Today is my last performance as Richard Bravo in the Nicu's Spoon Theatre production of BAD SEED, by Pulitzer prize winner Maxwell Anderson. http://spoontheater.org/
BAD SEED has always been a hit: first as a novel by William March (entitled THE BAD SEED), then adapted by Anderson for Broadway where it had a long run and won some Tonys, and finally as a movie which kept a lot of the Broadway cast intact and was nominated for several Oscars.
I've wanted to appear in a production of BAD SEED for a long time, and I was thrilled to find out someone was finally doing it in New York. I was cast on-the-spot at the audition. What a treat to spend a few weeks appearing in yet another show on that list of rarely-produced shows I've always dreamed of doing.
Globe-trotting journalist and former crime-writer Richard Bravo (Christine Penmark's father) is one of those "well-made-play roles" that is great fun for an actor. He's only in two scenes in Act II, but a lot happens... They talk about his arrival in Act I, and his arrival is anticipated again in Act II. The doorbell rings--it's him!--in a vintage mid-1950's tailored single-breasted suit. He comes on, banters with Reginald Tasker and Christine as they all booze it up. He reveals a Terrible Secret! to Christine in an extended two-person scene that allows me to yell, whisper, and cry. Eight-year-old Rhoda arrives and he lifts her in the air (even though he just had heart palpitations). He charms nosy neighbor Monica Breedlove, who has been a longtime fan of his crime writing. In the next scene, wearing another vintage suit (this one's a three button with a bow tie) Bravo does a rat-a-tat-tat phone call on a vintage phone, charms Rhoda and Monica again, and declares his fatherly love to his daughter before running out the door to another journalistic assignment on an off-shore oil rig. Whew!
Audiences still responded to the extraordinarily well-crafted Anderson script. Lots of audible gasps at crucial points from audience members who were unfamiliar with the story. Thanks for a great run are due to everyone--cast, crew, director and audience.
Here's one review:
http://www.edgenewyork.com/?118367
Sunday, April 24, 2011
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