Michael Sullivan Atf Director

Review: Playwright shoots the moon in 'Shooting Star'

&Ldquo;Shooting Star,” at the Adirondack Theatre Festival through Saturday, is an example of how good Dietz is as a playwright and why his work isn’t get produced on Broadway — it’s a simple two-character work that is almost predictable in what is going to happen. In Dietz’s plays, it’s not about seeing what happens so much as it is experiencing it happen. As rewarding as that might be, it is not a formula for commercial success. Personally, I’m more than a bit weary about plays with characters who retreat to the past to realize they’ve sold out their values. I’m especially tired of plays that glorify the ’70s and represent the era as a lost Camelot. I’m very tired of characters who spend hours lamenting their lost youth. During those plays, I want to shout “Get over it!” Maybe this is why I so appreciate “Shooting Star.” Reed and Elena share their past to find who they are in the present. Ultimately, the point of the play is about letting go. Dietz claims reliving the past has value only if it teaches you something about the present. In “Shooting Star,” the discovery made by both characters that the past is past, but now is where we live. The ATF production is sweet, gentle and rewarding. Because nothing much happens in the bare airport lounge (nicely designed by Michael Sullivan), it places a great demand on the actors to keep our attention. There is a point midway through the 90-minute work that the focus sags, but, for the most part, the performers are so sincere and genuine we are concerned for their well-being. James Crawford and Diana Sheehan are nothing less than perfect as they create identifiable characters. He is insecure and fragile, she is a woman who is still in the process of growing up. The actors are so effective we also understand who they were 25 years ago and, while we wish they had stayed together as a couple, we know they would probably not have lasted together. The question is, are they ready for each other now? “Shooting Star,” at the Adirondack Theatre Festival through Saturday, is an example of how good Dietz is as a playwright and why his work isn’t get produced on Broadway — it’s a simple two-character work that is almost predictable in what is going to happen. In Dietz’s plays, it’s not about seeing what happens so much as it is experiencing it happen.

No Lawyers - Only Guns and Money: An East Coast Project Gunwalker?

So far all the attention on the ATF and gunwalking has been confined to the Southwest with the Phoenix Field Division at the epicenter of it all. However, David Codrea and Mike Vanderboegh are reporting tonight that the Tampa Field Division may have been involved in gunwalking to Honduras . This project may have been part of "Operation Castaway" which dealt with firearms trafficking in central Florida. SAC (Virginia) O’Brien was previously the Special Agent in Charge of the Phoenix Field Division, was later promoted to the Deputy Assistant Director of ATF, but then stepped down to the position in Tampa. Whether the allegations of our source refer to the on-going Operation Castaway remains at this hour unclear, but our source is certain that O'Brien has allowed the "walking" of straw-purchased firearms to Honduras using the same failed strategy as the Phoenix Field Division's Operation Fast and Furious. That Operation Castaway involved arms smuggling to Honduras is also certain. I did find mention of her in regards to former Deputy Director and now New York County Sheriff Edgar Domenach for giving him a mediocre performance evaluation. The only other real mentions of her come in the official press releases sent out by the Tampa Field Division. Unlike Andrew Traver, she doesn't seem to be one that seeks out the press for personal publicity.