Nov 9, 2007 show review (& meeting Aaron Sorkin and Janel Moloney)
I had the opportunity to plan a trip to NYC with two friends to see the show. My friend flew in from MN and another drove in from NJ to see the show. As we were sitting there waiting for the show to start and doing all the pre-show stuff (reading the playbill, crowd watching), who do we see but Janel Moloney sitting four rows ahead of us. Now the three of us were huge West Wing fans and to be that close to "Donna Moss" while at an Aaron Sorkin show was fantastic. Little did we know the night would get better.
We watch the crowd for a few more minutes and just before the curtain rises, we see Janel hugging a man. Tipping our heads we get a better view and realize the man she is hugging is none other than Aaron Sorkin!! At that moment the three of us decided that we weren't leaving without one or both of their autographs.
The curtain rises on the first act and kept us entranced the entire time. Hank Azaria as David Sarnoff is truly amazing but the real treat was Jimmy Simpson. For any Sorkin fan, you'll see a lot of "Josh Lyman," "Will Bailey" and "Matt Albie" in the way he wrote the Philo Character. At first you might think you're going to be bored watching a show about the invention of the television. Have more faith in Mr. Sorkin. It is outstanding! As the first act ended, I can say I was honestly disappointed that it wasn't longer.
That said, I was also thrilled Janel Moloney ended up talking to a couple just two rows behind us. My friends and I make our way to the rear of the orchestra section to where she is standing and patiently wait for a lull in her conversation to try to speak with her. After a few minutes and us blocking the foot traffic, my friend Cathy decides to bite the bullet and approach her. Anne Marie and I bring up the rear and Cathy asks for her autograph. She graciously signs Cathy's playbill though she mentions that this isn't her show. She signs mine and mentions that she's going to sign it "I Love Aaron Sorkin" and I replied, "that's great because we LOVE Aaron Sorkin as well. Matter of fact, my friend whose program you just signed flew in from Minnesota to see the show." She looked particularly stunned at that fact. Taking advantage of the stunned look I added, "Would it be possible to take a photo with you Ms. Moloney?" She smiled and said yes and to please call her Janel. The couple she was talking to took the pictures for us. We headed down to the concession area to see if Aaron Sorkin was there but no luck.
Making it back to our seats in time for the show's second act, we again were riveted by the performance. There were definite lines from other things Sorkin had written, no more so than the end of the second act when Sarnoff (Azaria) gives an impassioned speech about being explorers. I'll refer you to the West Wing episode entitled "Galileo" where Sam Seaborn makes a similar speech about being explorers. Portions are nearly verbatim.
We stand to applaud and after a lengthy standing ovation, we proceed to gather our things to leave. Janel is standing with the couple again and who appears next to her but Aaron Sorkin. They are talking about where to go for drinks. While we couldn't overhear them, we did bump into them as we were walking out and Cathy offers him a brilliant smile and a "Mr. Sorkin that was just wonderful." He replies "Please call me Aaron and I'm glad you liked it." somehow I got into the conversation and mentioned Cathy's flying in from MN again. Who knows why I was focused on that fact but after a double take, Aaron kindly took a photo with us per my asking. He tried to get Janel into the photo but she replied she'd already taken one with us. The couple again took our photo and off they went to get drinks while Anne Marie, Cathy and I were trying to maintain some sense of composure and not begin screaming like giddy schoolgirls.
While Broadway is dark right now due to the stage hands strike, if you get the chance to see Farnsworth do it! RUN, Don't walk. It is a fantastic play, fast moving, incredible actors and outstanding writing.
I'm completely new to LiveJournal so I don't have experience with posting but if someone can direct me, I'd be happy to post the photos we were so fortunate to take.