Because I promised Dad I would!

Some years ago on a crazy whim I changed my name to a numerological masterpiece that no one can ever pronounce or spell correctly. When my father confronted me on his deathbed with his opinion about my name, this happened. In my memory it had the unreal quality of a film shoot.

Death bed promise scene final take:

Place: Hospice, a kind of hotel where you check in, so you can check out with Grace.

Time: Present!

Dad: 80 something, feeble in body, sharp in mind

Me: Caring Son

Director: “Running out of time, we need to get this in one take”

Dad lying in in Bed, Me sitting next to him sponging water into his parched mouth.

Director: and Action!

Dad: So help me understand, Why you changed your name to that stupid name,

what's wrong with our name?

Me: But didn’t your father change that too, our name is only one generation old!.

Dad: That was totally different, People were exterminated for their names. If he didn’t change our name maybe you would never have been born. Did you ever think of that?

Me: Okay dad, listen when I perform on Broadway it will be the name you gave me, Jeff Burnett

Dad: Jeff Burnett on Broadway, got a nice ring to it.

Director: and Cut! That’s a keeper!

Jeff Burnett on Broadway: Background

Although my profession has been theater for over 40 years it has been anything but conventional. Having created performances and trained in various countries, I’ve explored the all in immersive touchy feely, the twisted experimental, the anthropological research and spiritual transformation genres, with a touch of mainstream on the side, so broadway is a pretty bizarre full circle and in other ways totally appropriate.

My dad had every Broadway musical recording ever made, including the flops. He was active himself in the arts, producing, writing, staging, even drafting arts policies. He had however sacrificed his full-time desires to a variety of income producing careers that provided the family of 4 boys with global opportunities and encouragement to do whatever we love.

This is a tribute to him.

Mom and Dad were role models. Mom introduced us to arts, education, critical thinking, while encouraging disciplined practice in whatever took our fancy and Dad demonstrated among many other things that there could be a graceful and elegant art to dying.