Last night, K. and I joined his roommate L.R. and went to see the closing performance of Talking Heads, a series of one-act, one-person plays by Alan Bennett playing Off-Broadway. The show featured seven different plays, presented in two rotating programs of three each. For the closing weekend, however, audiences were treated to an extra play each. We were fortunate to see the cast of theatre legends Lynn Redgrave, Kathleen Chalfant, Brenda Wehle and Frances Sternhagen. Each was extraordinary in her own way, bringing the audience laughter and tears throughout the entire evening. It was a classy, touching and special performance.
In particular, Frances Sternhagen was nothing short of brilliant. Her character, that of a 95-year old stroke victim in a nursing home, gave the audience its biggest laughs of the evening. In the next heartbeat, she had us all in tears, weeping with her for her losses and pain. A far cry from Sex and the City's Bunny McDougal, probably one of her most widely-recognized roles. She was by far my favorite performer of the evening, and I feel extremely fortunate to have caught this performance.
After the play, the three of us wandered across the street for some Haagen-Das ice cream. It was a perfect late summer evening, and we enjoyed our scoops outside in the park-triangle formed by Sixth Avenue, Bleecker and Carmine Streets. We sat there, gazing at the moon and the stars (and that ever-glowing Mars, just off to the east), talking and relaxing, completely comfortable, lamenting the idea of work in the morning.
Off in the distance, to our south, a faint shaft of light was emanating from downtown. We almost didn't notice it, but it was unmistakable. One of the "Tribute In Light" beams was being tested and aligned, set to glow this Thursday. It momentarily took my breath away, as I yielded to memories and shadows.
We continued to chat and take in the evening, having a perfectly pleasant time. Yet although the evening was fun, laid back and mellow, I couldn't shake the feeling that crept up on me. The glimpse of the phantom tower; the sheer numbers of September 11-related articles in Sunday's paper; the countless documentaries that are listed in the t.v. guide this week; my own flashbacks...
I don't think I'm ready to go through this again.
Posted by mak at September 8, 2003 1:32 PM