"Screw the middle classes! I will never accept them!"
I was going to add this in with the other entry, but it already had enough photos/epic-ness due to the photos with
diana_hawthorne .
After I got home from my awesome day with Sarah, I made reservations at Ruby Foo's because I have an unhealthy addiction to their spicy tuna rolls that only gets fed whilst in New York. Meaning, I've had it one other time. But still. I love it. So we leave the hotel with plenty of time to get to our 6:15 reservation, but then it starts raining. And I mean POURING. I was in some white tank top thingy and black leggings, and thankfully my gladiator sandals. So I go to take us to the restaurant, on 51st, and somehow don't see it (because I'm on the wrong Avenue, k'duh) and send us the opposite direction. So I called up my good friend Lyndsey, and made her google the address and direct us there. Dinner was fab, and ended with me having some espresso.
Leaving Ruby Foo's, we couldn't find the Jacobs Theatre because the marquee was TOO. FREAKING. DARK. We finally did.
So now let's talk about the second show I saw in New York,
God of Carnage, starring Marcia Gay Harden, Hope Davis, Jeff Daniels, and James Gandolfini.
I was VERY lucky to catch the show before it went on a two-month 'summer vacation', effective through September 6. It was a sold out show, and even though my seats were way off to the side, I could pretty much always tell what was going on.
Basically, the story of the play, taken from the official website:
Two ostensibly civilized married couples meet up to sort out a playground fight. The son of one couple (Jeff Daniels and Hope Davis) has broken two of the teeth of the son of another (James Gandolfini and Marcia Gay Harden). At first diplomatic niceties are observed, but as the meeting progresses and the rum flows, huge tensions emerge and the gloves come off, leaving more than just their liberal principles in tatters.
(A complete review that is NOT incoherent babbling can be found here.)
Read: This is possibly one of the best plays I've ever seen, ever. I kind of expected it, even though I was willing myself to hate it the whole time. Marcia Gay Harden did not originate the role of Veronique/Veronica. Janet McTeer did. So the whole time that I was watching MGH, I couldn't help but have a mental image in the back of my mind of what Janet would have done at a certain moment. Marcia was fantastic, don't get me wrong, but I'm still rather bitter about the Tonys. (For those of you who didn't know, Janet McTeer was also Tony nominated for playing Mary Queen of Scots in Mary Stuart, but Marcia Gay stole won the Tony. Using the role Janet originated. Ugh) The crowning glory of the show for me was Hope Davis, whose performance as Annette really shined. She also has a rather captivating voice, which is something I never mind. As the action of the night unfolded, I wasn't on the far left side of the Jacobs theatre (which has a very dim marquee, thanks very much), I was IN the Vallon apartment. As gross as it is, I could imagine myself SMELLING the vomit-covered-by-perfume- it was that realistic. I was going to write down quotes to use in my review, but I seem to have misplaced them. One memorable one, however, shouted by Marcia Gay Harden, is "I CAN'T BELIEVE SHE PUKED ALL OVER MY BOOKS!". Two sources of running hilarity are Hope Davis giving James Gandolfini a hard time about killing his daughter's hamster, and the fact that Jeff Daniels' character Alan is CONSTANTLY on his cellular phone. Annette continues to make disapproving comments, until it begins to wear on everyone's nerves, and is eventually dumped down a vase of tulips. As if that weren't enough, Alan calls Hope Davis' character 'Woof woof' as an endearment. When asked to explain his actions, he begins humming the common song "How Much is That Doggie in the Window?" (You know the one- "How much is that doggie in the window? Woof woof, woof woof.") This shows how demeaning their relationship really is. The Vallons, who feel bad only after being caught making fun of him, tell Alan that they call each other 'Darjeeling', after their honeymoon in India. (PS HOW CUTE IS THAT? Haha, maybe it's not meant to be, but if someone called me darjeeling, I would giggle like mad.) They try to uphold that their marriage is working out better than the Raileighs', and for most of the play, you believe them. Then the drinking starts, and James Gandolfini's Michael begins telling what he REALLY thinks of his wife (basically that she is a pretentious twat, to be perfectly honest). The couples never really reach a verdict, and the show ends after Veronica takes a call from her daughter and tells her she is sure that the hamster ran away and is much happier.
