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Fan
Encounters of the Third Kind
Page 11
Nathaniel Marston & Robin
Strasser Reading
of
"A Delicate Arrangement"
Bridgeport, CT
June 3-4, 2005
Board Announcement
of the Reading:
TheatreGoerE
June 2, 2005
Nathaniel
Marston and Robin Strasser will be starring in a staged reading of A Delicate
Arrangement on June 3-4 at the Playhouse on the Green, a newly renovated
228-seat theatre in Downtown Bridgeport. The show starts at 8:00 on both nights
and will be followed by a post-show discussion where audience members will have
the opportunity to ask Marston and Strasser questions about their performances.
This is a rare and exciting opportunity for One Life To Live fans to make
personal contact with some of the show’s long-time stars!
The shows details are as follows:
Show Title: A Delicate Arrangement
Date: June 3rd and 4th at 8:00
Location: Playhouse on the Green, 177 State St. Bridgeport, CT
Tickets: $30 each ($25 for groups of 12 or more)
To order tickets call (203)-345-4800 x 150 or visit
www.playhouseonthegreen.org/
Show Description: A staged reading of a new play written by Dawn O’Leary
starring Robin Strasser(Best known as Dorian Lord in One Life To Live) and and
Nathaniel Marston (Michael McBain on One Life To Live). The show will be
directed by Bob Kalfin. The plot begins when a struggling young actor is hired
by an art specialist to get information about possible counterfeit paintings.
The plan works but it takes on a life of its own!
******************
Reading
Recap I
KimmyKim
June 5, 2005
Hey
all!
The play reading was actually quite good. Very thought provoking. There was no
scenery on stage - just some chairs and a small table. They had scripts which
they looked at. Nathaniel got very into the role, IMO. I mean, he really acted
his heart out up on stage. He was the lead character so he was on stage for all
the acts. He cried at the end and when the Q&A session was starting he was
still drying his eyes and blowing his nose.
During the reading he kept on bumping into the chairs or moving out of the way
at the last minute. He still has that slight limp so it's just not something we
think we're seeing on screen. His voice though - the NY accent was coming
through big time!
It was odd to see Robin in the role that she played. Her character was meant to
be 70 years old and she was very timid. Almost a recluse. I thought the other
two actors on stage were very good too.
After the Q&A I looked back and saw Nathaniel on stage and he had said hello
to Esther who was front row. I told Tera that I wanted to go ask him what made
him cry so much. You know, I didn't know if he had gotten so into it or if he
like, poked himself in the eye or something. LOL But it was because he was into
the role and it was emotional. He stayed on the stage and crouched down to me
and Esther and gave us a hug.
Now, here's an odd part. We walked up and he said something like, "I was
looking out into the audience, seeing if I could see anyone I recognize and I
saw you (points to Esther) and you (points to me)." I asked Tera later on,
"Is that a good thing or a bad thing that he recognized me??? I don't to
seem like a stalker or nothin'!" During the Q&A I could have sworn I
saw him looking at me but I thought I was just imagining things. I think I was
just shocked that he would recognize me because I'm sure he sees so many damn
people.
He told Esther that he had a camera and had been taking pictures backstage. Only
thing, it was not a disposable (Esther asked so she could get it to send to
Karen!) so who knows when Karen will get her hands on those suckers.
Oh, he also told me that he had been working a lot lately - 3 or 4 days a week.
I told him that we can't tell that from what we're seeing onscreen!
I really don't know what else to say. If you want to know anymore about the play
you can ask. Esther and Tera might be able to tell you more. But I had a really
good time and thought it was very interesting.
A
Delicate Arrangement Summary:
Nathaniel plays an actor named Aldo. He's called into the office of this man who
is what I'd call and art authenticator. He can tell if a painting was actually
painted by the painted or someone else by examining it by the brushstrokes, etc.
Aldo looks like this famous painter, Gabrielle DelGado who died ten years ago.
His wife (Helen Grazbos) is still alive but only goes out once a week and
refuses to talk to the press. One of his clients is wanting to buy some
DelGado's but the art guy thinks a few of them are imposters. The art guy goes
and pays Aldo to befriend her and try to get information out of her.
