"Said you didn't love me, didn't want a thing, English girls can be so mean." ~ryan adams

Oh, how I love that song. Notice my England-themed lyrics in my last two posts, and expect that trend to continue. I leave for London on Tuesday!

Our Town was absolutely brilliant. First of all, the Barrow Street Theater is TINY; it doesn't seat many more than 100 people (which is incredibly small for a theater). I was sitting onstage and I felt like I was part of the play, but I imagine you'd feel like that wherever you were sitting. I left the theater (silently) crying. The play (by Thornton Wilder) is simply beautiful, and this production is stunning in its simplicity. Helen Hunt is performing a brief stint as the stage manager, and I can't say enough good things about her performance. She is perfect. I'm so glad I was able to catch her in it. I could only find one critic who reviewed the production with her (she has a very short run), but here's some of Michael Glitz's review from the Huffington Post:

"Oscar and Emmy winner Helen Hunt fits in perfectly, her no-nonsense demeanor just right for the Stage Manager. She's matter of fact at first, but allows just enough wryness to leaven the play's brutal attitude, allows just enough emotion to color the edges of her lines to soften the blow of the finale. Unlike most productions of Our Town, this one comes much closer to the heart of Thornton Wilder's Pulitzer Prize-winning masterpiece....
....But what a punch it still packs. Hunt (who played Emily during that Lincoln Center run back in 1989) keeps the audience on its toes, not allowing anyone to settle back in anticipation of homespun wisdom. And as the lights dim for the third act, everyone is drawn in completely. As usual, the set is bare-bones. But the theatrical coup of presenting Emily's flashback in a realistic set hidden behind a curtain is breathtakingly effective, especially in the small confines of Barrow Street Theatre where the room is so small it almost seems like magic.
If Cromer drops in every once in a while to keep the performances in line and they continue casting Stage Managers as acutely sensitive to the text and the tone of the piece as Hunt, this Our Town can be strongly recommended for a long time to come."

I want to go back and see it again. Here's a nice CBS piece on it. Note the small theater. Helen Hunt is currently playing the role originated by Mr. Cromer. You might not want to watch it if you aren't familiar with the play and don't want to be spoiled.


Ooh, funny story. I was sitting next to a very nice older gentleman visiting from Florida, and we chatted quite a bit before the show. As Helen Hunt entered, he said to me, "Oh, she looks like..." but didn't finish the sentence because the play had begun. During the first intermission, we had this conversation:
Him: What I was about to say when the show started was that she looks like someone who was in a movie with Jack Nicholson.
Me: Helen Hunt? From As Good As It Gets?
Him: Yes! She looks like her.
Me: That is her.
Him: Really? Are you sure?
Me: Yes.
Him: Did you know she was in it?
Me: Yes.
Him: Is she in here? (pointing to his program)
Me: Yes.
I pointed her out in the program and he was amazed. I thought it was funny.