Janet McTeer LITERALLY stops "Mary Stuart"

[iluvtheatertrash]

Posted: 4/19/09 at 12:34pm

Saw the matinee yesterday (Saturday, April 1. This is one of the most riveting, beautifully staged dramas I have seen in quite some time and Walter and McTeer should recieve a joint Tony Award for their efforts. What incredible, breathtaking and astonishing work from these two incredible actresses.

About 15 minutes into the performance, McTeer, as Mary Stuart, seated in a chair and fighting 6 men in a brutal verbal battle, suddenly couldn't breathe. She was getting incredibly heated in the scene and building to a point of complete breakdown. Seated in the front row, I could see the beads of sweat pouring down her face and her throat muscles incredibly bulging. You could tell that she was at the peak of her game and delivering something astounding. Unitl...

"I'm sorry." I wasn't sure if it was part of the play or not. The sudden moodshift was incredible. "I'm sorry," she said again. She stood up and looked right at me and then the rest of the audience, "I am so sorry. I need water. Someone get me water. I need a glass of water." She walked offstage, clinging to her costars and then to the brick wall and an actor turned to the audience and apologized, saying we're taking a little break.

After a moment, she returned with a plastic Dixie cup of water. She sat back down, turned to her scene partner and said, "Cue me in." She picked up exactly where she left off, with the same full-throttle, whollop of emotion she left off at.

I've never seen anything like it in my life.

Was anyone else there?

[MiracleElixir]

Posted: 4/19/09 at 12:54pm

That sounds AMAZING.

[iluvtheatertrash]

Posted: 4/19/09 at 12:56pm

It was very odd and very wonderful.

Regardless, what a performance. She is not to be missed. It is a master class in acting.

[RentBoy86]

Posted: 4/19/09 at 1:52pm

Ugh, she is so great!!! I hope the show rocks the reviews. It's such a wonderful show.

[Dollypop]

Posted: 4/19/09 at 2:09pm

I never though I'd live to see the day when serious theater would deserve a phrase like "I hope the show rocks the reviews".

It's like the time I asked directions to a particular church in New Jerseyand the yooung man said, "Keep drivin' up the hill and you'll see a huge ****1ng cross on top of the building." I corrected his error and thanked him before I followed his directions.

[Wanna Be A Foster]

Posted: 4/19/09 at 2:10pm

Old.

[iluvtheatertrash]

Posted: 4/19/09 at 4:00pm

What do you mean "old"? This just happened yesterday.

Also: Dollypop, I was thinking the same thing!

[#1Elphie]

Posted: 4/19/09 at 4:21pm

I interpreted the "old" as referring to Dollypop, but I'm not sure.

I love live theater because of moments like that.

[RentBoy86]

Posted: 4/19/09 at 6:17pm

Oh it's just a stupid saying dollypop who cares. It's a freaking message board!

[Ed_Mottershead]

Posted: 4/19/09 at 6:23pm

Brings to mind something that happened in a show that Rosemary Harris was in (I don't recall which one). At one point, she dried up in her lines and very audibly said, "line please," and when cued, went right back into her performance, which, as always, was great.

[kenc2]

Posted: 4/19/09 at 6:35pm

I was there, sitting in the fourth row center orchestra. I thought that McTeer stopped because she was hyperventilating. The people next to me thought she lost her way/lines. Her performance did not suffer after she recovered. It was amazing.

[ray-andallthatjazz86]

Posted: 4/19/09 at 8:35pm

I'm pretty sure WannaBe was referring to Dollypop's somewhat obnoxious/unnecessary post.
That's a really neat story. It seems like she got really lost in the character/moment.

[ColorTheHours048]

Posted: 4/19/09 at 8:40pm

I know that when I was in the Scottish play, I would sometimes get so worked up that I began to get lightheaded and start to have trouble breathing. Sometimes, an intense character or scene can catch up to you.

It's wonderful to hear that she handled it like the class act that she is.
Updated On: 4/20/09 at 08:40 PM

[elphaba.scares.me]

Posted: 4/20/09 at 9:31am

And you're calling it "The Scottish Play" because...?

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 4/20/09 at 12:37pm

Seriously?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Scottish_play

[ColorTheHours048]

Posted: 4/20/09 at 1:11pm

You know about theatre and yet you don't know the use of the term "the Scottish play?"

[MiracleElixir]

Posted: 5/1/09 at 2:46pm

His username is a reference to "Wicked." How much do you really think he/she knows about theatre?

[doodlenyc]

Posted: 5/1/09 at 3:05pm

Now it's bad luck to TYPE Macbeth?

It's only unlucky to say the name in a theater.

[ColorTheHours048]

Posted: 5/1/09 at 3:11pm

Does it really matter? It's just a habit.

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 5/1/09 at 3:28pm

Well, it's sort of like refraining from typing the word "whistle" because of the superstitious connotations of whistling backstage. If you're not inside a theatre, you can say "Macbeth" as much as you want. I'm not superstitious about it, but I refrain from saying it in a theatre out of respect for others (and to keep the backstage drama at a minimum whenever possible). But typing "The Scottish Play" on a message board is just unnecessarily esoteric.

As for McTeer, I hope she was ok. Sounds like she delivered and covered well, but it does seem to be a bit alarming. She was revelatory in A Doll's House and I hope I get to see her in this as well.

[doodlenyc]

Posted: 5/1/09 at 3:29pm

I think the poster you've all been ridiculing had a point in wondering why call it "the scottish play"...that's all.

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 5/1/09 at 6:34pm

I thought the same thing. I think it was pretty clear they knew what "the Scottish play" was by the way they worded the question, but didn't know why it was being referenced that way on a message board, which was a perfectly valid question.

[LadyDramaturg2]

Posted: 5/1/09 at 10:50pm

We are ***officially***

ahem --

off the rails.