense marketing frenzy, I acquired my copy of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows at 1 am Saturday morning. Things just worked out in my favor. After a tremendously successful opening show of COLE Friday night the cast, crew & band went out for a few soft drinks...alright, I'm sure I can't pull that wool over your eyes. We had cocktails, alcoholic beverages, sinful sips of Satan's libations at the local pub, ok? Well, by the time we completed our celebratory toasting the clock hands had moved well passed midnight. As I drove home (completely sober, of course) I decided on a whim to just pass by the Barnes & Noble and see if the Potter feeding frenzy was still going on. It was. The mall parking lot reminded me of the final Christmas Eve rush. Packed like sardines, they were. "What the heck," said I, and pulled into the lot and screeched into a spot just emptied by a jumping 12 yr old and his weary eyed mother. I entered the store to discover stacks of the final Harry Potter books behind the registers and a line that snaked throughout the store, past the magazines, through the history section, between the biographies & Sci Fi, and ending in the self help isle. At least as I took my place in line I could read up on exactly why the hell I was behaving like a lemming jumping off a cliff and following the crowd at 1 am in the morning. It took about 10 minutes to wind through the store and end up at a register where the unusually cheerful sales rep asked, “how many copies?” I felt like saying, “I just need the new issue of Playboy Magazine, please.” But I figured it was 1:10 am and her cheerful smile was merely plastered on her face and she wouldn’t appreciate the humor. Well done, self censor. So I received and paid for my one copy of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, went straight home and read the first two chapters before falling into a deep opening night slumber. In her usual style, J.K. Rowling has opened the book with a bang, jumping right into conflict and putting Harry in severe peril. Oooo….what will happen? After reading 175 pages this weekend I still have only cracked the book. Only about 600 pages to go! I better stock up on chocolate. This is going to take a while.

Cole Porter...and the Deathly Hallows

Tonight is opening night for the Cole Porter musical review. And the final book in the Harry Potter series is open to the public beginning at 12:01 am tonight! Decisions, decisions. Do I fulfill my contractual obligations and attend the opening night performance to 600 muggles, or skip out to get in on the Harry Potter Midnight Madness book release party at the local Barnes & Noble? I gotta get this book and find out HOW DOES IT END!? I don’t want any spoilers ruining my book reading experience. I won’t have it! My greatest fear is that after the release tonight there will be so much hype, talk and discussion that everyone will know the ending whether they read the book or not tomorrow morning. And if you haven't heard, J.K. Rowling herself has asked the entire world to "ignore the misinformation", and "help preserve the secrecy" of the final outcome. But alas, I cannot shed my stage obligation. 600 sold out ticketholders depend on my stage presence. I shall be a trooper and yes, the show MUST go on! But in order to shield me from this nemesis of my Harry Potter revelation fear, I shall be diving underground, shutting out the world until I get my hands on a copy of The Deathly Hallows. That means no more internet. No evening news. No newspapers. And no more bubble gum wrappers. Any of these are prime media candidates for Harry Potter spoilers. And may Dumbledore have mercy on your blackened heart if you even THINK of posting the HP resolution on my comments! Mischief managed!