xtcian

doin' all right, gettin' good grades

4/18/04

the rarest of all pictures: me with both of my parents! (at the Edgemar Theater on Saturday night)

The fact is this: no matter how awful the lead-up might be, when it comes to theater, most productions manage to nail the dismount on opening weekend. I was genuinely scared of what might transpire, having experienced the tech rehearsals for our project, but now I can say it with impunity – come to the show, it's pretty damned cool.

Both Tessa's and my play had been percolating quite well of late, but on Saturday night, they exploded on stage, bringing it, in the oft-clichéd words of the vernacular, "to a whole new level." We were getting laughs at each sentence, applause in big plot moments, and the whole thing felt like GREAT SEX. It would be amazing to recreate that performance for the Fox Executive Night next Friday, but in a way, I don't really care, because these actors Did It The Way It Was Meant To Be Done. To paraphrase Ira Gershwin, they can't take that away from us.

And while we're on the subject of great performances, I'd like to send a warm congrats to our boy Fred Weller, who was apparently stunning on "CSI" last night. Also, at the same time, my step-sister Cyia was on VH1 dancing with the Pussycat Dolls at the Divas Live show in Las Vegas. We could see neither, because ALSO the VERY SAME TIME... our very own Laurie Williams was on "The Sopranos"! Yes, the Laurie you've read about here and here played Tony Soprano's mother Livia in a flashback last night, and she was simply stunning.

I don't know any other actress who could portray such haunting betrayal, a lifetime of pain, a tiny pinprick of vulnerability – all within two minutes of screen time, lying in a hospital bed. She's simply that good. I wanted more, I wanted a whole series based on the Sopranos of the early 1970s, and I wanted it all directed by Steve Buscemi.

I feel blessed to break bread among such people as these. Laurie, Fred, my cast, my director, my wife: I could get a tan from their luminescence of talent. Their future's so bright, I must indeed wear shades.