Six Dance Lessons in Six Weeks

Karen Meets Mark - Take 1

I went back down to New York last weekend to see Six Dance Lessons again (I'd seen it four times two weeks earlier, but it still wasn't enough). There are a couple of things in particular I want to share with the other fans who have been following the news on the play. First, there was an understudy filling in for Polly Bergen, Kathleen Doyle. She did an excellent job; she didn't capture the uptight dimensions of the character quite as well as Polly, but she brought out the underlying playfulness beautifully, and she and Mark really clicked together. (On a couple of the Broadway discussion boards I've also seen people mention that they saw her do a good job.)

Many people in the audience were worried when they heard there'd be an understudy, though, and we overheard people deciding to leave because they'd come specifically to see Polly. When people sitting around me heard that I'd seen both actresses in the part before (i.e. the 2nd and 3rd times I saw it that weekend), they would anxiously ask me whether it was going to be good. I'm not exaggerating -- the level of concern was so great that I would have upwards of a dozen people in the seats all around me quizzing me on the show, and it was great to get to reassure them that they could relax and expect to have a good time. A couple in one of the rows in front of me was seriously thinking of leaving, but I told them it would be great, and they decided to stay.

The part I especially want to share is that afterwards, the woman came up to me in the aisle and said, "I want to tell you something -- you were right. Thanks for convincing us to stay. Mark Hamill was wonderful! He is the show. It was well worth staying just to see him!" (I thought Kathleen Doyle had done a fine job, too, but this was her assessment.)

That kind of praise was typical of the things people were saying about Mark's performance; I've contributed a few other quotes for Sienn's collection. I heard things like "You were right, it was great!" more than once, and nobody came up to me later to say I was wrong. Needless to say, the people I was talking with were not previously-dedicated Mark Hamill fans but "regular" people (some of whom actually asked me, "I'm sure I've seen him somewhere before, but what was he in?" -- if you can imagine).

So Mark was getting very positive reactions from the general, non-fannish audience. As for what it was like to see the play for the umpteenth time from a fan's point of view -- well, it was wonderful. I wish that just by describing it, I could convey the experience to those who couldn't be there (and I know lots of people wanted to be there -- I even got nice e-mails from fans who said they wished they could go but they were glad that I could be there to support Mark and the play, which I thought was incredibly sweet). Even though all of us fans knew that the play was in danger of closing early because of all the bad luck that had befallen it, I had decided to put all of that out of my mind and just relish seeing Mark on Broadway and seeing this wonderfully fun play again. I was glad I went back for more, because even on all these repeat viewings, it was still magical. Even though I'd just seen the play two weeks earlier, as soon as I sat down next to Moriah in the third row, I was all but bouncing in my seat (not literally bouncing, of course *BG*). Once the play actually started, from the first notes of Bei Mir Bist Du Schoen which begin the show, I lost myself in the story of Michael and Lily and their crazy, neurotic, wonderful friendship.

In a funny way, if you asked me what it was like to see Mark Hamill on stage that weekend, I almost couldn't tell you, because I really felt that I was watching Michael Minetti. I was paying attention to the details of how Mark conveyed Michael's feelings, especially during one performance, but I didn't feel I was looking at Mark's acting technique so much as just looking at what kind of person Michael was and how his feelings came through in his face, his tone and his body language. There are a lot of little moments I'd like to describe where I was deeply moved or impressed by the richness of the portrayal Mark created, though I doubt it's possible for words to convey the flavor of the experience. Still, I have good intentions of creating another fan report by next week with some of my favorite moments from the play, so at least I'm willing to make the attempt. But for now I'll end this report by saying that Mark brought this character to life in a way that was tremendously rich and fascinating, even on seeing it for the twelfth time.

New York, November 15/16, 2003