I Saw Something Fine – From the second row, and more, more more Pinter/Proust Part I

Part I – the Fun Stuff
I don’t know where to start to recount my evening at the Pinter/Proust event at the 92nd Street Y with Richard Armitage. after scarfing down a drink, I left my blogging friends Zan and Judiang at the private cocktail party for guests of the cast and came home to write this post. No apologies if it isn’t the best organized writing in the world. Photos to come later from Zan’s phone,and some from tumblr now.

I was lucky enough to know someone who obtained a better ticket than I had ( back on the side) for a ticket in the second row center. I went over to the Y early to pick it up and went to my appointed meet up with Zan and Judiang.
After a light meal, we made our way to the 92nd St. Y and the pre-show talk. I’m going to write more about it in Part 2 when I talk about the actual performance in a more cogent manner, and after I’ve had a chance to think about it. Basically, Di Trevis, the Director ( see prior posts for more about Di – I’ll link later) and Alastair MacCauley, Dance Critic for the New York Times, shared reminiscences about their friendship, and in Di Trevis’ case, her collaboration, with Harold Pinter. Wonderful and amusing stories told by charming and witty people. These two could take this act on the road.

The important points for now were (1) that Di Trevis told us that she has previously worked with everyone in the cast and two of the cast performed in the LAMDA workshop production she mounted. I have to double check my Informal Playbill ( link will come later) but I think Micra was right – Richard Armitage was probably one of the two, Annabel Capper being the other,(2) there was NO narrator – imagination and clues were how we were to follow the work, (3) this script differs from the screenplay in a few ways since it was adapted by Di Trevis expressly for this performance and (4) the actors were going to be using their books.

The program insert indicated that Richard Armitage was playing Swann ( yes!) and three other minor roles -one a German or Austrian Aristocrat and the other a male prostitute/milkman

The talk was over and the performance began. I was immediately disconcerted by the fact that there were two empty seats next to me and two empty seats in the front row on the aisle. My friends were in the balcony, and here were empty seats. It bugged for most of the performance – until….

The stage was set with a baby grand piano in the middle. chairs on each side faced the stage. At the back of the stage was a row of about 12 chairs. These chairs were used by actors who were not in the scene. At front stage left was an easel with canvas showing a swatch of yellow.

Source: X-Oskeleton.tumblr.com

When Richard Armitage walked on to the stage, dressed in a black shirt, black rather tight jeans and a dark gray blazer, clean shaven, I kept cool. He took one of the seats in the back and the program began, but I will detail that in Part 2.

I might have been cool then, but when he entered the scene and began speaking, my heart started racing as though I had just run up the stairs. It took about 20 minutes for me to get back to normal. My reaction stunned me. I never expected it.

He is so beautiful and graceful. His voice bathed the auditorium, as he spoke in a proper British accent. Later he would effect three different accents – different voices completely.

During some of his scenes as Swann, he sat in a chair at front stage right – almost right in front of me. So close that I felt I couldn’t stare at him if some other actor on another part of the stage was speaking. This was exactly what MarieAstra described about her experience at The Hobbit Fan Event. But it was OK, because I knew I had over two hours with him. I’d get my fix. I was fascinated by his book which was loaded with post-its in different colors. I could see the yellow highlighting of his lines!

Source:ArmitageArmyUS.tumblr.Com

I’m tempted to describe his acting in some of the scenes, especially two, with Odette, his love interest – but it’s going to have to wait. But as we know, his reactive acting is equal or greater than his active acting. Something Di Trevis talked about when she said an actor can convey so much information with a turn of the head.

Let me also say here and now that some of the other cast members were totally brilliant, especially the actors playing Charlus (Hall Hunsinger – picked it off my copy of the screenplay) and Marcel (Peter Clements -same), as well as Annabel Capper and whoever played Francoise, the maid. ( I accidentally left my program notes with Zan, so I’ll fill this in. I’m sure she’ll send it to me for keeping).

One funny thing was that all the actors’ numerous credits were listed on the insert, but when it came to his name, only two stage performances were listed. Not a word about Thorin, or John Thornton or anything else. If you look at Part 2 of my Informal Playbill post, you’ll see I did the same thing – only with less information.

It was my intention to watch him whenever he was sitting in the back, but you know, I got into the performance, so there were times when I actually forgot about him!. But never for long.

All of sudden, in the scene where Marcel and St. Loupe go backstage to visit  St. Loupe’s crush, the actress Rachel, two guys came out of the side door in the audience, one of them smoking an electronic cigarette, and they tried to get into my row to the empty seats near me. This was Richard and – sorry – have to fill in his name – who were playing reporters. Unfortunately, an elderly lady was sitting to my left, she couldn’t get up and she didn’t realize they were actors, so Richard took the empty seat in the front row, and the other actor joined him.  Had things worked out as planned for the two empty seats next to me – Richard would have had to pass in front of me to get to his seat.

I’d be dead now.

Would he have come into the row facing me or backing in. I’ll never know, but I’m thinking about it a lot.

Also in the first act, Richard entered a party scene as the German aristocrat wearing an eye patch and dressed all in black. I thought of Agzy and Fedora Lady who have both manipped pirate pics of Richard. I laughed out loud and it wasn’t a funny scene. Lord, was he sexy, and he was ogling a female party goer – how did she even resist?