Aldo meets Helen (Robin) at the flower shop that she goes to once a week at 10am
and she is stunned. After he leaves she says that Aldo is the son that they
could have had. They never had any children and it's her one regret.
We see Aldo and Helen's friendship grow. There were a few scenes explored the
relationship - them at the MET and in her apartment. In one scene Helen made
home made soup - Guspatcho which is served cold. She gives Aldo some and he
tries it and not knowing that it's suppose to be cold, asks her to heat it up.
You had to be there but the look on his face was kind of funny as he's trying to
eat out of an imaginary bowl.
Aldo's girlfriend Lucy objects because Aldo is leading Helen on and is going to
hurt her. Lucy is also a painter and has been having a hard time finding places
that will show her work and I want to say that she's very "pro woman
power" for a lack of a better word.
Aldo takes Helen to a museum and they are looking at the paintings. He starts to
look at the names of who painted them but she tells him not too - look at them
with your eyes and your heart. It doesn't matter who painted them. When she sees
a painting done by her husband, she kind of, well, freaks out for lack of a
better word. "It should have been done this way, I told you to make her
eyes this color..."
Back at her apartment, Helen confesses to Aldo that she was the actual painter.
She loved to paint and everyone thought that she just did it as a hobby and let
her husband sky rocket to stardom. Turns out that he had only done three
paintings in his life by himself - portraits of Helen, his mother and a
"friend" (interpreted to be a lover) which I think was the one at the
museum she freaked over. The "self portrait" that Helen has hanging in
her living room was actually done by her. All the other paintings that he signed
his name to was actually done by the both of them or her. She did not want the
glory from her work - she just wanted to paint.
Aldo tells Lucy who is furious. All the famous painters have been men. If Helen
had signed her name she could have inspired millions of little girls to paint.
Aldo is conflicted - he can't turn on Helen because he has come to like her as a
friend. He decides to lie to the art guy (Cannsfield I think).
He goes to see him. Aldo is stunned when the art guys says that he had just seen
Lucy and told him about Helen. Not knowing exactly what Lucy says, Aldo kind of
flubs it, gets it out of him and turns the story around that Helen is delusional
and that Lucy actually believed that story? All is well until Aldo says
something like, "Those three paintings were by DelGado". The art guy
got him - he never told him that he suspected three paintings. All is lost
however, Lucy has gone to the New York Times to spill the story.
Back at Aldo and Lucy's - it's a tug of war of emotions - Lucy feels bad at what
she has done - betraying Aldo and Helen, but feels that it was wrong of DelGado
to sign his name to something that wasn't his.
Aldo goes to see Helen and tries apologizing and then turns the tables on her
and gives her Lucy's argument. She asks him to tell the press outside that she
will need a week to gather herself and then will put on a press conference. Come
back in a week.
A week later Aldo comes back and there's no answer at Helen's door. He goes in
and the apartment is empty except an easel with a painting of it - a still life
of fruit and roses. He examines it... with tears in his eyes.. it's signed,
"Helen Grazbos".
End of Play
I hope that made sense!
Reading Recap II
TheatreGoerE
June 7, 2005
My
Two Cents on A Delicate Arrangement
The
reading was EXCELLENT! For a relative novice to live theatre, I was very very
impressed by our guy's chops on stage even if it was not a fully realized
production. There was more action than usual at most of the readings I've been
to. The actors actually walked around the front of the stage, certain acts were
simulated, etc. I liked that, a lot.
Kimmy already gave you the plot summary with tons of spoilers and those great
pictures of Nathaniel. I thought that the show had a great deal to say about
art, love and betrayal, all rather intriguing stuff, IMO. I loved that there
were so many unanswered questions at the end.
