#theglassmenagerie

[consanguinitatum]

Theatre Deep Dive: David Tennant in Hurlyburly (1997)

In today's spotlight on David Tennant's theatre career, we'll feature 1997's production of Hurlyburly by David Rabe, and David's role as Mickey.

By 1997, David was coming off two years of successful theatre. In 1995 he'd been nominated for Best Supporting Actor in the MENTA Awards and Best Actor at the British Regional Theatre Awards for his role as Kenny in An Experienced Woman Gives Advice.

In 1996 he'd completed four theatre roles: Tom Wingfield in The Glass Menagerie at the Dundee Rep, and Touchstone in As You Like It, Jack Lane in The Herbal Bed, and Alexander Hamilton in The General From America in Stratford and London for the Royal Shakespeare Company.

He took a day off from The Glass Menagerie rehearsals to go to London to audition for Orlando in As You Like It, and while he didn't get that role, he did bag the role of Touchstone. Follow this link if you want to read most of an extensive essay he wrote about playing that part...while he was playing it!

David won rave reviews for all these roles, including a Theatre Management Award nomination for Best Actor for 'The Glass Menagerie.' His Royal Shakespeare Company performances were all sell-outs, and in particular, his portrayal of Touchstone was noted as a standout performance. And while David had played many previous theatre roles, up to that point Touchstone had been the longest he'd played any part. He inhabited the role of Touchstone for almost an entire year - from 18 April 1996 (his 25th birthday) to the run's close on 29 March 1997. During the run, he'd injured his ankle.

Also, keep in mind he was simultaneously doing his other roles in The Herbal Bed and The General From America! The General From America ran from July to October 1996 in Stratford and from February to April of 1997 in London; The Herbal Bed ran from May to September 1996 in Stratford, and from October 1996 to January 1997 in London.

He was a BUSY boy indeed!

His next role - as Mickey in David Rabe's blisteringly caustic play Hurlyburly, would take him for the first time to the West End's Queen's Theatre (now the Sondheim Theatre). A transfer of the Peter Hall Company's March to April 1997 production at the Old Vic, the Queen's production would run from August to November 1997.

There's a belief in the DT fandom that David played the role of Mickey in both runs - at the Old Vic and at the Queen's. That's false. The only three actors who transferred their roles from the Old Vic were Rupert Graves as Eddie, Andy Serkis as Phil, and Susannah Doyle as Bonnie. David replaced Daniel Craig (yes, THAT Daniel Craig!) as Mickey. At the Old Vic, Stephen Dillane had played Artie, Elizabeth McGovern had played Darlene, and Kelly MacDonald (yes, THAT Kelly MacDonald!) was Donna. At the Queen's, Mark Benton played Artie, Jenny Seagrove played Darlene, and Jessica Watson was Donna.

Photos of Hurlyburly from its Old Vic run

Weirdly, neither Graves nor Seagrove were supposed to star in the Queen's run. Ethan Hawke and Patsy Kensit were!

But Hawke - who would've made his London stage debut - walked out after a day's rehearsal and Kensit followed the next day. So Graves and Seagrove stepped in.

According to its programme, Hurlyburly was originally scheduled to begin previews on 14 August 1997. But because of its casting problems, it seems it began its run a week later, on 21 August? Yet newspapers give dates anywhere from 13 August to 28 August. So I'm really not certain of the exact date.

It was performed with American accents, too!

The director of Hurlyburly was Wilson Milam. Doctor Who fans will recognize the name, as Milam later went on to direct 2003's Scream of the Shalka - a well-known series, one where David featured in an uncredited cameo role as the Caretaker!

Hurlyburly ran for 2 hours and 40 minutes and began at 8pm on Mondays through Saturdays. There was one interval. Its weekday Wednesday matinee began at 3pm, and its Saturday matinee began at 4pm. Tickets ran anywhere from £7.50 to £24.

But what's Hurlyburly about? Set in the Hollywood Hills during the excesses of the 80s, it centers on divorced Hollywood casting directors Eddie and Mickey, and their associates Phil and Artie. In six scenes across the space of twelve months, they hurtle towards self-destruction.

These men hate everything: themselves, their friends, the movie industry, and especially women. Their language pours out in crude torrents of hostility and violence. They snort lines, drink, mistreat women, and shout at each other. A LOT. The women in their lives are just there to use and discard. Their girlfriends are annoying props, other women are sex objects or boring and pitiful, they've abandoned their children, and their ex-wives are the focus of undying and vicious disdain.

The production got rave reviews, and Rupert Graves was nominated for the 1998 Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor. David also got great reviews! His Mickey made an impression as a "mocking and maddeningly self-possessed," "self-controlled, empty" and "cynical outsider". He thought himself a charming God's gift to women type, but had a "detachment that becomes chilling."

Given the amount of photographs taken from the Old Vic run of Hurlyburly, you'd think there would be more photos taken from its Queen's run featuring David. But…no? There's only this one from the programme, and one of him in a blue shirt:

Now for some Trivia Time! During Hurlyburly's run, its assisant director, Charlotte ­Bond, asked David for a favor. She was going to be involved in a play later that year at the Edinburgh Festival called Tamagotchi Heaven and she wondered if he'd be willing to film a small cameo role for the piece.

He agreed, filmed it in about an hour, and promptly forgot about it - until a 2008 Chain Reaction radio interview he did with Catherine Tate reminded him of it. Because she'd SEEN it, and somehow recognized him from it....even though they hadn't yet met! Here's the interview where they speak of it (it's 2 minutes in):

And that, my friends, is what I know of the story of Hurlyburly. I hope you enjoyed it!

