By Harry Haun
01 May 2008
Bill Rollick has a couple of other notches on his producing belt (the Tony-winning Journey's End and the Tony-worthy The Seafarer) plus, he has fallen heir to the James Bond movie franchise ("My uncle was 'Cubby' Broccoli, and my cousin Barbara Broccoli is now producing the 22nd Bond film. It's called 'A Quantum of Solace,' which is actually written by Ian Fleming," but not of course as a Bond yarn) and Thurgood was something that had special importance for him.
"This is one of the most interesting experiences you can have in life," he observed, "when you can actually work and help someone create a piece of history that then becomes a piece of art. This is something that every child in the United States of America should see. It's compelling compelling to see that you can go in just a short time a generation from a slave to a justice of the supreme court. It's almost an honor to be able to produce this. Laurence portrays this individual to where everyone feels when he puts on that robe as a Chief Justice we're there. We don't see that many real plays in the sense that the real drama always gets washed out. I watched the audience tonight people were riveted."
Roundly seconding that motion was Caroline Rhea: "It's such an important story it should be mandatory for our schools. And it's the most well-earned bow that I have ever seen. I've loved him since he was Cowboy Curtis on 'Pee-wee's Playhouse.'"
Other confirmed Fishburne fans included indie actress Lori Perry and Fishburne's co-star in "Attack on Precinct 13," Maria Bello. Both of them were wowed by his work.
Larry Gatlin and Dee Hoty never quite co-starred in The Will Rogers Follies, but they sat together at the party, and she was still singing the praises of the play: "I had a wonderful time beautifully written, brilliantly acted and Gina Torres [Mrs. Laurence Fishburne] is an old friend from The Best Little Whorehouse Goes Public."
Hoty just started rehearsals for Pure Country, a four-week workshop for producer Randall Wreghitt. "Pure Country, as in twang. Yes, I'm back in my cowboy boots! Stephen Dorff is the composer; John Bettis wrote the lyrics; Pete Masterson co-wrote the book and is directing. Carlin Glynn [Mrs. Masterson] is in the show, as I am so there are two Miss Monas in this show, as well as Lauren Kennedy, who was one of my co-stars in the ill-fated Lone Star Love last fall, and Michael Park, who was in [Smokey Joe's Cafι] and is on 'As the World Turns.' It's a great cast. It's a wonderful company. And I really like the music and the story. It was a film with George Strait in the early '90s. That's the basis of it, but it's a very different show. It's about a country star."
Another workshopper is Lillias White, who arrived at the theatre fresh from rehearsal. She is readying a workshop of Leap of Faith with Raul Esparza, Elizabeth Stanley, Terrence Mann, Brandon Victor Dixon, Eric L. Christian and director Taylor Hackford.
Brigadoon will be reemerging from the mist next season, and playwright John Guare said he's toiling over the adaptation, which, contrary to published reports, has not been backdated to pre-World War II 1939. "It's not true it was never true," he said. "How that ever got into print I'll never know." I suggested maybe The Post's "Mouth Over Broadway." And Guare refined that slightly to "Or some other organ."
Rob Ashford, who will turn into a hyphenate with this Brigadoon (choreographer and director), confirmed the time zone. "It's set in 1946, the original time, but," he added, "all the book has been changed, completely. We're just trying to raise the stakes a bit and make it a little more earthy and Celtic a little more grounded and not like a town of ballerinas. Our designer, Christopher Oram, is in town now from London. We've been working all week on the set model and looking at stuff, and we're having auditions. I'd say we're halfway through a cast. We're getting there."
Stephen Sondheim and John Weidman's Bounce, on its new bounce to Broadway down at The Public will be without its Washington lead, Richard Kind: "Steve and John were very nice. They took me out after Candide to say I was talked about and they loved me, but they're recasting the whole thing."
Last to arrive at the theatre and last to arrive at the party was Reverend Al Sharpton, who quickly broke into a chorus of highly printable quotes: "It was entertaining and educational at the same time. I was moved. I got to meet Marshall in his later years, and Fishburne really caught him. It's a must-see for everybody."
The evening's wildly mixed bag of politicians and performers included Paul Newman (who last played the Booth in Our Town) and Joanne Woodward (whose Westport Country Playhouse originally produced Thurgood), Supreme Court Justice Stephen G. Breyer, Chicago's Brenda Braxton, TV's Charlie Rose, Donna Murphy and Sean Elliott, Liz Callaway (fresh from two two-hour all-Sondheim concerts in Barcelona "in 'Barcelona'!" and hoping to reprise them in America), Cicely Tyson, director Jack O'Brien (between workshops right now Catch Me If You Can and a project he and producer Bill Haber are cooking up for Jeremy Irons), Commissioner of New York Schools Joel Klein, movie duo Leelee Sobieski of "Eyes Wide Shut" with Matthew Davis of "Legally Blonde," Cheyenne Jackson and Kerry Butler bopping over after Xanadu, Cornelia Guest, director-choreographer Kathleen Marshall, the Mr. Left and Mrs. Right of political reportage (James Carville and Mary Matalin), Christine Andreas and, fresh from a new first, The Met-debuting Marian Seldes.
Ethel Kennedy and her daughter, Rory, eventually settled at a table with a sign that drew the most double-takes of the evening: "Reserved for BLACK" (as in, you'll be relieved to know, Debra Black, the producing partner of Daryl Roth).
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| The curtain call at Thurgood.
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| photo by Aubrey Reuben |
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