Attn: DC Theatre Peeps! ANNA CHRISTIE!

[thehefner]

DC area theatre peeps: here are five reasons to go see Eugene O'Neill's ANNA CHRISTIE at the Heritage O'Neill Theatre in Bethesda.

1.) It stars aeonata in the lead/title role. Anyone who's seen her in a Rude Mechanicals show knows how awesome she is.

2.) It's by Eugene O'Neill, arguably the greatest American playwright. And yet, how many of you have actually seen an O'Neill play? I'm guessing damn few, considering that so few are ever staged due to the fact that his great plays are usually 4+ hours long. One exception is ANNA CHRISTIE, one of his most rightly famous works, which clocks in at a sensible two and a half hours. Well, maybe shorter, if they pick up the pacing a bit. It wasn't their fault, though, it was a tough night. Which brings me to...

3.) They just opened to criminally small audiences and need the love. I've performed to small houses more often than I'd like to admit, and it stinks, especially when you've got a great show with talented folks like this show has. A show like this thrives on the energy of a packed house.

4.) Seriously, it's Eugene frickin' O'Neill.

5.) Seriously, it's aeonata!!!

It's playing through June 5th, more info here.

I need to check out this theatre more often. It's an entire group dedicated to doing Eugene O'Neill! That's so amazing! In the Fall, they're also doing Rod Serling's REQUIEM FOR A HEAVYWEIGHT. You can bet I'll be taking Henchgirl out to see that one.

And then, in the winter... they'll be doing THE ICEMAN COMETH. Holy crap. Holy crap holy crap holy crap. Hickey is one of my top three all-time dream roles to play, but I never thought I'd have a chance, because this is one of those 4+ hour long plays. They never stage it unless it's a brilliant name cast.

I first saw ICEMAN on stage with Kevin Spacey, Paul Giamatti, Tony Danza, Robert Sean Leonard, and Michael "Ben Fucking Linus" Emerson, and even at that length, it was the greatest thing I'd ever seen on stage. And then I saw the film, with Jason Robards and a ridiculously young Robert Redford. That DVD is one of the very favorite films I have that I can't ever get up to nerve to show to anyone else.

And Hickey is a role I'd walk over hot coals to perform. Just a couple months ago, I told Henchgirl that I needed to find the script in a Barnes and Noble, just so I could perform for her one of the big monologues, right there in the shop. You bet I did, too, with several customers giving me weird looks.

Problem is, I know I'm too young for Hickey by at least a decade, but I doubt I'll ever get this chance again, so I'm gonna give it my all. Hopefully my thinning hairline will actually help me out for once!

Comments

[cisic.livejournal.com]

FYI, Heritage doesn't always have open audition calls, so you'll probably need to submit a headshot and resume and cover letter if you want a chance at an audition. (Though since Iceman needs so many men, they may indeed post a notice for that one).

Two, there is one guy who plays all the leads, so it is likely that he is playing Hickey.

Three, if it weren't for that fact I would say don't be discouraged by being to young for the part. They called me to audition for Moon for the Misbegotten which is a role I have no business playing.

[thehefner.livejournal.com]

I saw about the closed audition thing. Welp, looks like I finally have a reason to get new headshots!

There were two lead guys in ANNA CHRISTIE, so I'm gonna guess you mean the older one. He's great, but I can see him being a better Larry than Hickey. He'd be an amazing Larry. But if they're hell-bent on him being Hickey, well, he'll be great too, I'm sure. Just a little TOO old, the opposite of my problem!

I dunno, I think you could have been great with that role! But hey, that's encouraging from my end. If I can't be Hickey, it'd be fun to be Willie. Look, I just don't want to play Parritt. That's all. I hate that damn character.

Of course, that could be a fun Hefnerian challenge: playing my absolute least favorite character in my favorite play ever, and seeing what I can do with it.

God, I haven't acted in a play since... FAUST? MERRY WIVES? Geez.

[aeonata.livejournal.com]

I'll let the director know you're interested in auditioning, so don't worry too much about getting new headshots unless you really want them.

I'll give you some information about what to expect from the audition, etc, offline.

And thank you again for coming and for the enthusiastic plug! You're the best, pally! :)

[dlash.livejournal.com]

Did you read my e-mail?