Why is Hollywood so messed up? Why are nickels bigger than dimes? They just are.It’s a great line from a great Broadway play. Feel free to steal it. I just did.
Last night I saw David Mamet's Speed The Plow. It starred Jeremy Piven until last week, when he developed a bad case of mercury poisoning. Sushi, how can you be so yummy and yet so lethal?
Last night was the debut of Jeremy’s replacement, Norbert Leo Butz, and it was a truly mind-boggling experience. You see, Mamet likes to stuff ten pounds of script into an hour-and-a-half timeframe, so Norbert was overwhelmed. He’d only had four days to rehearse, so he spent the second and third acts with his script in his hand to help him with his lines. I heard many impatient sighs around me in the audience (including my mom next to me), but I found it to be a fascinating study as an actor.
Butz is actually only subbing for Piven until the full-time replacement, William H. Macy, begins in two weeks. I would have loved to see Macy on stage, but them’s the breaks.
Actually, it didn’t matter if the role featured Piven, Butz or Macy, because the man acting opposite them, Raúl Esparza (pictured above), just wiped the floor with the place. It was an incredibly charged-up performance that stole the show. If you happen to be in N.Y., and have a couple of c-notes in your pocket, I beg you to check it out.
Blubber update: was afraid to weigh myself today, after the crazy-delicious, three-cheese Maccharoni & Cheese at Scarlotta last night. Yes, they’ve invented a third cheese.
