happyOn Thursday night, I gave up my "Gypsy" tickets to see "All My Sons". I'd never seen the show, but had missed so many LA productions of the show in the past (and once almost went to one at the Geffen.) John Lithgow was phenomenal in the show... as was Dianne Weiss and I was surprised that Katie Holms had a real stage presence about her... She was pretty good in the role and really lit up the stage. Patrick Wilson, who I'd only ever seen in musicals, was great as the tortured surviving son. All in all it was a great production and I'm glad that I got the chance to see it.
Idaho!
On Friday evening, I went to see the last of my New York Musical Theatre Festival shows... "Idaho!" - which actually was the best festival show that I'd seen the entire week. It was a parody of "Oklahoma" with VERY tongue-in-cheek humor and lots of sexual innuendo. VERY funny! With characters named "Ida Dunham" and "Anita Polk" you get the idea of the kind of humor throughout the show. The music was catchy and clever, the dialog funny and engaging... I think the show could very well have a great off-broadway run. :)
A Tale of Two Cities
On Saturday, I headed back to the Hirschfeld to see Kevin in "A Tale of Two Cities" again (for the 3rd time!) The show itself is enjoyable, the comedic moments fit in well with the story and didn't seem too out of place, the characters were likable and redeemable - even Madame DeFarge... The thing I liked about Natalie's portrayal was that she didn't play the character as an insane madwoman, instead she gave the character a very driven purpose...
Kevin was extremely wonderful in the show playing the voice of reason in the DeFarge household. His comforting of every character in the show was nice to see (since he usually plays the bad guy...) And his last scene with Natalie is heartbreaking.
James Barbour was expecially good as Carton... I'd seen so many things that James had done in the past and it seemed to me that he played every role the same way... But this was different. His comedic timing was excellent, his sensitivity just perfect... I actually loved his portrayal.
Aaron Lazar was a good Darnay and came across very well on stage. The thing with Aaron (or possibly with the role of Darnay itself) is that while we love him and root for him, he seems a bit reserved and ends up not making as much of an impression as some of the other characters. But this might have just been me.
Natalie Toro was amazing as Madame DeFarge and as I've said above, really made the character more driven than insane. I saw two different actresses in the role of Madame DeFarge (I saw an understudy on Saturday night last week) and there is no doubt in my mind that Natalie is the strength behind her character. She was amazing.
Seeing Kevin after the show was wonderful. He thanked me for the gift and the LOOOOOONG card that I sent him for opening night. It's been a while since we've been able to talk and I've really missed it. As I've said, there are times in which I feel that we've drifted apart and then I'll see him and we'll talk and then I remember why I travel so far to see him perform for so many years.
Spoke to Natalie a bunch on Saturday and she told me how much she loved Kevin and what a great husband he was... She said that she told Julie that she'd have to share him now. ;) She was wonderful and sweet and so gracious - I adored her.
The one thing I found amusing was that NO ONE recognizes Kevin at the stage door. People ask for his autograph and then ask, "Who did you play?" I love seeing their reactions when he tells them he was DeFarge!! :) I told Kevin that if he wants people to recognize him at the stage door, he should come out in that nappy wig of his. :)
It was great and SOOOOO wonderful to see Kevin in a show like this. I can't say what a wonderful feeling it was to see him on that stage!!
I still have a couple more shows to write about... I will catch up eventually! This is my last day in the city and though I miss Mark and want to go home to see him, I will also miss the abundance of theatre that's here and so close to me all the time...
Hope you are all well!! Big HUGS to all of you!!