Favorites On and Off-Broadway

I've wanted to see Blue Man Group all 15 years I've lived here, and they didn't disappoint. Though they only opened their mouths to eat there was a wealth of lessons for actors:

1. Listen to each other. at least one of the actors we saw has been doing this show for 16 years, but it felt as fresh as if they were making their discoveries for the first time.
2. It's not about words. Words only make up 7% of communication, and these guys were communicating volumes. Most intriguing was how they expressed their relationships to each other and to the audience.
3. Be as big as you need to be. Their whole schtick is based on subtlety, but when they need to be big, they don't hold back! Their energy is stupendous!

Another standout was A Man for All Seasons. Our friend, David Lander, who designed lights for Fire Off-Broadway (my NYC run with Roger Nelson) lit this Roundabout production brilliantly...so to speak. It was so encouraging to see Broadway explore a man literally laying down his life for his beliefs. Frank Langella plays Sir Thomas More, who served as Henry VIII's chancellor, but resigned when Henry made himself the head of the church in England so he could annul his marriage.

My favorite theatrical hours of late were spent at the new musical, A Tale of Two Cities. While creating our documentary on Eric Liddell (details will be announced soon for our Western Hemisphere debut) we discovered that Liddell was memorizing the last three chapters of Dickens' masterpiece. It truly is worth meditating on the story of a man giving his life for another. The whole cast was great, but James Barbour, who played Sydney Carton, was extraordinary. Right from the start he was making choices that were absolutely captivating.