Albee Memory - One Last Set of Thoughts

As I prepare for tomorrow's Broadway Cares Flea Market, I'm thinking back fondly on the five years that Edward Albee came to sit at our table.  He would meet his fans, sign his scripts, chat with young writers, look through the Halloween candy I had sitting on the table (even though he wasn't supposed to eat it) and pretty much make my entire year.  I was most often tongue-tied around him, but I did gather up enough courage once to ask him about Seascape.  It was a nice conversation that is foggy now because running constantly in the back of my mind were the thoughts "Oh my god, I'm talking about an Edward Albee play TO EDWARD ALBEE!"  And of course our sales would double, triple, or quadruple with an Edward guest appearance.  I think he got a kick out of that.

He could be cranky, dour, intimidating and brusque.  He could also be witty, engaging, charming and surprisingly warm.  I probably saw all of that across the nearly-twenty years I was fortunate enough to know and work with him.  A frown from Edward could scare me to pieces, but a smile or laugh from Edward felt so earned.  

I admired how seriously he took mentoring the next generation of writers - he treated them as contemporaries and tried to help them achieve success.  He went to readings and productions, supporting his friends and other writers he felt needed his support.  At his level of theatrical fame, he could've just stayed at home and remembered his success. Instead, he was always writing, working and experiencing art.  He was definitely a role model for me.

It's hard, really, to find the right words to describe how I feel, now that he's gone.  I'm sure he'd be rolling his eyes at how bereft I feel, when I knew him only slightly.  But his persona was so big and his theatrical aura was so bright, he couldn't have known how many lives he touched, just from his amazing writing and his amazing life.  I'll truly miss him, and there's a great big hole in the theater world, as far as I'm concerned.  I'll share a few silly photos below - I wasn't going to share the first one, for a shallow reason.  That photo is from before my surgery, and, well, I'm missing my old figure as well as Mr. Albee. Sigh. Shallow. I told you. Oh, and that famous photo at the bottom?  Mr. S. and Mr. Albee were presenting awards at a work event I produced.  I wanted to show them where their table would be, how to get onto the stage, and other housekeeping things before the event actually started. After I did that, we stood around and talked.  WE STOOD AROUND AND TALKED. Well, they did.  I just glowed.  Mr. S. talked about the books he was working on, Mr. Albee talked about the play he was working on, and then they started gossiping about a play they had both seen and didn't enjoy in the extreme.  I honestly don't remember what play they were talking about, but gosh, did I get a kick out of being in THAT room.  I still can't believe it happened.  Yes, I'm getting a little misty...