Stories and Tunes — Stephen Morris

Darwin's evolution is now complete. Darwin Hunter made his literary debut more than twenty years ago when he chronicled the lifestyle warfare taking place in idyllic rural Vermont between the entrenched natives ("Woodchucks") and the invaders from the south ("Flatlanders") in a self-proclaimed magnum opus, "Beyond Yonder." The misadventures continued as he made an unorthodox run for public office, embracing a policy of Total Disclosure in "The King of Vermont." Meanwhile, to the south in the coastal Flatlands in a seaside community just south of Boston called Indian Mound, Arthur Gordon, disgraced Hollywood film director, tries to recover his self-esteem by restoring a rundown summer cottage and catching a striped bass on a fly rod in the mini-epic "Stripah Love." Now, the entire cast of characters from both locations come together for the final chapter (well, who knows?) of Darwin's journey in "Stories and Tunes." Darwin Hunter is the MegaBucks Czar, a man with unassailable authority over the state lottery. After an epiphany that reveals to him the regressive nature of this institutionalized gambling, Darwin becomes a modern day Robin Hood, using his power to more fairly distribute the wealth, at least in the Brigadoon that is Vermont. He is assisted and challenged by the most colorful cast of characters since ... uh, "Canterbury Tales." There's the rappin' Shappy Shapiro, originator of the Peace Pretzel; BJ Bosco, equally at ease shooting with a camera or a gun; the silently voracious Dog Sled Girl; Henry Drown, entrepreneur from Down Under; and Captain Goo-Roo, the musician whose life is defined by the power chords of rock and roll. Vermont is the stage for a madcap farce with pretensions of searing social commentary. Things gotta change.