Favorite ThingsStage and Screen Star Julian Sands Shares His Theatregoing ExperiencesWhich actor does Sands think has been missing from the New York stage for too long?
March 23, 2016
Julian Sands
Monica Simoes
Stage and screen star Julian Sands (Room With a View, The Killing Fields, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo), who is currently starring in Irish Repertory Theatre's A Celebration of Harold Pinter through April 3, shares the performances that most affected him as part of the audience.
Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812
A scene from the original Off-Broadway production of Natasha Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812Chad Batka
Poetic, romantic and beautiful … Deeply moving adaptation of War and Peace. Rich and moving music in a company led by the very touching Dave Malloy.
Natasha Richardson as Anna Christie by Eugene O'Neill
Natasha Richardson and Liam Neeson in Anna ChristiePhoto by Martha Swope
A profound and thrilling Broadway debut from so gifted an actress.
John Malkovich in Burn This in '87
John Malkovich, Lou Liberatore and Joan Allen in Burn ThisMartha Swope / The New York Public Library
The physical dynamism of Malkovich on stage is something that has been absent from the New York stage for too long ... a thrilling, dangerous, inimitable performance.
Alan Rickman as Elyot in Private Lives
Alan Rickman and Lindsay Duncan in Private LivesAlastair Muir
[A performance] with all the feline languor of a laid-back panther ... suitably foiled by Lindsay Duncan's Amanda ... delicious!
Bill Pullman in The Goat, or Who is Sylvia?
Bill Pullman
Monica Simoes
Such an interesting, funny, tender and authentic performance... made me want to play the role.
Mark Rylance in Jerusalem
Mark Rylance in JerusalemSimon Annand
[Rylance] was transformative... his passion and power as a performer is revealed in all its glory ...mesmerizing and grotesque ...brilliant and cauterizing work from a very gifted man.
RoosevElvis by The Team
RoosevElvisSue Kessler
A remarkable triumph of effect and intelligence ...characteristic of their other works like MissionDrift esp...Libby King was wondrous as Elvis, revealing truth, pathos and deep sensitivity. Kristen Sieh as Roosevelt was amazing, too.
Julie Taymor’s Midsummer Night's Dream
Kathryn Hunter and David Harewood in A Midsummer Night's DreamEs Devlin
A truly dark delight ... total spellbinding theatre .... Kathryn Hunter's Puck was gloriously malign and ever inventive... David Harewood as Oberon, a true warrior demon.
Elevator Repair Service's Gatz
Laurena Allan, Gary Wilmes, Scott Shepherd, Annie McNamara, Kate Scelsa and Vin Knight in GatzMark Barton
An epic telling seemingly in real time, Fitzgerald's compelling fable ...Jim Fletcher as Jay Gatsby was enigmatic, inscrutable, humane and vulnerable ... a towering performance from a fascinating company.
Carey Mulligan as Kyra in David Hare's Skylight
Bill Nighy and Carey Mulligan in SkylightJohn Haynes
A sublime portrayal of feminine vulnerability and strength ... she embodied the intimate and epic effortlessly ... beautiful work ... Bill Nighy pretty damn good, too.
Bonus: Lin-Manuel Miranda as Hamilton
Lin-Manuel Miranda and cast of HamiltonJoan Marcus
However much has been written about this work, Miranda's grace and sensitivity cannot be written about enough.
l could have written a much longer list if l had included London, of course ... Think Anthony Hopkins in Pravda ... Paul Scofield in Amadeusor John Gielgud and Ralph Richardson in No Man's Land, etc. …
