THE BIRTH OF A CREATURE OF HUMAN

FANTASY, A BIRTH WHICH IS A STEP ACROSS

THE THRESHOLD BETWEEN NOTHING

AND ETERNITY, CAN ALSO HAPPEN SUDDENLY,

OCCASIONED BY SOME NECESSITY.

AN IMAGINED DRAMA NEEDS A CHARACTER

WHO DOES OR SAYS A CERTAIN

NECESSARY THING; ACCORDINGLY THIS

CHARACTER IS BORN AND IS

PRECISELY WHAT HE HAD TO BE.

—LUIGI PIRANDELLO, 1925

“WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT?”

—BENNY GOODMAN,
his back to the audience at the New York Paramount, as Frank Sinatra made his entrance and the fans roared, December 30, 1942