At intermission, I figured those two seats were not going to be used, and there was empty seat in the first row. In addition, people were getting their coats and leaving. Many people were leaving. Thinking Judiang and Zan in the balcony, I decided this could not be. So I went upstairs and told them to come down. I shooed away some interested audience members who wanted those seats, and my friends joined me in the second row.

We managed to tweet about the eye patch. Too good a tidbit to keep to ourselves for long.

In the second act, I looked around and couldn’t find Richard on the stage. It was another party scene. When an actor vacated one of the front chairs, I could see through the spaces between the legs in the chairs to the back row, and I saw a pair of hands playing around with a book – I recognized the hands as Richard’s, so I spent some time doing nothing more than watching his hands thumb through his books. ( Always listening the play, of course).

The brothel scene was played for laughs and I’ll tell you about it tomorrow, except to say now that the “Customer,” Charlus, was dissatisfied with his “date,” Richard, and traded him in for someone else. I’m thinking, “you stupid, stupid man.”

Performance is over and curtain calls begin. The first call, Richard was in the center, a little to my right, but for the second bow, he was right in front of Zan. He sparkled – they all did -because those who remained really loved this performance.

The theater was emptying and the three of us were getting ready to go to the gallery where we were told the actors would appear. But just then, Di Trevis came on to the stage, and slowly some other actors did as well. I spoke for good few minutes with Peter Clements, who thanked me for coming, and I had a chance to speak with Hall Hunsinger for a while – because I thought he was wonderful and wanted to tell him so. He was just delighted, and not a little surprised. Then I caught the eye of Di Trevis and we conversed for a while, which I’ll talk more about in part 2. I asked her some questions about the performance and the plans, made some jokes – she laughed- and asked her whether the actors were going to the gallery. She said yes, you should see them there.

All the cast came out on the stage to have some group photos taken ( female photography, Guylty). We stood around and watched as they waited for one last crew member – Ed- Di Trevis was yelling for Ed to come down. A few times. So I called for him also. Eventually he appeared and sprawled in front of the group for the pics. I was muttering, “stand up straight,” because once again, Richard was hunching in to fit into the frame.

source: MeandRichard.Tumblr.Com

When we got outside the auditorium, they were not letting people into the actual gallery. They said it was a private party. Many,many fans were in the lobby, but only some people were being allowed into the actual gallery.

Screw this, I thought. Didn’t Di Trevis just tell me to come to the gallery? So with a bit of New York moxie, I convinced the gate-keeper that I had been invited. She was ready to let me in when I told her I had two guests. We all got in and got ready to take photos and have some autographs signed ( I know, I said I wouldn’t, but this was theater and , and, too bad).

There was a bar and a dessert table. But no Richard Armitage. Then he and Annabel Capper came into the room and immediately left it so he could meet with those fans on the other side of the rope. He must have spent 30 minutes or more taking pictures, chatting and signing autographs. Meanwhile, we were right in back of him. I mean, I was right in back of him as close as though he were in a line in front of me.

I left it Zan and Judiang, and I approached Annabel Capper and asked her to sign my screen play. We chatted for a while about her performance. I joked that she was wonderful as an old woman in one short scene. I took the opportunity to speak to- sorry, I have to look it up, the actor who played Morel.

It looked like getting into the party was a bad move because we couldn’t get to Richard since we were on his side of the rope behind him. But when the crowd thinned a little, I spoke to the guard who was standing with him. I had met the guard twice before that day and I said, can you get him to turn around? And he did! I asked Richard to sign my screenplay ( I showed him where Annabel had signed and asked him to sign above it). He said do you want a picture, and I think Zan stepped forward with her phone. I said something like, “my friend is going to take the picture – just you, not me,” and he said, ” Aw Come on, you have to be in the picture with me, and he grabbed me – I am pretty sure around the waist – but I’ll have to check, and we took a picture. I think it’s a horrible one of me.

Then Zan and Judiang stepped forward for their turn and somehow I got the phone for the picture, and I am so sorry to say that I screwed it up royally. It was the only negative thing that happened all night.

We went back into the party. I had a quick drink and Richard returned to the party. I watched him for a while, but you know, I had my time, he was talking to friends and having a glass of wine, so I moved on to have another talk with Hall Hunsinger -more detailed this time about one particular scene of his ( for part 2) and he said – oh please, it was so hard to do, I must hug you, and he did. Then he asked my name. We chatted for a while and I spoke some more to Peter Clements.

I noticed the female photographer and told her that a friend of mine was also a woman in her profession and said there are still many fewer women in the field. She asked where the friend work and I told her Ireland. She said it was true and she hoped my friend was getting good gigs. I said I didn’t know, but she recently had some success in Berlin. Of course I was talking about Guylty.

I wanted to stay and I wanted to leave. Should I stay or should I go? The honest truth is, and I said it to Zan and Judiang, I can’t believe I’m leaving a party where Richard Armitage is, but I am. I’ve had it. And the truth is also, I couldn’t wait to write this post.

It was an almost perfect experience, marred only by the picture debacle. I have to say that Richard waited patiently for me to get it right, but eventually, we just gave up. I’m hoping that she might have had some better luck later in the evening.

I caught a cab right outside and was on my way home.

I will post a second post tomorrow about the actual performance, and what fun it was to meet Judiang and Zan – and whatever else I forgot.

I don’t feel the least like sleeping right now, but I’m talked out. I’m going to post this with the few typos I see. I just want to get it up and to you. I’ll edit it tomorrow.

Now I’m going to post this and relax while I read some of the other fan accounts.