A Farewell from a Friend

By Jon Muench

Dave Goodman was a good man. His passing saddens all of those who knew him, but as his spirit has already silently drifted off into that great beyond, I offer up a few words of farewell.

Some of the most precious moments in life for me were just after he went offstage and welcomed us on, the smell of his cigar smoke lingering still.

The theater gave us all a chance to catch a glimpse of a kind of reality that could have only have been born out of someone’s imaginative dream. Who says one person can’t move the world? With the forum he provided, my thoughts and feelings changed about how I viewed life imitating art and visa versa.

His support for the theater and his ability to bring the right people together to create worlds within worlds brought joy and happiness to countless people throughout the course of many, many years.

Each time he introduced a new show, hanging onto that politically incorrect cigar, I shared for a brief moment in his little romp back into time, to days more innocent, perhaps more forgiving. For me, it was as if he were trying to show some indomitable desire for a freedom of expression amid the persistence of this world toward intolerance.

Now that you’ve taken your final bow, I say, Bravo Dave, and well done! Thank you for giving those who have followed you so much to share and remember for so long. Your quiet spirit lingers on, like the sweet smell of those old cigars from heady, bygone days.