DAD’S LEG AT THE HUDSON THEATRE, WITH A MAJOR CELEB SIGHTING!
I had a really good experience last weekend, planned by someone other than myself for once! A couple of friends took me to a play that they heard was getting a lot of buzz. It was playing at my favorite theater complex in Hollywood, The Hudson, which has three theatres in one corner building, with a central cafe that serves even hot dogs!!! (But we had just come from dinner, so those franks will have to wait until next time.)
The Hudson cafe.
The play was Dad’s Leg, which is billed as a dark comedy, and that was its closing weekend. It wasn’t my cup of tea, but it was definitely that of others because it appeared totally sold-out to me, and I heard that was how the entire run had gone, which, trust me, is far from the norm for LA’s smaller venues.
I was sitting on the aisle right below that pole, and Al Pacino was sitting directly across the aisle from me!
I’m also aware that the audience was often full of heavy hitters. I had heard that Amy Adams, James Franco, and Austin Butler had been to see it earlier, but I hit the jackpot because right across the small aisle from me was none other than…Al Pacino!!! I could not believe it. Even though Mr. X had done a movie with him, I had never seen the guy so up-close and personal before. That was quite the coup for a small theatre. (I heard later that the actors did not even know he would be there, so he must have really wanted to see the play!) And yes, I am sick that I did not take a quick snap of him, but I just could not intrude on the guy like that, even surreptitiously.
(L-R) Rain Spencer, Ted Monte, and Emily Althaus. Photo by Austin Ciezko, as is the one at the top of this page.
Dad’s Leg was presented in the Hudson’s Mainstage Theatre. It takes place over two hours of real time in a hospital someplace in America. The action picked up for me when Ted Monte came onto the scene, as the dad with the leg in question. Actually, he didn’t make an entrance—he was already on stage, lying in the hospital bed. And he was lying there the entire time the audience was entering! And he continued to do so for the first hour of the play! And let me tell you, that man did not move a muscle for that duration. Believe me when I tell you that stillness is an art. Think of it—if you’ve ever had an MRI, especially a brain one, and they tell you you have to lie completely still for twenty minutes, how hard is it to do just that???
Rain Spencer and Alexa.
My teenage friend, Alexa, told me that she wanted to see the play because she’s a fan of the TV series The Summer I Turned Pretty, (which, for me, I hope will be this coming one!,) and one of the stars of it, Rain Spencer, was in this three character play. Alexa really enjoyed seeing Rain work in person.
She played one of two dysfunctional sisters, with Emily Althaus playing the other. There’s even a catfight in there, which is really hard to do in front of a live audience, with neither of them getting hurt, (that we noticed, anyway,) to boot. I was interested to see these characters because I have an estranged sister, as well. But our issues are far from what these two have—one of the characters is a promiscuous religious fanatic while the other is just a bitter married woman. And, for varying reasons, they both want to be the one to possess their father’s soon-to-be-amputated leg. (One of these days, I’ll do one of my YouTube vids about an insane episode involving my sister’s evil husband, Satan! It’s definitely worse than anything in this play. But it makes for a funny story, so that’s always a positive for me.)
Having-out after the play were a couple of actors I recognized from TV shows I liked: Neal Bledsoe (with the gray hair,) and Derek Richardson (on the right.)
Also a positive was the audience that night—you know how many shows I’ve reviewed for years now, and I’m pretty sure that I’ve never seen a more attractive and hip audience in my life! It was definitely my kind of crowd. I was happy to just be amongst all that coolness. Two really cute young girls produced this show, so that might be why it was populated by all those Hollywood hipsters. (And I mean that in the best way.)
After the play, I noticed even more actors, with whose work I’m a tad familiar, milling about, (one or two I had even reviewed over the years,) and I discovered that the Hudson also occasionally hosts acting workshops, and some of those thespians were attending one that night. The scene was all so interesting. And soooo Hollywood! I actually really enjoyed that whole atmosphere.
Eddie and Zeke Rettman.
Also enjoyable was meeting the Hudson’s uber-personable owner, Zeke Rettman, and his handsome teen son, Eddie. The kid spoke so well on a variety of subjects, so you know that impressed me.
All in all, it was a good night at the Hudson. As it always is.
Now, for more fun, I’ll be doing my best to live-tweet the Oscars on Sunday. (@MajorCelebrity.) But, with sooo many arrivals shows, (some of which are on opposite the March Madness Selection Show, so you know I’ll be extra crazy that day,) I already know that I won’t be able to keep up with it all. I expect to feel like Lucy and the chocolate factory, so please bear with me for a bit. And what I don’t get around to tweeting live on that platform, I’ll include in my full Oscars review next week. May the most deserving people win. (But they most likely will not.)