The Q&A Friday night was very interesting- Dawn O'Leary, the playwright was
scheduled to be there, but she had a death in the family and wasn't able to
attend. A lot of people Friday night reacted to the fraud as a way for Gabriel
to exercise male dominance over Helen, but I have to say, I just didn't really
see it that way. I truly saw Helen as someone who just wanted to create &
not get caught up in the business aspect of the art world- I felt she merely
wanted to create, to express herself, etc. Nathaniel alluded to something very
similar to this sentiment in the Q&A- about actors craving a creative outlet
as well.
It was so interesting to see Nathaniel & Robin play completely different
roles from what we're used to seeing every day. They have such amazing chemistry
together, even in different roles. Helen became a surrogate mother to Aldo
during the evening, even though- "I don't need another mother- I've got one
that lives in Jersey & she calls me once a week" . That's why we heard
the accent in full force this weekend- Aldo's from Joisey. I have to admit that
when Aldo was hired to get info from her b/c of his remarkable resemblance to
her dead hubby, I thought that maybe there was going to be a different type of
relationship between Helen & Aldo explored. As soon as Helen said not having
children with Gabriel was her only mistake, I was hooked on the surrogate mother
son relationship & I wanted even more of it.
The relationship between Aldo & Lucy was interesting, though I knew it was
destined for failure long before the betrayal at the end. It seemed as though
she really didn't understand him as deeply as she should have. When they were
discussing the money he was being paid for getting close to Helen, it struck me
as odd that when he talked of going back to school, she seemed too surprised to
realize he meant finishing college (Hunter) and not acting classes. IMO, she
took him for granted & was with him primarily for what he could do for her-
she said he was her muse, her inspiration, but I felt as though she didn't
really give much thought to him as an individual at times. She bugged me- the
character, not the actress, Kathleen Early- she was very sweet, friendly. There
was a post Q&A reception Friday night in the lobby of the theatre &
everyone got to chat one on one with the cast & crew afterwards- needless to
say, Nathaniel was the last one standing , as usual. :>)
Kimmy- The rewrite was in the final scene with Helen & Aldo when they talked
about the painting The Polish Rider which is in the Frick museum. It's
been attributed to Rembrandt, but there have been rumblings in recent years that
someone else may have painted it & the writer gave then a rewrite that
clarified that point better than the script Friday night did. Helen's point was
that great art was great art, regardless of whose name was on the canvas- that's
why I loved that scene in the Met when she kept telling him NOT to look at the
nameplates, but look at the picture & see that instead.
I loved how Nathaniel got so caught up in the emotion in that final scene
Saturday night. I know I did, knowing what was coming in the last scene.
Reading Recap III
MsT05
June 7, 2005
I thought the play was really good. As someone interested in writing, it was
great to see this part of the process. The question and answer segment was also
great at the end. I wish the writer could have been there too, but she had a
family emergency. Several people took the play very personally and related it to
their lives. There was one woman I wanted to smack the crap out of because she
just made stupid comments. It was as if she hadn't been paying attention.
"A Delicate Arrangement" had an intriguing plot. There were several
things going on at once and they blended into a bigger picture smoothly. For
example, while the focus of the story was NM's character and RS's character's
relationship, NM's relationship with his girlfriend added another dimension that
in the end was damaging. It did a good job of showing how life is rarely black
and white. I would have loved to find out how the writer came up with this idea
because in the end it made a rather important statement of the status of women
in the world of art and the world at large. The characters' that we quickly
became invested in blended the small and big issues that made it a big ol'
blotch of grey. Which, I think, we all know life really is. As a reader, I have
read and watched many books, articles, TV shows etc. where they are just not
able to layer relationships or storylines effectively. Dawn O'Leary ( I think
that was her last name) did a very good job.
As for NM's performance specifically, it was excellent. When he first walked on
stage my heart started palpitating double time. Ladies, I have to tell you, NM
has range that we are rarely able to see (Al's death). The guy should be working
more. Period. Staffing agencies must just be blind. I found myself really hoping
that NM chooses to look towards more theater (Opps! If he hasn't already).
Obviously, I have no way of knowing). NM IS GIFTED. And, I for one, want to see
him with the opportunity to exercise his chops to the max.
All photos on this page courtesy of
KimmyKim. Thank you for letting me use your photographs, Kim.
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