… to the anonymous person (at least anonymous – in that I cannot send him a private “thank you” email – and his name is unfamiliar to me) who sent me Arthur Koestler’s Darkness at Noon – which I have never read (ducking from whatever Emily is throwing at my head right now).
I am THRILLED – to have a copy now. THRILLED and I will dig in right away (well, after I finish Underworld).
To you out there … whoever you are … thank you so much for reading my blog, and taking the time to send me a little something. It does mean the world to me … and I hope you read this.
One clue as to who he is … It was because of this post I wrote a while back (one I am quite proud of) about Laurette Taylor – an almost-forgotten stage actress who created the role of Amanda in the first production of Glass Menagerie. Anyone who saw that landmark production went away from it forever changed. Her acting is STILL talked about by those who saw her perform.
And yet … Laurette Taylor … the name has vanished a bit into the mists of history …
However – this gentleman had read that post, and was touched by the fact that someone else out there was “carrying the torch” for Laurette.
It’s always hurt me a bit that she is not more remembered (even though I never saw the woman act in my life – she died in the 1940s) … and so I wrote that post. Beautifully, I continue to get emails from people about it, people thanking me for writing about this woman, thanking me for sharing their passion for her …. “Laurette Taylor” shows up on my Google search logs on a weekly basis.
Maybe I’m nuts, but I feel like singing with joy about all of that. Her reputation as an artist is important to me … She was one of those people who propelled the art to a new level, much as Brando did, or Eleanora Duse.
Regardless, I’m rambling. I’ve been up since 5 am. I’m leaving tonight. ARRRRGH. I’m losing it!!!
Just wanted to say to my fellow Laurette-Taylor-admirer, who was kind of enough to send me Darkness at Noon: Thank you! It’s been on my “must-read-this-book-one-day” list for about 6 years … and it’s coming across the Atlantic with me tonight. I’ll read it on the plane.
Thank you so much.
(If you’re interested, I’ve written a couple other posts about this great American actress. Here they are:
Tennessee Williams – that “nice little guy” (This post is a book excerpt describing the first night Glass Menagerie was ever done – an ice-encrusted night in Chicago)
Glass Menagerie, continued (This post describes when the play returned to Broadway … Laurette Taylor’s triumphant return to Broadway after years of obscurity. She died the following year.)
Long live the memory of Laurette.
Sheila – when you get a chance, look up Koestler’s bio on Wikipedia or some other online reference. He was an interesting man, to say the least. And read that last line right now and tell me it isn’t perfect.
I immediately thought of checking the last line but was afraid it might give something away? Or am I safe…
It will give away that the protaganist dies, but that much is pretty widely known and can be surmised within the first half of the book, so I haven’t really ruined anything for you. Or anyone else who hasn’t read it.
Taylor also auditioned for Gone With The Wind. For the Aunt (I can’t remember the character’s name right now). I saw the footage from her original audition, and it is truly stunning. Remarkable. She wasn’t cast because she was so natural, and so ahead of what was going on in the 30’s, that it literally frightened the director. No big hands, no eyebrow lifting, no quirks or ticks of any kind. Never playing to the camera. She was just there. In the scene. Being honest. Talking and reacting to the character off screen. Never seen the like back then. Never.
It’s a stunning 3 minutes.
It was a clip on that Broadway perspective that was out in theatres for about 10 minutes. I’m sure it will come on video or DVD, and I’ll let you know. It’s fascinating all the way around, but more so because there’s a section that’s almost a half an hour long devoted strictly to Laurette Taylor.
I also have a picture that my Dad gave me about 25 years ago, that has a photo of a very young Taylor on it. He was a huge fan of hers as well. It was hanging in the foyer. I can’t remember if I showed it to you or not. You passed it every time you came in the front door.
Obviously, there was no one like her.
Emily, just read it.
Holy crap.
Alex – Mitchell showed it to me. It was a small flier for “Peg o’ My Heart” is that right?
Mitchell told me about that Broadway retrospective show … and how everyone who was anyone kept referencing: “Laurette Taylor, Laurette Taylor, Laurette Taylor…”
The legacy lives on.
God, how I wish I had been in the audience on that freezing night in Chicago in 1944. What it must have been like to see her in action …
Red I think I’m phasing in and out of this reality.
I would swear we had an in-depth conversation about Darkness at Noon a while back…
It’s always a geeked feeling when a couple of your wish list items just show up in the mail out of nowhere, aint’ it?
Sheila, I am so glad that you posted that. It was great for me to read, especially now, doing School for Scandal. There are so many traps in this play, mostly involving vague charm and generalized emotion that Laurette talks about. I did not know that an essay of hers survived. I’ve read so much about what other people thought of her, but never had a first hand account. Thank you!
Red —
My pleasure, Ma’am. When I was glancing at your wish list, the Koestler immediately caught my eye. First read it in High School, but it has really hung around in my brain. I’m doing Goldberg in Pinter’s “The Birthday Party” in February and the novel has been haunting me since rehearsals started. It is a cry against conformity. If you’re a bit obtuse you might only see Goldberg and my sidekick McCann as the villians of the piece, representatives of the two of the world’s oldest autocratic religions who are agents sent to destroy those who stray from orthodoxy and tradition, much as Comrade Gletkin is in the novel. But McCann and I are also representatives of two of the world’s most persecuted races (although, sadly, many races are gaining on us fast) and as such we are also victims. Revolutions are bound to devour their fathers.
Now, if I can only find Goldberg’s (and Pinter’s) sense of loss within myself and Taylor’s truthfulness and simplicity, it might be something to see.
Enjoy the book.
Larry