Favorite ThingsTHEIR FAVORITE THINGS: Tony Nominee and Preacher and The Shrink Star Dee Hoty Shares Her Theatregoing ExperiencesPlaybill.com's feature series Their Favorite Things asks members of the theatre community to share the Broadway performances that most affected them as part of the audience.
This week we spotlight the choices of three-time Tony nominee Dee Hoty, who is currently starring in Merle Good's The Preacher and The Shrink at The Beckett Theatre at Theatre Row.
By
Andrew Gans
November 27, 2013
Dee Hoty
(Clicking on a name bolded in blue will take readers to that actor or show's entry in the Playbill Vault.)
Irene Worth in The Cherry Orchard at Lincoln Center
"In the last scene, she loped in circles around the stage gathering the air with her arms — deeply breathing in the last of it all — her home, her orchard, her life as she'd known it. I've never seen anything like it, and I will never forget it! Literally breathtaking, and it ripped the tears right out of my eyes."
"The week they opened, I saw a matinee with Randy Graff. I was a goner after she sang 'Dividing Day,' but when she did the last number, 'Fable,' and the lights came up, show over, neither one of us could move. We sat there, effectively sobbing, not knowing quite what had just happened to us. It was a moment, to be sure. Still gets me. We sat there till the theatre was almost empty. (Bart Sher's
South Pacific also got me — but for different reasons — what a stunning take on that classic piece!)"
"I've never been so delighted in my life! Absolutely won over by the infectious, mischievous hilarity on stage at the Marquis Theatre. Physical comedy, total inclusion of the cast on the 'joke' of it all, just so winning, genuine, and celebratory. I still smile when I think about it."
"This one may not count because I was in it, and therefore technically didn't 'see' it, but....
City of Angels. The original company. The whole show, beginning to end. The cast. The creative teams. The crews. The show.
City of Angels. 'Nuff said."
"I love the play, and this production was among the most simple and moving I've ever seen. 'Does anyone really appreciate life while they live it? Every, every minute?'"
"Both, for the same, and various reasons — the fancy, the fun and whimsy, the off-center take on both, his signature picture-painting with dance, and ultimately the weight such seemingly 'light' treatments sent you away with. Stunning."
"Really amazing! The settings, the singers, the Metropolitan Opera!!!! Go this season, if you can. You won't regret it."
Luciano Pavarotti in a New Year's Eve concert, c. 1977 at the Met.
"Took the top of my head right off. Never have seen or heard anything like it. He sang and sang and sang. Past midnight. (We were ALL younger then.....!!!)"
The Opening Night of Evita, Broadway Theater, 1979
"Again, I was not quite sure what had just happened to me. The entire company,
Hal Prince. Hal Prince. Hal Prince."
The Actors Fund Performance of Anything Goes at Lincoln Center, 1988 with Patti LuPone, et al.
"The first-act curtain is the whole company doing the title number on Tony Walton's yummy ship set, and the audience leapt to their feet, applauding, screaming, when it finished. AND THEY WOULDN'T STOP. I saw Patti begin to tear up, look over her shoulder, 'holding,' as we are taught to do until the applause begins to wane, and mouth the words, 'I'm crying!' to her cast mates. Such joy. So much talent. I love what we do."
"I loved his
Swan Lake, and saw
Edward Scissorhands in Philadelphia, but this production was so in- and out-side the box, I swooned. Really felt swoony afterwards, and thinking of it, still do!"
One Man, Two Guvnors
"An absolutely charming night in the theatre — the star, and the entire cast — all 'in on the joke,' but the audience not....until they were! I loved it, and feel blessed I got to see it more than once."
