Ever Seen A Famous Film Actor...

[Markus]

In a stage play? I mean an A lister.

Gives us your reviews. I'll even take the likes of McKellen who became famous off being great stage actor.

[Sneelock]

I saw Jason Robards do "The Iceman Cometh" in the 80's.
Robards was maybe a little old for the part but I guess he was celebrated in the role in earlier productions.
they did it in a decent sized place without microphones. if memory serves, there were passages in the play that had been restored which hadn't been performed for a time.

it's a very demanding play but it was the best straight play I ever saw. Robards was very, very good. His character is gradually revealed to be hiding a great guilt. He gave this to the audience gradually with his very expressive face.

best of all for me was the elderly Barnard Hughes as the barkeeper who is sort of the begrudging moralist of the piece. This frail little man's face positively glowed when he said some of that dialogue.

I don't know if those guys qualify as A-listers but it's a night of theater I'll never forget. it was a long evening of people talking. my butt did NOT squirm. Eugene O'Neil did this really stylized sort of unnatural dialogue and those actors really rose to the occasion. they made you believe for a few hours that people really talk like that.

[rayge]

Can count the number of times I've paid to see a play on one hand, but I did see James Stewart in Harvey in London in the mid-70s.
He was excellent.

[~ / % ? *]

Keeping with my 1968 theme Robards brings a lot of a grace to Once a Upon a Time...part of a great quartet in that film.

Once Upon a Time in the West - "You don't sell the dream of a life time"

[Sneelock]

Claudia Cardinale in 1968!
(tiger mating sound)

[harrylemon]

Does Oscar winner Peter Capaldi fronting a band with Craig Fergusson on drums, playing a pub 5 minutes from my house count?

[rayge]

When I worked in Mayfair in the mid-70s, I also saw Lauren Bacall, Gene Wilder and Ray Milland in the street, all A-listers I'm sure you'd agree, but just going about their business at the time.
Oh, and I almost literally bumped into Woody Allen in London when he was shooting, or discussing shooting, on the South Bank.

[fearlessfreap]

I recently saw Rob Schneider in Hamlet.

[neige]

Vanessa Redgrave in Ibsen's Seagull in London - ca. 30 years ago, don't remember a thing, but must have the programme somewhere.

[harrylemon]

I saw Peter O'Toole in the country when I was on holiday in Ireland. That'll do for me.

[Sneelock]

Was he riding a camel?

[harrylemon]

Jul 3, 2022 15:10:31 GMT Sneelock said:

Was he riding a camel?

Alas no, wearing a flat cap and posh waxed jacket.

[loveless]

Garret Morris and Michael Gross are the two most renowned film/TV actors I've seen in person on the theater stage (people like Mel Brooks or O'Hare/Levy whom I'd specifically paid to see be themselves don't count).

[loveless]

In Chicago, unfortunately, John Cusack is the Grohl of "local white males." The Jim Belushi of his generation. He liked one of my bands, bought some records, loads of my older friends were in high school with him. He's not widely beloved on a personal level.

My own favorite experience was that my children and I were seated right in front of him for a Brian Wilson Pet Sounds concert about 6 years ago (right when Brian really started digging into his present Weekend at Bernie's phase of live performance). Now, my kids and I are friends with a few of Brian's musicians (my boys were 7 and 11 then), and we'd run into one of the players outside of the theater right before the gig. So...we had ridiculous fucking seats (4th row center on the aisle), and the band comes out and our friend (also a dad of similar aged boys) comes out and waves very excitedly at my children. What he LATER tells me is that Cusack thought he was waving at him (I mean, right - who wouldn't be ecstatic to see John Cusack [makes jerk off motion]), so he gets up and waves back at the same level of enthusiasm.

[davey]

Jun 30, 2022 21:31:57 GMT Sneelock said:

I saw Jason Robards do "The Iceman Cometh" in the 80's.
Robards was maybe a little old for the part but I guess he was celebrated in the role in earlier productions.
they did it in a decent sized place without microphones. if memory serves, there were passages in the play that had been restored which hadn't been performed for a time.

it's a very demanding play but it was the best straight play I ever saw. Robards was very, very good. His character is gradually revealed to be hiding a great guilt. He gave this to the audience gradually with his very expressive face.

best of all for me was the elderly Barnard Hughes as the barkeeper who is sort of the begrudging moralist of the piece. This frail little man's face positively glowed when he said some of that dialogue.

I don't know if those guys qualify as A-listers but it's a night of theater I'll never forget. it was a long evening of people talking. my butt did NOT squirm. Eugene O'Neil did this really stylized sort of unnatural dialogue and those actors really rose to the occasion. they made you believe for a few hours that people really talk like that.

I saw that in the 80s too. A friend of mine was in the cast as well.

I saw a few musical revivals with big stars. Both Richard Burton and Richard Harris in Camelot. Yul Brynner in The King and I. Mickey Rooney and Ann Miller in Sugar Babies. Donald O’Connor in a play whose name I’ve forgotten. I saw Tim Robbins pre-fame direct and act in a version of Pere Ubu. Oh… and Ian McKellan in a one-man show. Might be forgetting a few others.