Seein' shows in NYC
Oct. 13th, 2004 09:42 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
thehefnerI have to first and foremost thank ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
2sick2pray, not just for housing me, but for being my theatre guide and show buddy for this past weekend. Some people seem puzzled that I would dedicate every opportunity I had in the city to see shows. In case you hadn't figured it out yet, I am a story junkie in all its forms, and while money is always an issue, I have parents with the mentality of "you'll always make that money back, but if you miss that show you'll never see it again." So I am a little bit poorer in pocketbook, but all the richer in spirit.
RICHARD III: Peter Dinklage is a dwarf. The novelty is what draws you in. Within seconds of seeing him and, more importantly, hearing him, you suddenly understand how he's made a career being a serious stage actor in NYC. This is now the fifth Richard I have seen that is so iconic and different that it cannot be rightly compared to any of the others. \
Those other four distinct, powerful, iconic Richards I've seen are Olivier (the definitive classical version, hands-down... in many ways his movie of Richard is like Taymor's Titus, at least in terms of classical production, in that it is basically as perfect a version that'll ever be),fiveseconddelay's (which actually might have been comperable to Wallace Acton's, but I missed that show so I couldn't say), Ian McKellen's Brit Nazi version, and jcsbimp, of course. We can now add Dinklage to this list. Besides Hamlet, I don't think I've ever seen a single Shakespeare character go through so many drastically different interpretations.
TRYING: Ok, I had no idea what this new play was going into it. I just wanted to see Fritz Weaver before he died. Who is Fritz Weaver, you ask? He's one of those actors who's been working in films and Twilight Zone-esque shows for 50 years, his most notable films being "Fail-Safe" (brilliant movie... imagine Dr. Strangelove without jokes... just try to imagine that) and he was in the Crate sequence of "Creepshow." He's also the voice of History Channel specials. So I just wanted to see him. What I wasn't expecting was how wonderful this show was. The blurbs didn't lie, I really can see this being a Pulitzer contender; it's certainly comperable to "Proof". The ending was one of those things I could see coming a mile away, and when they came I STILL cried. Wonderful play.
I AM MY OWN WIFE: So 2sick2pray gave me a script on my birthday, saying that she thought this would be a perfect role for me. So of course I had to see the show. Let me tell you... if I weren't doing "Vigil," I would be doing this show in a heartbeat. Let me make this clear: I MUST DO THIS SHOW. A one-man-show of 40 characters, the true story of a East German transvestite who not only survived both the Nazis and the Communists, but was awarded the Medal of Honor. And that's only the beginning of the story. I've been reading it aloud to my mother now, trying to get a feel for it. This is the kind of show I could dom for months at a time. I must must must make this happen someday.
I think I filled my NYC drama quota for the year. The celebrate, here's a new Cyclops icon. I'm a proud member of the People's Ethical Treatment of Scott.
2sick2pray, not just for housing me, but for being my theatre guide and show buddy for this past weekend. Some people seem puzzled that I would dedicate every opportunity I had in the city to see shows. In case you hadn't figured it out yet, I am a story junkie in all its forms, and while money is always an issue, I have parents with the mentality of "you'll always make that money back, but if you miss that show you'll never see it again." So I am a little bit poorer in pocketbook, but all the richer in spirit.RICHARD III: Peter Dinklage is a dwarf. The novelty is what draws you in. Within seconds of seeing him and, more importantly, hearing him, you suddenly understand how he's made a career being a serious stage actor in NYC. This is now the fifth Richard I have seen that is so iconic and different that it cannot be rightly compared to any of the others. \
Those other four distinct, powerful, iconic Richards I've seen are Olivier (the definitive classical version, hands-down... in many ways his movie of Richard is like Taymor's Titus, at least in terms of classical production, in that it is basically as perfect a version that'll ever be),
fiveseconddelay's (which actually might have been comperable to Wallace Acton's, but I missed that show so I couldn't say), Ian McKellen's Brit Nazi version, and jcsbimp, of course. We can now add Dinklage to this list. Besides Hamlet, I don't think I've ever seen a single Shakespeare character go through so many drastically different interpretations.TRYING: Ok, I had no idea what this new play was going into it. I just wanted to see Fritz Weaver before he died. Who is Fritz Weaver, you ask? He's one of those actors who's been working in films and Twilight Zone-esque shows for 50 years, his most notable films being "Fail-Safe" (brilliant movie... imagine Dr. Strangelove without jokes... just try to imagine that) and he was in the Crate sequence of "Creepshow." He's also the voice of History Channel specials. So I just wanted to see him. What I wasn't expecting was how wonderful this show was. The blurbs didn't lie, I really can see this being a Pulitzer contender; it's certainly comperable to "Proof". The ending was one of those things I could see coming a mile away, and when they came I STILL cried. Wonderful play.
I AM MY OWN WIFE: So 2sick2pray gave me a script on my birthday, saying that she thought this would be a perfect role for me. So of course I had to see the show. Let me tell you... if I weren't doing "Vigil," I would be doing this show in a heartbeat. Let me make this clear: I MUST DO THIS SHOW. A one-man-show of 40 characters, the true story of a East German transvestite who not only survived both the Nazis and the Communists, but was awarded the Medal of Honor. And that's only the beginning of the story. I've been reading it aloud to my mother now, trying to get a feel for it. This is the kind of show I could dom for months at a time. I must must must make this happen someday.
I think I filled my NYC drama quota for the year. The celebrate, here's a new Cyclops icon. I'm a proud member of the People's Ethical Treatment of Scott.
