I was very fortunate today and was able to sneak out of the office to attend the memorial for Lanford Wilson, a great hero of mine. The memorial was at the gorgeous Lyceum Theater, set up for John Leguizamo's Ghetto Klown. The pre-set set pieces for that show actually were a nice touch to the stage for the memorial. There was a movie projector, and slides of Lanford and theatrical shots were projected throughout. The streetlamps added some Americana and the coat rack just made it seem like home.
The prologue was a song from a musical version of Balm in Gilead--it was quite a lovely song and a nice way to start. Marshall Mason came out to welcome everyone and provide some insights. Everything he said was funny and touching and, yes, I started to cry. First guy out = me crying. I'm such a softie. :)
Edward Albee was, of course, irascible and gracious. He is such a terrific speaker. And I'll never think of July 5 in quite the same way anymore. Jeff Daniels was charming and delightful, and very moving. He and Jonathan Hogan then performed "City of New Orleans," which was one of Lanford's favorite songs. They did a great job with it.
Everyone was just wonderful--should I just list them all? Actors Conchata Ferrell, William Hurt, Tanya Berezin, Swoosie Kurtz (she and I now share the same hair color), Debra Monk, Bobby Cannavale, Judith Ivey, Lou Liberatore, Judd Hirsch and playwrights Craig Lucas, William Hoffman and Reesa Graham. There were also some artistic directors there (Guy Sanville, James Houghton, Terry Schreiber, Gordon Davidson), and designer John Lee Beatty. Everyone told such delightful stories about a terrific writer and charming man. I especially loved seeing Swoosie Kurtz recreate a monologue from Fifth of July (I've done that monologue! Kinda surreal!), hearing Bobby Cannavale describe being a young actor taken under the wing of a generous Lanford, and Craig Lucas. Oh, darling Craig Lucas. I think everyone knows how much I love him (and his writing), but he so eloquently described what he thinks made Lanford's writing so beautiful and special, and he also took on the critics who misunderstood Lanford and his work. I just thought he was terrific. Well, actually, everyone was. I want to see all of them in a new play. Or in a revival of one of Lanford's.
I first read a Lanford Wilson play when I was at Kent State--we did a production of Rimers of Eldritch. I so wanted to be in it, but I was actually in another show that happened at almost the same time. I remember being so in love with the language of Rimers, and feeling like I knew these people. I immediately looked for more plays by Lanford--I directed a production of Home Free and did monologues from Serenading Louie and Fifth of July. My gentleman friend at the time talked about our doing a production of Talley's Folly. I still dream about playing Sally Talley. I have such personal memories of so many of his plays, I feel as if I've been in them all. Actually, I've never acted in one. I'm going to have to do something to change that.
There was a lovely but bittersweet, nostalgic feeling in the air, however I must admit to feeling like there was someone missing. Doric had e-mailed me a while back about going to Lanford's memorial. It was sad to be there without him. I'll just imagine the empty seat next to me had Doric in it. I would've loved to chat with him afterwards. But I'm sure Doric and Lanford are having quite a chat right now, as we all speak, remember and reminisce...
I just want to close with a quote of Lanford's that was in today's program. Lanford wrote this in 1980, in tribute to an artist he admired, Lou Fink. I think it can describe how we feel about Lanford, too: "We mourn our loss of the man, and we should, because our lives have been diminished by him being taken away from us. But where memories fail, the work of an artist does not...And when God gives us an artist, granted we have to share him with the world, and we will share him willingly, but as long as the work remains, not God, not the devil himself and all his grabbing angels, not tragedy or accident, and certainly not death, can ever take him away from us."
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