Seen in the Columbus Circle subway station last night:
Heart-stopping. I can’t believe I got a clear view of the whole thing, that subway station is always so insane.
Here’s one of the many many MANY posts I have written about Alexander Hamilton.
September 13th can’t come soon enough.
This is gonna be one of the most HUGE theatrical experiences of your life, no doubt! I personally have a very short list:
Fiddler on the Roof – national touring company – when I was 8
The Mikado – D’oily Carte Opera Company – when I was 9
A Chorus Line – sixth row center – national touring company in LA – when I was 18
Certainly there have been other great theatrical moments I’ve experienced in my life but the intensity of these three are almost too indelible to bear – I can feel the texture of the fabric of the chair during A Chorus Line pushing through my mylar disco shirt. It was the 70’s. And when the cast sang”Tradition!” and stomped together in Fidler, I about lost it. It still sends shivers.
Wish I were there to experience this with you, my dear friend. Love you! XXX Stevie
// I can feel the texture of the fabric of the chair during A Chorus Line pushing through my mylar disco shirt. //
I love your imagery. That sounds amazing!!
Now I have to think about my major theatrical experiences. I think my favorite one was during the inaugural season of the Arden Company out of Philadelphia. (And they are still around so many years later). They were a tiny operation and they did a performance outside of As You Like It – down in a big open area on the seaport. The actors were not miked. They had to project. We all sat on bleachers. And a storm was coming. That I remember. Lightning forked the sky. There was no rain. But nature was rising up, the wind getting stronger and stronger. It became so much a part of the production that to this day (like, right now) I get goosebumps when I think of it. Because As You Like It is about abandoning civilization and going “back to nature” the whole thing had a serendipity about it that turned it into one of the most magical theatrical experiences I’ve ever had. And the actors WENT with it.
I remember in particular one moment – when the actress who played Rosalind had to sink to her knees, momentarily deflated or cowed. (Can’t remember the moment in the script but I do remember her physical action.) At the moment she knelt down – literally, it felt like a CUE, the wind ROARED by – a huge WHOOSH – and she just WENT with it, and threw her head back to meet the wind.
I swear, Stevie, I am all over goosebumps.
I have no idea who that actress was although I could find out.
and finally: the woman playing Celia was the best Celia I’ve ever seen. An absolute prissy-prissy girlie-girl, totally squicked out by the woods, the trees, the mud … that chick was a comedienne. I think Celia is AS good a role as Rosalind but I’d never seen a production or an actress that really GOT that.
I also have an intense memory of seeing the original (I think?) production of HOUSE OF BLUE LEAVES, with John Mahoney, Christine Baransky, Swoozie Kurtz, and Ben Stiller making a debut as the AWOL son – and Stiller who was just a teenager made such an impression that the acting teacher who took me to see it (I was in college) whispered, “That kid is gonna be huge.” I still remember the blocking from that production.
and then of course Grey Gardens with Christine Ebersole.
Seeing Alex sing at Feinstein’s was also a major major moment.
and now … here comes Hamilton!
I wish you were here too!! xoxoxo
There’s a scene in “The Company” that’s a manufactured version of your amazing experience with “As You Like It” – Neve Campbell and her partner have taken the outdoor stage to do a slow dance and the storm rages, rain pours, umbrellas go up, and of course it works perfectly for the dance. It’s a show-must-go-on moment more than anything but also a triumphal synergy of art and nature, which seems to be what you experienced and the actor playing Celia immediately understood. What a powerful moment!
House of Blue Leaves and Grey Gardens – oh my God, how I would have loved to see those productions, those performances.
I’m sure if I were at Alex’s performance at Feinstein’s I would spend the entire show silent-sobbing.
xxx Stevie
// I’m sure if I were at Alex’s performance at Feinstein’s I would spend the entire show silent-sobbing. //
It was definitely difficult to keep a hold of myself. Especially with her gestures – which are those kinds of gestures that could reach the back row of a gigantic amphitheatre – and were, frankly, overwhelming in that small space. Great night!
and oh man, I haven’t thought about “The Company” in a long time. I really enjoyed that movie, its meditation on process, and the collective life of a ballet troupe. That scene was wonderful!