Lary Bloom
Writer, Editor, Teacher
The Bloom Blog
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Tuesday, March 28, 2006
Enduring Talents
I sat in the balcony of the Chester Meeting House last night and watched what was happening on stage -- one of the final rehearsals for tonight's reading of Worth Avenue, a play I have written. I was watching, in particular, Scotty Bloch and Peter Walker.She is an actress who, in the neighborhood of 80, has enormous vitality.(Woody Allen noticed this when he cast her in several movies.) In Worth Avenue, she plays five roles.. Each is demanding, particularly the last, a monologue of 20 minutes or so that calls for the ability to deliver comic lines and social commentary and to alter the mood throughout. She does this magnificently.
Peter Walker is close to her age, and he too has great energy. He plays three roles, all with passion and the kind of stagecraft that only a veteran actor can offer. It's been a long time since his Broadway debut in the original cast of Follies, but he still works hard, and is a delight to watch.
I had an odd feeling up there in the balcony. These were my words these great actors were uttering. Often, I didn't recognize them as such -- Scotty and Peter had so internalized them, made them work for their characters.
In Worth Avenue (tonight at 7 at the Chester Meeting House), they play characters their age who don't have the internal resources that they do. It's an honor to work with them -- I am one fortunate playwright.
Posted by:Lary Bloom at 3:26 AM
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