The run of Endgame at the Kirk Douglas is celebrating its final moments. That flurried time when ticket availability has waned and now, of course, everyone wants to see the show. I am so pleased that the show has done so well. Public support of really good theatre makes you feel good about having a life in the theatre. Tonight on the way to the theatre, I asked Jimmie if he was getting blue about the show’s impending close, and he admitted he was nervous about the upcoming adjustment to “real life.”
At dinner tonight between the two Saturday performances, we dined with Alan Mandell, who is studiously avoiding an adjustment to “real life” by embarking on a tour of “The King’s Speech” to Australia, then Toronto and then New York. He seemed unphased by the magnitude of such an undertaking. I know Jimmie and I will always be grateful to him for making the call to Jimmie that brought him back to the stage in Los Angeles.
Endgame has been such a great way to see friends; so many have come out to see the show. The green room is filled with folks every night after the show; Ian, the doorman, tries valiantly to keep the corridors clear when all anyone wants to do is talk to the actors in the hallway. Doing a well-received play in Los Angeles is a little like how it might be to sit in your rocking chair on the front porch at dusk. Friends and long lost acquaintances come wandering by, and surprised to find you there in the gloaming, with fireflies twinkling around, they whisper enduring endearances.
It’s been too long since we’ve seen each other. You look marvelous. Thank you for being so wonderful.
I’ve tried to take pictures of some of the friends who’ve come backstage after the show. I’ve not captured all who’ve visited, and for that I’m sorry. But for those whom I have skewered with my lens or iPhone, my apologies as well. I’ve been told I take terrible pictures and then post them without photo clearance. It’s a Collins trait, I’m afraid.
I ran into local playwright Henry Ong this week at the Geffen Playhouse at the marvelous “In and Of Itself” starring Derek DelGaudio. Henry, who, as an Ovation voter, sees more shows than anyone I know, at least has the decency to check with his subjects after snapping a photo – “Photo Approval,” he says, thrusting the face of his iPhone toward you. Everyone always looks so happy to see him and they are smiling, looking their best. That’s how everyone seems to look when they come backstage after Endgame. We’ve seen people in the green room at KDT in the past few weeks that we haven’t seen in 15 years. Happy reunions around such a special piece.
With one day left in the run, both Jimmie and I are trying to fight off the closing night blues. This one will be hard to let go of. The play is a touchstone in our lives, and we will miss everyone who made this amazing adventure possible. And we’ll go back to the porch to rock away the summer months. Come by and rock with us a while, won’t you?
lifeinthethe8tre 