The Pros and Cons of "Tru"
After a welcomed rainy Friday in East Hampton where I was able to resolve several architectural design details , design all of the window treatments to be fabricated and confirm various upholstery details for a current project; another weekend was officially arriving. I was beginning with an Exhale Class with a favorite instructor followed by an evening with friends at Bay Street Theatre and dinner afterward at Beacon. We were all looking forward to the first of the three plays for this summers season and hopeful about tonights performance. "Tru" had been on Broadway in 1989 and won a Tony award for that production. The life of Truman Capote could be diminished to a caricature if not handled carefully, and yet this enigmatic character could also be a mirror for us to more clearly observe our own lives. Capote's life was certainly shaped and driven by childhood experiences that impacted him for the rest of his life. The pain of his early rejection helped to forge a steely outer strength as well as leaving vulnerable and unfulfilled emotional scars.
Capote is a text book case of determination to overcome, yet never quite being able to escape the loss.
In the Bay Street production, Capote portrayed by the actor Darrell Hammond, was never quite able to rise above the caricature. While he absolutely nailed the persona of Tru, Hammond never seemed able to allow Tru to live inside of him - and fully come alive on stage. (I remember seeing Zoe Caldwell's portrayal of Maria Callas in Master Class. You left the theatre convinced that you had met Callas personally that night.) Perhaps it was the pacing of this production that seemed more rambling than purposeful. Hammond managed the role admirably, yet the play seemed flat. It reminded us of how essential "The Craft" is in a production of this nature. The old technique of "Method Acting" where the actor mentally becomes the character seemed absent tonight. Here we could only wish that Tru would arrive on the stage to regale us with those stories and reveal the tragedy that was so intertwined in his iconic life.
Capote is a text book case of determination to overcome, yet never quite being able to escape the loss.
In the Bay Street production, Capote portrayed by the actor Darrell Hammond, was never quite able to rise above the caricature. While he absolutely nailed the persona of Tru, Hammond never seemed able to allow Tru to live inside of him - and fully come alive on stage. (I remember seeing Zoe Caldwell's portrayal of Maria Callas in Master Class. You left the theatre convinced that you had met Callas personally that night.) Perhaps it was the pacing of this production that seemed more rambling than purposeful. Hammond managed the role admirably, yet the play seemed flat. It reminded us of how essential "The Craft" is in a production of this nature. The old technique of "Method Acting" where the actor mentally becomes the character seemed absent tonight. Here we could only wish that Tru would arrive on the stage to regale us with those stories and reveal the tragedy that was so intertwined in his iconic life.
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