William Karl Thomas

Piano Lover William Karl Thomas

During the 1950's, a New Orleans French Quarter young male cocktail pianist's life is complicated by four beautiful women; two young women from opposite poles of society who love him in their diverse ways, and two middle aged women who seek to control him for their own secret reasons. He is the center of an interracial heterosexual/gay group of entertainers who create a musical which they take to Broadway. This colorful cast is seen against a historically accurate backdrop of New Orleans landmark restaurants and nightclubs. In the final book of this trilogy (Piano Lover: The Movie, ISBN 978-1-62768-013-4) our intrepid crew take their musical to Hollywood where formulaic screenwriters attempt to circumvent the show's controversial theme at the expense of its truth and underlying message. Liberal celebrities offer hesitant support. They frequent Hollywood's famous clubs and restaurants where they mingle with glittreratzi of that era, such as Steve Allen, Noel Coward, Errol Flynn, Anna Magnanni, Federico Fellini, Vitorio deSica, Hal Prince, Frank Sinatra, and The Rat Pack . Timing deprives the Broadway production of a Toni Award, and conservatism deprives the film adaptation of Oscar nominations. They travel to exotic resort areas such as Jamaica, West Indies, and Matzatlan, Mexico. Two of the cast pass away, while a baby is born to one of the piano lover's ladies, leading to a truce between her and her parents. The ladies deal with an unexpected glitch in the piano lover's love life, and he struggles to fulfill the opportunity of a new musical. Fate turns their focus away from gay rights to the growing cry for civil rights. This trilogy is designed for intelligent adults who are not opposed to tasteful but fairly graphic sensuality, sophisticated dialogue, and exploration of the gray areas between heterosexual and gay sexuality. The period backgrounds of New Orleans, New York, and Hollywood are accurately drawn from detailed research and the author's personal experience. The collected work should be of interest to educators and researchers for its astute depiction of the era, the locations, and the pioneer relationship themes it explores.