I went to New York to visit my old college friend, Ellen. Planned at the beginning of the summer, I was supposed to go out there on September 20th but of course because of the 9/11 events, I postponed the trip until November. I noticed that “The Glory of Living” was starting the same week that I was to fly out there, so just as an added bonus, I thought that we could check out a preview show.
Saturday evening, November 3rd, was a beautiful night outside, it felt warm and breezy. So we walked from Ellen’s apartment in East Village to the theater in Chelsea. I had never been to the MCC before so we just walked along, enjoying the breeze and watching the city start to really wake up (remember it’s Saturday evening) and I noticed that 28th Street got kind of dark; there was trash EVERYWHERE. I felt like was in an alley or something. Then all of a sudden, there we were already in front of the theater entrance. I swear I would’ve just walked right by, but then I looked over and not three feet away from me stood the man, Philip Seymour Hoffman, joking around with with a few people.
First of all, I was struck by his voice, it’s a lot deeper than I had imagined…and his stature? Well…he’s a little shorter than I thought too…at least it seemed that way! Really he’s not a very big guy…I don’t know what everyone’s talking about. It’s funny how movies always make a person look so much larger than life. Weird. Anyway, he was wearing a baseball cap, t-shirt under a flannel shirt, and a pair of pants that you usually see line chefs wearing, you know the ones…they’re like a tiny checkerboard pattern, usually black and white, but they look gray at a distance? Whatever. Again, he was bearded. The lumberjack look must be a style he prefers.
So Ellen and I just stood there smoking cigarettes. I tried not to look at him too much but it was really difficult. Finally I said, “Let’s go upstairs and get those tickets.” I figured that maybe I could talk to him later. So we commenced standing in line. When I purchased tickets on the phone two months ago, the phone rep told me to bring my credit card for ID and the box office would give me the tickets there. So I gave the box office my name, and what? No tickets for me? Nothing under my name whatsoever? What about my maiden name? What about my friend’s name? What about my phone number? Email address? Snail mail address? Freaking credit card number? Trying really hard to maintain my composure, I smiled and said to the guy, “Well…this isn’t good,” and he agreed. I asked him if I could just buy another set of tickets, but the show was already sold out. I looked over at Ellen and I could see that she was really unhappy and then I look at the line of people behind me waiting to get their tickets and I thought to myself, “I’m helpless. There’s absolutely nothing I can do!” It was surreal. Still, I had to be cool about this. What was the point in flipping out? I knew it wouldn’t do any good. And obviously the ticket guy understood the suckiness of the situation and was doing whatever he could. It wasn’t over yet. Then ticket guy said, “I’m going to do whatever I can to get you in here, but I have to check these other people in first.” So we took a seat in the lobby…and waited…and waited…and waited.
On a sidenote, remember the guy who played the stuttering public defender in “My Cousin Vinny?” Well he was in line to see the play as well…neat. He’s been in a bunch of other films but I don’t remember because his performance on “My Cousin…” was absolutely one of the most hysterical, most memorable performances I’ve ever seen.
Finally I looked around and saw that except for two other people, everyone was already in the theater. The manager came out and I asked him what time it was and he replied, “8:05 p.m.” “Damn,” I thought, “we’re screwed.” But then, like a miracle from GOD, the ticket guy waved two tickets for me to purchase—YAY! We purchased, went into the theater (which was really small by the way—only 99 seats!). We looked at our tickets to see where we were supposed to sit and…row A, seats 3 & 4…Oh my God, this can’t be right. Front row center?!? Then I heard that familiar laugh and looked up and to see that it was Phil again, sitting in the second row…oh…my…God! We sat down, and then the play began.
I’m not going to go into a ton of detail about it but…in the first half…it’s intense. I mean, a story about a 15-year-old who marries an abusive ex-con is a pretty upsetting concept in itself. The dialogue was loud and in-your-face, the actions were wild…I mean…we were sitting two feet away from the actors so it was pretty super-powerful! Scene after scene just got more and more disturbing by the minute. Yet I found myself laughing a lot too…Partly because there were some funny moments, and partly because the scenes made me nervous. Obviously I reacted very strongly to the story.
Then intermission came along. Again, Phil was talking to friends and I didn’t want to interrupt him and say something stupid so Ellen and I just went right outside and had another cigarette. After we finished, we headed upstairs, and as we did, Phil came downstairs by himself, and what did Ellen and I do? We looked away and stepped aside to let him by…DAMN! A perfect chance to talk to him and we blew it. But honestly! The play wasn’t over yet and I wasn’t sure how I felt about it at that moment so…I really had nothing to say! And I felt like maybe it wasn’t appropriate to tell him what a great actor I thought he was, seeing how as for this night he was a director! Geez…I’m so lame.
The second half of the play was an amazing turnaround…where the first half was shocking and upsetting, the second half was enlightening. Unbelievably, it made sense of all the crazy sh*t that was going on in the first half. By the end, I was totally moved, and it felt like the rest of the house was too. “The Glory of Living” is fantastic okay? I really enjoyed reading Rebecca Gilman’s work and now that I’ve seen this one, I want to see all of her other plays as well. All the actors were superb too, Anna Paquin especially blew me away. That seemed like a really difficult role to tackle, but of course she made it look easy. The guy who played Lisa’s public defender (David Aaron Baker) was excellent too. I think we may see a lot of him in the future. The transitions between the scenes were cool…a lot of beautiful imagery with the actors’ shadows, set to really loud music that literally shook you out of your seat. The set was awesome too, they made so many totally different rooms out of just a few walls, on what looked like a very small space.
When the play was over, I just sat there. You know when you see something that just really freaked you out? And after it’s done, you just want to sit there and process it? Let it sink in? That’s what it was like. I’d have to say that a play is pretty damn good if it can shock, upset, fustigate and stupify you, then twist it all around and reveal a concept that you’ve never thought of before…and then make you think differently—all within two hours.
If I saw Phil again, I would have told him how much I thoroughly enjoyed the play, but alas, as we entered the lobby, he wasn’t there. So we left. Then we went bar-hopping until 3 a.m.
In terms of being a Phil fan? Yeah okay, I was too chicken to say anything to him, and I had so many perfect opportunities that night. But honestly, it just didn’t feel right. I just kept feeling like a stupid groupie. I figured, let it go. But now that I’m back home, it’s a few weeks later and the excitement has faded, I remember that yes, he is an artist…and most artists appreciate a compliment of their work. So next time (if there ever is a next time) I’m totally going to carpe diem! Until then, it’s okay…it was yet another very exciting experience! I saw another kickass play, and I saw Phil Hoffman in person.
Oh and by the way, you remember the ticket agency that I spoke to on the phone? Well, they sent me letter of apology as they actually found my order…but it was never finished…so it never made it to the MCC Theater! I have to assume that the phone rep I spoke to must have been stoned.
-- Lee
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