Production photos, you say?
James Gandolfini has the booze!
The Vallon family would like to welcome you to their home.
You have no idea how much I remember what she was screaming.
The men have a moment.
Screw my bad memory.
Curtain call!
The curtain call I saw was a standing ovation, of course.
That review was the most gobbledy-gook thing i've ever typed. Gimme a break, it's 3 AM. Plus, I kind of suck at reviewing things anyway, especially without spoilers. That just doesn't happen. Now, let's have the photograph portion!
(If you want any of these larger, just let me know.)
Marcia signing playbills.
Signing mine, at last!
Marcia Gay Harden & I.
She signed a playbill for myself, and formottledpigeon .
Notice Vikki's, albeit having her name spelled wrong, warranted a heart.
I told Marcia Gay that one of the playbills was "for my friend Vikki, in Australia".
She misheard this as "my Reverend Vicky" and signed accordingly. Lmfao.
This is a source of much hilarity for me.
Next out the stagedoor was James Gandolfini. He came out, and everyone went crazy. This was the first time, EVER, that I hadn't had time to read the cast bios before the show, and since I am completely clueless, I had no idea he was on The Sopranos. None. Whatsoever. So when everyone started freaking even more than they did over MGH, I was suspicious. "He was GOOD, but he wasn't THAT good." I kept thinking. Little did I know... Sigh.
James insisted on taking the photo himself. Attempt #1.
Then, he tried again and was a bit more sucessful.
I stood there very nervously waiting on Hope Davis to come out, because she was my favourite. And then she did.
The girl next to me kept spouting "Oh my god, I'm so in love with her. Oh my god." And I was thinking "Is this how I'll look when Janet comes out?? D:" And then Hope stops and goes "Aw, shoot. I don't have a pen."
THIS IS WHERE CARRYING SHARPIES IN YOUR PURSE COMES IN HANDY, PEOPLE.
I was like "Uhm, I have a silver sharpie in my bag that you're welcome to." and Hope goes "Oh, yeah. I'll bring it back to you as soon as I can, promise!" and takes the sharpie. So the girl next to me that is in love with Hope, and her two best friends, a couple (in matching skirts, which were really cute) grabbed my hands and started spazzing out and being all "OMG HOPE IS USING YOUR SHARPIE. I WOULD FUCKING FRAME THAT SHIT. HOLY FUCK YOU ARE SO LUCKY." and I'm just grinning and being all giddy and such because OMG HOPE DAVIS HAS MY SHARPIE. Anyway, eventually they bring her a red one (like the rest of the cast uses), but for half the line MY SHARPIE was in Hope's hands. Yeah, I did just freak out about that. What of it?
The girl getting her photo with Hope. This was probably equivalent to my Janet Photo, because as soon as she walked away, the girl screamed so loudly I hoped I'd be able to hear the next night. No, seriously.
After Hope finished with her fan club, she thanked me for the sharpie (BECAUSE SHE REMEMBERED IT WAS MINE) and I told her how wonderful in the play she was, and how she was my favourite in the show.
And then my FAVOURITE OF THE NIGHT, even if I looked slightly crack whorish:
Oh, and then Jeff Daniels came out and I asked for a photo, to which he answered "Ya know, I would. But then everyone else wants a picture, and then I have to break out the hair and make-up crews, and it really gets out of hand. Sorry." In complete deadpan. So I can only HOPE he was joking. Most likely he was, but there's a spot in my mind that thinks he wasn't...... *shifty eyes*
I walked away, basking in the glow of Hope Davis, and we went and I took a photo of the Broadhurst doors, because, yeah, that's what I do.
I'm not even entirely sure it was on the way home... I may have 'accidentally' misguided Miss Betty there so as to obtain this photo.
THE END.
(Part 3 should be up soon. We hope.)