It occurred to me folks might not know why I sometimes throw out the phrase, "Where are my cookies?" (Ya think? -- Mrs. Pad) This cryptic question has a long but murky history with me so, as Mark Sanford undoubtedly said to his wife at some point, "Allow me to explain."
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| Maury Yeston's Phantom is based on the same source material as the much more popular The Phantom of the Opera. |
I've been a thespian for much of my life. The Air Force wanted to discharge me when that fact became known but, after several weeks of taxpayer-funded research, they finally concluded the word simply means "actor." Fifteen years ago in the beautiful countryside of central New Hampshire, I was fortunate enough to appear in Maury Yeston's
Phantom alongside an actor who played the title character. I don't have permission to use this individual's name, so I won't, but he's had a good measure of success with his career since then. Anyway (as I recall the story), he was having some difficulty remembering one of his cues so the stage manager promised to bake him some homemade cookies if he managed to get it right. The next night out he did get the cue right, but the cookies were not forthcoming. It is standard procedure before each performance for the stage manager to conduct a mic check for the lead actors. During the sound check, this person would sing or speak a few snatches of the script to test the microphone levels before suddenly bellowing, "WHERE ARE MY COOKIES?!" This ritual was performed without fail before every show until the cookies finally materialized.
You can see how the phrase evolved into a sort of byword -- an expression whenever someone has performed a deed for which they are owed recompense but have yet to receive payment. I hope this was entertaining, or at least solves the mystery.
Padhric
Master of Toons
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