By Harry Haun
05 Apr 2005
Rabe, who plays Truvy's ever-evolving assistant, betrays her creative gene pool: Dad is playwright David Rabe; Mom is actress Jill Clayburgh, and the apple hasn't fallen very far from the tree. "It's a privilege to have a character who changes so much," she admitted. "I love everything about her. It's a wonderful part to have because of the transformation I get to go through in the four scenes—not only in her emotional and spiritual life but also in the four wigs and costumes that I have to put on during the show."
Rabe the writer and doting father appeared blissed out after his seventh viewing of his working daughter. "It's a very unusual experience," he allowed. "A couple of days ago, I was really thrilled. Now, I'm numb. She went to Northwestern and is very well trained."
As for his Hurlyburly, which got a sold-out revival by The New Group, it will go into extra innings at 37 Arts on April 11, opening April 20 with its "indie cast" (Ethan Hawke, Parker Posey, Josh Hamilton, Bobby Cannavele, Catherine Kellner, et al). At the moment, Rabe is between works: "I have plays written but nothing in the wings."
Burke's opening-night guest was her mother, Jean, and the mother-daughter heartstrings weren't lost on her. "She didn't think I should go into acting—'You gotta watch those people'—but she always supported me, especially when she realized how serious I was."
Another Truvy roaming the Tavern was the Off-Broadway original, Margo Martindale, who parlayed that part into a lucrative career. Her most recent achievement was in the Oscar-winning Best Picture of 2004, Million Dollar Baby; she played Hilary Swank's trailer-trash mom and did that difficult feat in two days of filming. Before that, she was a Tony-nominated Big Mama in the last Broadway go-around of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.
She was seated with Dana Ivey, who just did Big Mama at the Kennedy Center celebration of Tennessee Williams. Before that, she was a much-praised Mrs. Malaprop in Lincoln Center's The Rivals. The two have been friends, co-stars and Upper West Side neighbors for years, and pretty soon they'll be back on stage "Together Again!"
"We did Jack Heffner's Patio Porch in 1977 at the Ollapadrina Shopping Center in Dallas, TX," crowed Ivey. "Before that, we played twins," offered Martindale. "We did not play twins. We played sisters," Ivey corrected. "We. Played. Twins," Martindale insisted. Before the Big Mamas could break into "My Sister!"-"My Twin!" debate, Tim Curry butted in fortuitously from a neighboring table and shmoozed them into a soothing truce. It was his night away from Spamalot, and he fared well without his faithful "Patsy," servicing his table with four drinks in his two hands. "They're all for me," he cracked.
Mason does the most unexpected turn in the cast, The Goodbye Girl-gone grump. "I'm playing very much against type," she said. "I had to convince them. That was the role I wanted. I auditioned and campaigned for it and I'm glad I did. I had a great time tonight."
But the real star of the night was Robert Robinson, a 22-year-old theatre major at the University of Louisiana—i.e., The Nephew for whom the show was written and done on Broadway. "I've seen college productions, but tonight was amazing," he said. "I never saw it done with sliding doors. That was so smart. I felt I was back home in Natchitoches, like a fly on the wall, looking at the ladies in the beauty shop. There was such detail."
And, yes, he cried—like most of the audience. "I knew it was okay to cry when I hear all the sniffles in the audience. I said, 'All right, all right, let it go.' I was just an audience member, and it's a great story." He broke into a smile. "You know, I'm very partial to it."
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| The cast gives their opening night curtain call
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| photo by Aubrey Reuben |
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