The Lisbon Traviata
Another review, from Metro Weekly:If this were Shakespeare, Glover would be the fool to Gets's King. Funny and outrageous yet, ultimately, the character that best understands the dangerous games being played around him, Glover's Mendy is beautifully rendered. He is, without question, pushing the boundaries but manages to do so without leaving the realm of reality. He is extravagant though not unrecognizable. A clown, but most certainly not a cartoon.
And an interview with John from Towson University newspaper The Towerlight:
John Glover comes to Kennedy Center
By Lauren Slavin
It isn’t often an actor is asked to perform in a play by the playwright who wrote it.
But John Glover found himself in just that position when he received a call from Terrence McNally, author of “The Lisbon Traviata.”
“I’ve done three other of his plays, so he knows my work,” Glover said.
“It’s very rare that a playwright will call you and say ‘please do this play for me,’ especially one of Terrence’s magnitude, so it was quite an honor.”
The Kennedy Center is putting on three of McNally’s plays at a part of the series “Nights at the Opera.”
The Towson University alum has spent the last three-and-a-half weeks preparing for his role in “The Lisbon Traviata” as Mendy, an opera fan who wants nothing more than to obtain a new, illegal copy of a performance by his favorite soprano, Maria Callas.
When McNally first approached Glover about the play, the “Smallville” actor was apprehensive about taking on the role.
“It was like learning Greek I felt,” Glover said.
“I’ve always been intimidated by opera.”
But after reading all he could on Callas, playing the part of a “flamboyant and catty opera queen” has come easily.
“I’ve come to admire her greatly, I learned quite a lot about what I do, or what artists do, from the way she would attack a role,” he said.
Glover, who has won a Tony award for his performance in another McNally play, “Love! Valour! Compassion!,” says that the performances so far have run well.
The play’s acts, which Glover said when watched often seem like two different plays being put on, are very much in sync during this performance.
“Terrence himself even says he’s finally seeing his play as a whole,” Glover said.
“The Lisbon Traviata” opened on March 20 and runs through April 11.
And an interview with John from Towson University newspaper The Towerlight:
John Glover comes to Kennedy Center
By Lauren Slavin
It isn’t often an actor is asked to perform in a play by the playwright who wrote it.
But John Glover found himself in just that position when he received a call from Terrence McNally, author of “The Lisbon Traviata.”
“I’ve done three other of his plays, so he knows my work,” Glover said.
“It’s very rare that a playwright will call you and say ‘please do this play for me,’ especially one of Terrence’s magnitude, so it was quite an honor.”
The Kennedy Center is putting on three of McNally’s plays at a part of the series “Nights at the Opera.”
The Towson University alum has spent the last three-and-a-half weeks preparing for his role in “The Lisbon Traviata” as Mendy, an opera fan who wants nothing more than to obtain a new, illegal copy of a performance by his favorite soprano, Maria Callas.
When McNally first approached Glover about the play, the “Smallville” actor was apprehensive about taking on the role.
“It was like learning Greek I felt,” Glover said.
“I’ve always been intimidated by opera.”
But after reading all he could on Callas, playing the part of a “flamboyant and catty opera queen” has come easily.
“I’ve come to admire her greatly, I learned quite a lot about what I do, or what artists do, from the way she would attack a role,” he said.
Glover, who has won a Tony award for his performance in another McNally play, “Love! Valour! Compassion!,” says that the performances so far have run well.
The play’s acts, which Glover said when watched often seem like two different plays being put on, are very much in sync during this performance.
“Terrence himself even says he’s finally seeing his play as a whole,” Glover said.
“The Lisbon Traviata” opened on March 20 and runs through April 11.