| | Published November 9th, 2011
| Exclusive Screening of Wavy Gravy Movie at Town Hall
| | By Cathy Tyson |  | | Photo courtesy Jay Blakesberg
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Town Hall Theatre is hosting a DVD release party for the film The Wavy Gravy Movie: Saint Misbehavin', followed by questions and answers from the humble and hilarious do-gooder star Wavy Gravy with director Michelle Esrick and Jahanara Romney - also known as Mrs. Gravy.
"People come out of the woodwork for the well-loved and highly respected Wavy," said Tom Stack, Town Hall Theatre Board Vice President and Coldwell Banker Realtor. "The film brought up a lot of emotion," he adds, "I hope that his positive energy will ripple through the universe."
The inspiring film is being shown as a fundraiser for Town Hall Theatre and also supports charities that Gravy founded - Camp Winnarainbow for kids and the Seva Foundation which provides sustainable global eye care programs, preventing blindness and providing cataract operations to restore eyesight.
Best known as the Master of Ceremonies at Woodstock, he attended the music and peace extravaganza as a member of the entertainment/activist commune known as Hog Farm. Wikipedia calls it "an organization considered to be America's longest running hippie commune." Hog Farm is still around and going strong, they have a headquarters in Berkeley and a large farm in Laytonville, California, known as Black Oak Ranch.
The self-described 'activist clown' has also been a Vietnam War protestor, B-movie actor and force for social change; Saint Misbehavin' chronicles his long, strange trip spreading a message of peace and charity. The fellow is such an iconoclast that Ben and Jerry, of the Ben & Jerry's, named an ice cream flavor after him. No actual gravy in the mix, just caramel, cashews and brazil nuts. Alas, the flavor has gone out of favor.
Director Michelle Esrick weaves together footage spanning decades with Jackson Brown, The Grateful Dead, Bonnie Raitt and many others to illustrate Wavy Gravy and his mission.
"Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. A portly, bearded, 74-year-old hippie clown, born Hugh Nanton Romney (no relation to Mitt Romney) but better known as Wavy Gravy, he has been sending ripples of good will that have gently lapped around the fringes of American culture for more than 50 years," said Stephen Holden in a New York Times review of the film.
Wavy Gravy in the flesh and a screening of the film The Wavy Gravy Movie: Saint Misbehavin' come to the Town Hall Theatre on Saturday, November 19. Doors open at 7:00, the show starts at 8:00, tickets are $35 - available via the Town Hall Theatre website www.thtc.org. As usual the bar will be open, and there will be a silent auction of all kinds of memorabilia. Tom Stack, in his younger days, was involved with licensing and merchandising for the Grateful Dead- he'll be digging deep into his personal archive for treasures. The event is family friendly.
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Lamorinda Weekly, Moraga CA