By Harry Haun If he doesn’t see a happy ending for his deeply conflicted character, he prefers to keep his secret as he did in Doubt. “For every show, you have to have something to discuss on the way back. You don’t really know whose story is being told in Shining City. This is a strangely constructed play. Oliver speaks the most, but I don’t ever leave the stage, and still it has these two parallel stories running along side each other for the duration."
Platt’s big scene—zigzagging crazily between tears and laughs—is a pretty big one, but he’d prefer not to say how big. “When I think about how long it is, I wet my pants. I can’t handle it. I just have to think about it being a story. I don’t think he knows half the things he can say. I think he’s surprised by a lot of the stuff he says and so, if he’s surprised by it, then hopefully you will be, too, watching it. It’s an amazing piece of writing, amazing . I started learning it in January, three months before we went into rehearsal.”
The performance is his first on Broadway, as it is for Peter Scanavino, who has a heartbreaking scene with O’Byrne. “To be honest, everything’s spinning,” he says of his debut. “I can’t even believe it. I couldn’t work with a better actor. It’s so incredible to be on stage with him. And we go to the Mets games all the time. He’s made me a Mets fan.”
Brian Dennehy, fresh from winning an Olivier for a performance that won him a Tony eight years ago (Willy Loman in Death of a Salesman), came to the opening in support of the man who had directed him to those prizes— Robert Falls. “I loved working on Shining City,” says the man from the Second City. “I love this play, I love Conor, and these four actors are like my dream actors. Aren’t they beautiful? Brian’s unbelievable every time he does a play. This is unusual for him¬—a different kind of performance—but there’s nobody better than him. It’s a perfect role for him. He hits it 100% every time he goes to bat.”
10 May 2006
Author McPherson was all shining smiles about Shining City. “I’m very happy with the production,” he beamed. It never occurred to him before, but he has had very good luck in New York with Brians— Brian Cox in St. Nicholas, Brian d’Arcy James in The Good Thief and, now, Brian O’Byrne. The latter, he says, “is a brilliant actor. He’s very vivid. He’s such a strong theatre animal.”
McPherson’s next stage adventure comes up in September at the National Theatre in London. “It’s a play called The Seafarer, and it’s about The Devil coming to play cards for someone’s soul on Christmas Eve. (No, he hasn't seen "The Seventh Seal," Ingmar Bergman’s little chess game between Death and a disillusioned knight.)
Hank Azaria, late of Spamalot and waiting word of the fate of “Huff,” was there cheering on Platt, his co-star in that TV series and pal from Tufts College days. Also: John Leguizamo of “ER” lately; Eric McCormack, counting down to his “Will and Grace” sign-off by rehearsing Neil LaBute’s Some Girl(s) for a Lortel launching; Edie Falco, having a night away from “The Sopranos”; Craig Bierko, drum-beating for his “Scary Movie 4” while trying to scare up a good play to do; Tyne Daly, revisiting the scene of her Rabbit Hole after attending brother Tim’s opening in The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial two days ago; Eric Bogasian of “Love Monkey” with wife Jo Bonney, helming Some Girl(s) before taking on hubby’s subUrbia at Second Stage (could she be swayed by punctuation?); Regina Taylor whose Drowning Crow got a MTC-Biltmore launch; Judy Kuhn; lyricist Susan Birkenhead; Kevin Chamberlin, who has done his Amos Hart previews and will start in earnest in Chicago June 12 with Rita Wilson; the Tony-winning directors of Da (Melvin Bernstein) and Doubt (Doug Hughes); chef Mario Batali; The Light in the Piazza book writer Craig Lucas; Wicked tunesmith Stephen Schwartz; Rent director Michael Grief, hunting for a place to replant his critically cheered Grey Gardens and Jill Eikenberry, late of “L.A. Law” and wife of Michael Tucker, who arrived late with the rest of the cast of MTC’s current comedy at City Center,Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa’s Based on a Totally True Story (Carson Elrod, Erik Heger, Kristine Nielsen and Pedro Pascal).
To put a little extra spice in this night, MTC secured the sponsorship of Tourism Ireland, which, in conjunction with Delta Airlines, presented to one lucky first-nighter a free trip for two to the Emerald Isle. Orla Carey, director of communications for Tourism Ireland, made the presentation herself. “Do you have to wear a green shirt and tie to win?” I asked — because I was. “No,” she replied sweetly. “You can pay me.”
The trip was won by Kristen Svenningsen, an intern at MTC serving as casting assistant. I’m dragging out my old "Citizen Kane" headline—FRAUD AT POLLS . . .
