Meeting Mark: Moriah Take 3
Six Dance Lessons in Six Weeks (November 7, 2003)
I was so freakin' thrilled from the commercial score [for her Six Dance Lessons radio commentary] that I was a gas molecule bouncing off the walls. So what do I do with all that expendable energy? Why, be a kook and see the play again! Yes, be an uninhibited moron and run down the middle of a rainy Times Square like a bat out of hell just to reach the TKTS booth before closing, and run all the way back to the Belasco with just three minutes to spare. Whew. Being a nut sure can be tiring.
I really am a jinx! Everytime I attend something goes crazy. This time the audience laughed so hard at the "hoop skirt over the head" joke that it completely derailed Mark. He caught the giggles and couldn't get rid of them, and he screwed up his line! Which in turn set Polly and the rest of us laughing even more, and kept him laughing. He eventually regained his composure, but random people kept on snorting and chuckling softly to themselves for a while afterwards--most of all myself. I love it when performers break character unintentionally. It usually proves to be even funnier than the material, because it's real. If any of you watch SNL, you know what I'm talking about. (I love Jimmy Fallon!)
Now, considering there have been dozens of performances since October 7th, I can't say this next thing hasn't happened before--it probably has, and I just wasn't there to see it. But last night was the first time I saw it with my own eyes, and it made the whole play so much more moving. I had the outstanding fortune to get an orchestra aisle seat on the right wing; otherwise I would have been at the wrong angle. At the part when Lily tells Michael about Nan's funeral and weeps from her anguish, Mark actually broke down and cried. I was shocked. I had never seen him do that before. It was no soap opera crocodile act--it was very brief and completely silent, but it was so genuine I felt stricken. And it wasn't the last time. At the very end of the play, with Mark and Polly sitting together on the divan somberly, her head buried in his shoulder, he was so overcome he could barely speak. A heavy sob escaped him before he could say his last two lines. And by that time the two women sitting right behind me were sniffling into their handkerchiefs as well. The only thing that kept me from succumbing was having seen the play multiple times--otherwise I would have lost it. It was such a morosely beautiful sight to see.
Ah, the whole lot of you would have fainted had you seen me outside. With me being the repeat offender it was only fair to let everyone else get Mark's attention first, but I had the nerve to stop him on the way to his car. [...] He just laughed knowingly. I thanked him for being the real reason behind me gaining that commercial spot and the "cashola", and he was genuinely thrilled to hear it. Drum roll for the kicker: I instigated a hug. Yes, you heard it right, folks--a bona fide hug. And he was cool about it--I think he might have even been touched. I brought up the performance and how, out of all the times I'd seen it, there'd been something different tonight, something more magical and powerful. He just chalked it up to being a great deal more relaxed onstage. I guess in spite of the critics, now that the show has officially opened the mood has changed. Either way, it's extremely obvious that he's having a ball up there.
A few last details: wardrobe change for Polly! Her waltz gown was pared down and moderized--it's an even brighter, more intense hue of peachy orange, but the hem is slightly higher, and the skirt is no longer full but falls straight. The top has more glitz but no more full sleeves and a regular fitted bodice in place of the bustier. She looks even lovelier now, and a lot more up-to-date!
And I was very pleased with the attendance turnout. Not only was it nearly a full house (on a Thursday night, no less!), but I noticed a much larger percentage of younger folks. Several dozen were no more than barely middle age all the way to fresh out of junior high. I think the word is spreading well! So take my advice--if anyone wants to see Mark crack up onstage, just laugh as hard as you can!