rickps: (Wicked)
rickps ([personal profile] rickps) wrote2007-06-27 10:19 am

Vacation Plans

Will I want to toss Spam a Lot?

Is it Curtains for this theater season?

Would I make a Chaperone Drowsy from all this theater time?

Will I have Grey Gardens when I return home from seeing all these shows?

I'll know in early August.

Special thanks to [personal profile] bearfuz for helping me decide what to see.

[identity profile] bearfuz.livejournal.com 2007-06-28 06:29 am (UTC)(link)
You're close. Christine plays the fortysomething MOTHER in Act 1 (1941) and then plays the DAUGHTER in Act 2, aged 56 in 1973. Act 2 corresponds with the documentary, and whole bits of dialogue (and their interpretations) are lifted wholesale from the movie. It's really quite marvelous.

[identity profile] ricksf.livejournal.com 2007-06-28 03:03 pm (UTC)(link)
Damn, I was afraid I'd had that reversed!

[identity profile] bearfuz.livejournal.com 2007-06-28 05:40 pm (UTC)(link)
While it's not necessary, it can't hurt to rent/borrow the DVD of the original documentary so you can see what these crazy ladies were like in the 1970s. If you do that, then you'll be amazed when you see how well Christine and Mary-Louise capture the physicalities and accents and essence of their characters. [livejournal.com profile] billeyler used the word "unhinged"... that comes close to explaining them! The 1941 first act is a completely invented conceit which is meant as a prologue to the documentary-documented second act; in inventing Act 1 the creators lifted many lines from the movie, shifting the context where necessary.

I should add, by way of piquing your interest, that Bob Stillman, who plays the fey, gin-soaked accompanist George Gould Strong, does his own piano playing onstage. He's nothing short of miraculous in the role. Think Liberace with more conservative attire.

Wish I knew whether or when I might be playing. It's too early to tell right now. You implied that you have all your tickets reserved, yes? Can you tell me what the dates are? (...in an email if you like...)

[identity profile] ricksf.livejournal.com 2007-06-29 03:03 pm (UTC)(link)
I've got to dig up a copy of the original Grey Gardens. Sounds like it would enhance my enjoyment of the show.

Dates and shows I'm doing are:

8/2 Spamalot
8/3 Curtains
8/4 Drowsy Chaperone
8/5 Grey Gardens

All are evening shows except Grey Gardens, of course. I'll be driving into NYC on the second and am hoping to catch Seth too at Mamas if I can get my act together in time. Hmm, is there such a thing as Broadway overdose?