Marsters Live Vol. 1

Thank you Steve for the review

Today, I saw the play that James Marsters is appearing in, and this is my report. I'll start with a couple of general comments, go on to my experience after the show, and then - under spoiler protection - give an in-depth account of the play, focusing on James' work in it. (Playing several different characters, as well as playing guitar and singing songs he wrote the music for, with lyrics by the playwright.)

Why the spoilage? Very simple. If you live between San Diego and, say, Santa Barbara or so, you need to get down to Hollywood to see this play. And not just to support our Spike. Quite simply, this is the best production of a new play I've seen within my recent memory - superbly written, directed and acted. The Why is hilarious, tragic, intelligent, deeply disturbing, playful, deadly serious, beautifully structured, and - in its studious avoidance of cheap pseudo-profundity - as profound a work of art as I've seen in ages. I cannot praise it highly enough.

And - this is very important - tickets are still available! It runs through Sept. 3rd, and the reservation line is 323-661-9827.

Anyway. After the show, I had not planned to stick around. But as I was walking out, dazed and thrilled, a young man came up to me and identified himself as the playwright's friend. He told me that I was the best audience member they had had, and that I could come back at any time. (I hate to brag, but I've heard this before. I have a loud laugh and attentive audience presence, and theater folks love to have me in their audience. I've actually gotten free tickets to opening nights from people who want me there when the critics are there. Hey, everyone has a great skill, and that's mine. :-)) I told him to tell his friend that he had written a truly wonderful play.

He then said, "This is the playwright, right here," and I was face to face with Victor Kaufold, a tall, soft-spoken young man, young enough to be my son. (He, amazingly, is all of 19 years old. I'm two weeks shy of 40.) I instantly became a babbling idiot, trying to tell this guy what his play had meant to me, and he politely accepted my praise.

I then decided that I needed to thank everyone else involved. I met the director, Daniel Henning, who, it turns out, is a childhood friend of our SMG! (Apparently, Sarah introduced him to James, leading him to cast James. She is duly thanked in the program.) I met Noah Wyle (from ER), who produced the play and took over one of the four acting company slots from Fred Savage for the last couple of weeks. (Very nice, down-to-earth guy, with a nice, pretty wife and an adorable, tiny dog that I got to pet.) I met two other actors, Steve Lipinsky and Antoinette Spolar (remember those names).

Unfortunately, the one person I didn't get to meet was the one who had led me to come there. Apparently, James had an appointment after the show, and so he didn't do the meet and greet thing. I told Daniel to thank him for me, because his work on Buffy had brought me out to see the play. I hope they tease him about that. :-) But I just love that I went out to see one of my favorite TV stars, and was rewarded with an unforgettable theatrical experience.

Anyway, that's how I *almost* met James Marsters. (I wasn't that disappointed, though; getting to meet some nice people and thank them for their terrific work was just fine.) At least I got to see him, close up, doing some really first-rate ensemble acting, and also singing! (He has a fine voice, and indeed, he's doing some singing gigs down here.) And now, my report on the play. If you live in Southern California, stop reading now and pick up that phone! That number again:

3 2 3 6 6 1 9 8 2 7

The Why is a theatrical exploration of school shootings. (The title refers to wondering why such things happen.) The main focus is on Robert (played with great subtlety by Wyle), who has killed three students and horribly injured another, and a therapist (Lipinsky, also very genuine) who is trying to help him in prison. Around their scenes is a kaleidoscope of images - dueling characters from a variety of violent movies, dueling pundits blaming various things for school shootings, a student who missed getting shot (played hauntingly by Spolar in two of the very best scenes in the play), dopy characters in a play within a play written by a novice playwright who thinks he's hit on a really great topic, reporters for a sleazy true crime TV show called "Murder News", and Jed, the singing dog.

Yes, a singing dog. And guess who plays that! Picture, if you will, William the Bloody, sans accent and vampirish presence, wearing floppy ears and a dog nose and slinging a mean guitar. He appears to Robert in dream sequences, singing little ditties and questioning him about his actions.

Like the other actors, James plays a variety of other roles. He's a drawling movie sheriff (showing a talent for accents besides British), a pompous "Murder News" anchor, a buffoonish gun nut (in one of the few scenes in the play that, IMO, misfires - pardon the pun), a right-wing preacher blaming school shootings on a dearth of Christ, and a schoolyard bully in the play within the play. (The latter character being the most reminiscent of Spike.) And, toward the end of the play, he dons a cloak and becomes the title character - a hooded apparition who speaks in riddles and nonsense poetry, putting forth the playwright's notion that there is no real "Why", or at least not a tangible and understandable one.

In all of these scenes, he shows the remarkable presence and comic timing that we all know he possesses. It was different and interesting to see him do it on stage, though. Stage acting is very different from movie/TV acting, but it was immediately apparent (in the first scene of the play, he stood no more than a foot or two away from me) that he was equally as skilled at the former as he is at the latter. I hope he becomes a huge star someday - as huge as he wants to be, that is - but I hope he always gets a chance to do theater. He seems to love it.

The one regret that I have about his performance here is that, unlike the other three cast members, he never really gets a serious, emotionally moving moment. (Those of us who have seen his "you'll never be friends" speech - not to mention his harrowing work on that Millenium episode - know he can do that, too.) But he really does get a chance to stretch out from Spike and show how versatile he is. I came away very impressed with him - and, as I've said before, with the other three actors. It really is thrilling to see an onstage ensemble this strong, especially when combined with such superior writing and directing.

Steve