Michael Cerveris (Friday 12/1), Marin Ireland (Sat 12/2), Alysia Reiner (Sat 12/2), Peter Dinklage (Sun 12/3), Tim Blake Nelson (Sun 12/3) and Chick Cooper (Mon 12/4) with a ton of other stars in 'an oak tree' at the Barrow Street Theatre.
Since nobody else has posted any comments, I’ll give it a go.
I went on Dec. 1 (Michael Cerveris played the roll of Father). I’m going to keep my thoughts as general as possible though, because of the nature of the play. Feel free to PM me if you have any specific questions about Michael Cerveris’s performance.
The experience itself was completely different than any other show I’ve seen. This is not a performance that’s meant to be watched idly. It’s a very intense experience, if you let it be. Just as the second actor on stage needs to be completely focused to get his next lines, staying focused as an audience member will give you a glimpse of what it’s like to be both the second actor, as well as Mr. Crouch.
When I walked out of the show, the two things on my mind were that I really wanted to talk to both Mr. Crouch and Mr. Cerveris about their experiences and that I wanted to see the show again, only with a different type of person. I can’t think of any other show that I’ve seen that I’ve wanted to immediately go back and see again.
It’s been a few days now, and I still want to see it again and talk to Mr. Crouch and Mr. Cerveris (or any of the second actors, for that matter). They do have blogs posted online from some of the second actors, but there are plenty of questions I’d love to ask.
If you do take the opportunity to see it, this is definitely a play where sitting in the front row will add something to the experience. That’s where I was, and it allowed me to hear some of the direction being given by Mr. Crouch that I’m fairly certain most of the audience couldn’t hear.
The easiest way I can think of to put this all in perspective, since I am new here, is that I traveled a total of 8 hours to see this play, and I’d do it again if the opportunity arose. Of all the shows I’ve seen through the years, there aren’t many that hold that distinction.
