February 10, 2008
Roger was honored to take part in a talk-back with the audience, following a performance of the stage musical Floyd Collins at New York University. Thanks go out to cavers who came from as far away as Upstate New York, Connecticut and New Jersey to see the show and meet Roger. (The show will continue February 14, 15, 16 and 17. Ticket information is available at 212-998-5281. NSS members can get half-off the general admission, with a membership card.)
Roger’s letter to John Simpkins, director of "Floyd Collins" at NYU:
Hello John:
Thank you for inviting me to "The Greatest Show on Earth" -- your production of "Floyd Collins." I appreciate your many kindnesses, the enthusiastic welcome, your preparations of the cast, taking us to the loudest Italian restaurant in town, Grant's get-together, and the WOR appearance. It was a whirlwind dream trip, and I hope we can work together in the future. Your educational approach is the right one, and it will live on forever in your students and their impact on stage performances in the future.
What made your conception and performance so good was a combination of ingredients:
- Outstanding and balanced singing and acting by the principal characters.
- Great ensemble numbers with just the right depth of lushness in the
orchestra.
- Stage set versatility and lighting with the ingenious "moving scenery" solution to the cave portrayal problem.
- Solid costume design to place the characters in the scenario and setting.
- Sound design that was masterful and not intrusive.
Seldom can a director achieve what you did -- generally there is something to
apologize for or regret, but not this performance. I feel honored to have been there and to have helped.
Tell the cast I love them!
Roger
January 26, 2008
Roger was the keynote speaker at the 27th annual Carter Caves State Resort Park Crawlathon in Kentucky, where he talked about his fifth and upcoming book, "Grand, Gloomy, and Peculiar: Stephen Bishop at Mammoth Cave,” a novel based on the true story of the famed slave-guide who was responsible for many early discoveries in the world’s longest cave.
November 3, 2007
Roger was honored to address approximately 50 attendees at the Roots in the Cave genealogy conference at Mammoth Cave National Park. This event brought together descendants of many farmers and other landowners who gave up their property in the early 1900s for the creation of the park. Roger talked about three important explorers: Stephen Bishop, George Morrison and Floyd Collins, each of whom influenced many other explorers, guides and cave developers.
October, 2005
Congratulations to the cast and crew of the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music's production of "Floyd Collins" in October, 2005, for doing an outstanding job. It was a privilege for me to attend the opening night performance and hold a Q&A with the audience. Thank you to everyone who came, and thanks to director R. Terrell Finney and Katie Rankin of the CCM public relations department for their hospitality and kind words about "Trapped! The Story of Floyd Collins."
-- Roger
CCM musical immortalizes local dreamer
News Record, October 13, 2005
If you would like to schedule a presentation or book signing by Roger Brucker, please email your request to rogerbrucker@rogerbrucker.com.
Thank you.
