Well, some of you may have noticed that I dropped off the face of the earth to some degree during and after Grapes of Wrath (we closed on October 30). I’ve had personal issues but also that show took a lot more out of me emotionally than I thought it would. Trying to not only play my part, but also help keep the trains running on time with a cast of, what, 26 (or was it 60? 237? 9337? I lost track...) was a chore in itself.
At any rate, I was totally down for some well-deserved time off afterward when I got a text from director and ubiquitous theatre-gnome-about-town Pat Payne. “I may have a gig for you. Call me.”
Now Pat and I have very nearly worked together several times, but up until now, the gods of the muse saw fit to put us elsewhere when push came to shove. In this case, though, he was offering me the role of King Henry II in “The Lion in Winter.”
For those of you who haven’t seen the film version of this, get the Oscar-winning 1966 Peter O’Toole/Katherine Hepburn version. It is amazing, both the script and the acting (of course.) The emotional journeys of these people as well as the verbal chess game/sparring match among one of the most dysfunctional royal families in history is epic to witness when done properly.
That's me. I've aged horribly. And grown back a bunch of hair.
And me being the theatre whore I am, how could I say no? especially when considering that the company putting on the show is Thingamajig Theatre Company in Pagosa Springs. They have artist housing, and so I’m getting a mini-vacation of sorts (strictly a working vacation, as you’ll see) up in the mountains while getting to perform one of the all-time iconic roles of theatre history.
I’m excited but also a bit apprehensive, however, as we are doing this on a quick turnaround timeframe: I’m driving up today for our first night of rehearsal and we open next Friday.
A week from tomorrow.
I’m supposed to be off-book (real close! Real, real close!) but even with the rest of the Pagosa-based cast having already begun work, I anticipate a hard, long climb to get where we need to be for next (fucking!) Friday.
Still, I’m mostly excited for a new adventure. Look for updates here and on FB.
And don’t wish me luck--say break a leg.
Your boy-correspondent,
kjb
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