Impressions of Leftover Stories to Tell: A Tribute to Spalding Gray
© 2006 Heather Compher
 
 

The play begins, “I had been brought up to look forward to heaven……” On that ominous note the story of Spalding Gray’’s life as told through his monologues and journal entries starts. I attended the entire five night run of the performance in Los Angeles at the Freud Playhouse, UCLA campus.

We then go to a monologue from ‘‘Morning, Noon and Night’’ about one morning in Gray’’s life during breakfast with his family read by core cast member, Bob Holman, who plays the father figure. At this time there is movement by the core cast to suggest the hectic pace of the early morning rush, and then the actors take their places. During the rest of the play with the exception of the explosive core cast member Hazelle Goodman, the adventure figure, who steals the show, there will be little physical movement by the actors. Instead they use the imaginative language of Spalding Gray to color the stage.

The simple stage which consisted of a writing desk, a dinner table, a bed and an armchair with a reading light was the same every night. However, the core cast members changed nightly in their interactive deliveries as they played off the engaged audience and each other. The audience went from laughing hysterically to crying at various moments. The guest cast members changed nightly and included a wide array of impressive people, ranging from accomplished actors to authors and song writers.

Next we are treated to a journal reading by core cast member, Ain Gordon, of Spalding’’s earliest memory which was of his mother feeding him and tapping out Beethoven’’s Fifth Symphony when he would not eat. The humor of rapping out Beethoven’’s Fifth Symphony tickled the audience each night. This is also the first time we are introduced to the running theme of the darker side of Spalding’’s relationship with his mother and her sadness and suicide.

Irish comedian and core cast member Tommy Tiernan, who plays the sexual figure, continues with stories of childhood kissing contests and make out sessions. We then move to a summer spent by the bay when Spalding was deeply enmeshed with his mother from ‘‘Impossible Vacation’’ as told by core cast member Roger Guenveur Smith, who plays the writer figure. Next there is correspondence with brother Rocky placing Gray in a theater company in Saratoga Springs in September of 1965. Rocky then writes Spalding in December of 1966 noting that their mother is not much improved, and that no one in the family considers Gray to be a “flop” and that they see much promise for his future.

At this point the dynamic Hazelle Goodman appears, a vision in red, announcing that “I had begun to make harsh judgments against the theater.” She tells the soybean gas angel’’s robe story from ‘‘Monster in a Box’’ which was hilarious. Her delivery as a strong woman was so different from Spalding Gray’’s that it made the story very universal which is never what Spalding was about. He also becomes universal through all the different voices of the core and guest cast members.

We hear the sad news of Spalding learning of the death of his mother through his dad in a 1967 journal entry. In another journal entry from 1969, he states, “I am still all right because I can still love” and talks about getting lost in the “essence of a day.” Next is the ‘‘Impossible Vacation’’ story of Spalding’’s run in with the police in Las Vegas which leads to him deciding to move to New York to write his experiences down. There is a fascinating journal entry in which Spalding notes, “The unobserved life doesn’’t feel like living,” and “I think of myself as a collagist. I came to know of my life through the telling of it.” This is followed by the familiar Bowery Bum story when Gray cleans the synagogue as told with new life by Hazelle Goodman.
Then we jump to 1982, when Spalding ponders what has happened to his famous friends and the guest performers arrive with a monologue about interviewing for the Tonight Show. The first night was Margaret Cho and John C. Reilly. Thursday night was Miranda July and Jonathan Ames. Friday included Eric Stolz and Alice Sebold, both of whom gave especially inspired performances. Saturday continued with husband and wife team Tony Shalhoub of “Monk” and Brooke Adams. The finale was Sunday with Teri Garr, Frances Conroy, and Loudon Wainwright III. Again we were presented with the universal quality of Spalding’’s work as it was presented through so many different voices. The highlights of the guest cast performances for me were the ‘‘Our Town’’ monologue by Eric Stolz and Teri Garr, and everything by Frances Conroy.

The story continues with highlights from Gray’’s professional and personal life, including the hilarious Azaria Thornbird sweat lodge story from ‘‘Gray’’s Anatomy’’ which caused most of the core cast to break up in laughter every night, especially when Hazelle yells, “Get back, Lame Deer. Get Back!”

The story continues with Gray marrying his girlfriend Renee while he is having an affair with Kathie. This leads to him short circuiting and driving every body nuts. Then we hear about Gray’’s blissful family life with Kathie and the children. He comments in a journal entry that “I shut my heart down to protect it from Mom’’s sadness but the children have opened my heart.” “My family saves me. It is my salvation.”

We then move to the terrible automobile accident in Ireland in 2001. At this time three of the core cast members deliver their monologues about the accident from ‘‘Life Interrupted’’ while seated in chairs that they have been eerily led to with a loud snap by Bob Holman. Then the play begins to get very dark with ruminations about his timing being off and suicides attempts. It culminates with a final note left for Kathie in which he says that everything “is in my head” and that he sees suicide as a viable alternative to institutionalization after trying ten therapists, three psycho pharmacologists and eighteen shock treatments.

There is a powerful scene after his death during which the core cast members are all standing reading pieces of monologues at the same time. The menagerie of overlapping voices gives one a feeling of the inspired and creative life that Gray led. Then we are back to dinner time from ‘‘Morning, Noon and Night’’ which closes with a family dance to Chumbawumba, while a video of Gray dancing with a boom box plays on the wall. At this point, everyone is pretty much in tears. Many people in the audience, including myself, were crying.

I enjoyed attending the wrap party with web master, John Boland, in Bergamot Station. It was held at a gallery with an exhibit on photographs of banned books burning. We got cast and crew signatures for a tee shirt to be auctioned for the Spalding Gray Foundation