Broadway Blogs - Robert Patrick Fondly Remembers Jack Wrangler and More...

Legendary playwright Robert Patrick shares some thoughts and remembrances of the late Jack Wrangler...

Jack Wrangler, the man who invented porn stardom, has died in New York, "peaceful and comfortable," according to his doctor, Wendy S. Ziecheck. Jack, a Hollywood child (Marilyn Monroe baby-sat him), was getting nowhere much as an actor when a porn movie was offered him. He consulted with his father, a producer of Bonanza, who told him, "just be the best." Jack took his screen name from his jeans and became the first identifiable personality on the tiny, blurry screens of gay porn. At a time when most "adult" actors wore socks and even masks, he created a persona modeled on the Marlboro man - butch, beautiful and unashamed. And imitated! The gay "clone" look (plaid shirt, jeans) was inspired by Jack's signature outfit. Having conquered gay porn with no real competition, he moved on to the more lucrative straight area, and, according to him, lost his heterosexual virginity on camera! He then met and married singer Margaret Whiting, magically compatible because they were both "Beverly Hills brats." They were enviably, and to many people inexplicably happy. Jack successfully produced and directed many stage shows, but wryly remarked that all publicity about him, even thirty years after he took off his jeans forever, still began "Porn Star Jack Wrangler." Jeffrey Schwarz's excellent documentary, Wrangler: Anatomy of an Icon, just last week won as Best Alternative Release at the Gay Video News Awards.

In 1980, John Glines got Jack to appear in my play T-Shirts. The role of Jack's roommate called for a funny fat man, who had a funny fat nude scene. Every fat actor in New York turned it down, so I played it. Jack was rigorously professional, a joy to work with. There was but one rough spot. The third character, a stray twink, was played by one Dale Merchant. Halfway through the play, Dale and I had a scene while Jack was out to the store in a rainstorm. Just before he re-entered, a stagehand would toss a pan of water on him. Jack, I repeat, was a professional. Dale and I were more freewheeling. At each performance, our scene would expand as we improvised new jokes. A page before Jack's re-entrance cue, the stagehand splashed him. But Dale and I continued, Jack dried up, and the stagehand wetted him again. Finally, at a matinee where he had to be doused a third time, he slammed the door open before his cue and acted the ensuing scene with clenched teeth. When I got too close to him as I hurried to catch up with the staging, I got a professional elbow in a kidney with a force that would have knocked a lighter clown down. The scene returned to normal length.

Photo by Wren De Antonio: Robert Patrick and Jack Wrangler in Patrick's play, T-Shirts, produced by The Glines, 1980

In 1987 on the Sunset Strip, a small town girl met a big city rocker-and in LA's most famous rock club, they fell in love to the greatest songs of the ‘80s. It's ROCK OF AGES, an arena-rock love story told through the mind-blowing, face-melting hits of Journey, Bon Jovi, Poison and many more. Don't miss this awesomely good time about dreaming big, playing loud and partying on.

David Rooney, Variety: "If the 1980s were a bad-fashion blur you'd rather forget, "Rock of Ages" may not be for you. But if tortured mullets, unwaxed chests, studded leather, acid-wash denim and wailing guitars make you yearn for the Reagan years, this unapologetically silly hair-metal jukebox musical will probably have you gulping tequila shots and singing along. Every bit as brazen as the yardstick for the genre, "Mamma Mia!," in wedging hit songs into a purpose-built, featherweight plot, the show has an abiding affection for its inglorious era that goes some way toward selling its brash charms."

Charles Isherwood, New York Times: "Fortunately, and I must say surprisingly, the attractions of this latest in the ceaseless parade of jukebox musicals on Broadway extend well beyond the extensions. Written with winky wit by Chris D'Arienzo, directed with zest by Kristin Hanggi, sung with scorching heat by a spirited cast, and featuring a towering stack of heavy-rotation favorites from the glory years of MTV - hits from Journey and Bon Jovi, Pat Benatar and Poison, Whitesnake and Twisted Sister - this karaoke comedy about warped-vinyl dreams is about as guilty as pleasures get. Call it "Xanadu" for straight people - and straight-friendly people too.'

Elysa Gardner, USA Today: "In fairness, this alternately snarky and sappy songfest, which opened Tuesday at Broadway's Brooks Atkinson Theatre, focuses on a specific portion of that decade's pop terrain: the land of hair bands and power ballads - acts and songs that one associates with fans pumping fists and waving cigarette lighters in smoke-filled arenas."

Peter Santilli, Associated Press: "Constantine Maroulis leads a solid cast with an impressively natural performance as Drew, the fledgling rock star. Maroulis displays the sterling voice and easy, engaging presence that made him a favorite on TV's "American Idol." He has appeared on Broadway in "The Wedding Singer" and off-Broadway in last year's production of "Rock of Ages" at New World Stages."

Thom Geier, Entertainment Weekly: "In the knowingly cheesy tradition of Mamma Mia!, these retro hits are shoehorned into a shotglass-deep boy-meets-girl love story set in and around a rock bar on L.A.'s Sunset Strip. The romantic journey centers on the lithe Amy Spanger as a small-town girl, living in a lonely world, and the goofily affable American Idol survivor Constantine Maroulis as a city boy, born and raised in south Detroit. You can see where this is going, right? Did I mentioned the small-town girl's name? It's...oh, Sherrie."

More to come in the AM!