[ryf8589]

Also received this rarity. #theglassmenagerie #theglassmenagerie1987 #paulnewman #cineplexodeon #cineplexodeonfilms #1980s #presskit #karenallen #joannewoodward #johnmalkovich #tennesseewilliams #80smovies #late1980s (at City of Spring Valley Village) https://www.instagram.com/p/Cn3kKBzOWjA/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[maraczeks]

@projectbway event 04 : free week — the glass menagerie

[she blows the candles out.]

— scene seven, tennessee williams

[katharinehxpburn]

“I think the short answer is to say that what you see is what you got when it came to working with her. She was what she appeared to be, energy, commitment, enthusiasm, love of fun. She loved the “two shots,” two people’s head in the frame, and loved acting with people.” - Sam Waterson talking to The Connecticut Post this year about filming THE GLASS MENAGERIE (1973) with Katharine.⁣ ⁣ (Photos: The Glass Menagerie filming) ⁣ ⁣ • #connecticut #theglassmenagerie #samwaterson #katharinehepburn #ctpost #1970s #actors #glassmenagerie #hollywood https://www.instagram.com/p/CHEYKQcnabD/?igshid=fue2o3cbad8p

[infamousgovernor]

Queen 👑 #pamelarabe #theglassmenagerie https://www.instagram.com/p/CDe0j3end2c-7biZwerTc4U75CmzKyb6m5rcuI0/?igshid=1aotrt9wiywau

[coldhotsaucekiss]

“Time is the longest distance between two places.” -Tennessee Williams • • • #traveltuesday #sanfrancisco #telegraphhill #tennesseewilliams #instaquote #theglassmenagerie #quote #2020 #view #california #staystrong (at San Francisco, California) https://www.instagram.com/p/B92W9Krgn1R/?igshid=ioj4hw2cil7r

[vee-behindthescenes]

#fbf the glass menagerie - 2017 . . . #theatre #flashbackfriday #theglassmenagerie #actress #actor #stage #onstage #backstage #acting #show #costume #script #actinglove #theater #performance #performingarts #americantheatre #tennesseewilliams https://www.instagram.com/p/B0Yz1IgFfLH/?igshid=1wze1za3wpqgb

[danielcnicolini]

"Time is the longest distance between two places" #tennesseewilliams #theglassmenagerie #legislaturaporteña #architecture #arquitectura #instaarchitecture #building #batiment #campanario #belltower #caba #buenosaires #argentina (en Legislatura CABA) https://www.instagram.com/p/BpX2R5dA3ZI/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=zq32dqh9f965

[johnmcannon]

Is looking for the Blue Roses @jerherrin @paulhilton970 #theglassmenagerie https://www.instagram.com/p/ChVJNwmoUCG/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[itsmichelecathylove]

I hope that everyone had a good Saint Patrick’s Day! I haven’t posted for a while. Here’s some flashback photos to when I played Laura Wingfield from The Glass Menagerie via zoom at @njschoolofdramaticarts #theglassmenagerie #laurawingfield #acting #njactors #spreadgooddrama #blooming #funtimes #flashbackfriday https://www.instagram.com/p/CbiFZUdrL6E/?utm_medium=tumblr

[noelanik-art]

What better way to spend a rehearsal period in which I am not yet taking notes for the director than by doing some art? Inspired somewhat by the wistfulness of the character Laura Wingfield from Tennessee Williams’s “The Glass Menagerie”. This was painted entirely using the watercolor brush in Autodesk sketchbook.

[ryf8589]

#theglassmenagerie #1980s #cineplexodeonhomevideo #mcahomevideocanada #mcahomevideo #VHS #paulnewman #joannewoodward #johnmalkovich #karenallen #tennesseewilliams #cineplexodeon #cineplexodeonfilms #canadianvhs (at Spring Branch Area) https://www.instagram.com/p/CaGnCPyLUgV/?utm_medium=tumblr

[fashionartfilmalien]

Happy 75th Birthday to the great iconic Sally Field B. November 6, 1946 #scorpio #sallyfield #happybirthdaysallyfield #icon #filmicon #gidget #flyingnun #sybil #marytoddlincoln #lincoln #steelmagnolias #normarae #placesintheheart #smokeyandthebandit #forrestgump #theglassmenagerie #ER #hellomynameisdoris https://www.instagram.com/p/CV9eBQDMQh5/?utm_medium=tumblr

[brothermarc7theatre]

Season Announcement Wednesday

Hello and welcome to another highlight of a theatre season! The days go by as we shelter in place, and one thing that motivates me to no end is trusting that sooner, rather than later, we will be able to safely, comfortably congregate in a theater and support our local art. So, this week let’s travel down to Visalia to see what College of the Sequoias is offering in 2020-2021!

Shows/Dates: Reefer Madness (October); The Glass Menagerie (November); The Bacchae, Euripides (March 2021); How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying (April 2021)

Venue/Address: College of the Sequoias Theater @ 915 S. Mooney Blvd., Visalia 93277

Website: www.costheatre.org

Facebook: “Like” them at- College of the Sequoias Performing Arts

Twitter: “Follow” them at- @COStheatre 

Description: College of the Sequoias has been providing the Valley with quality theatre productions for quite some time. With an unfortunate end to their most recent season (like most theatre seasons around the country), what better season to come back to! I have had the pleasure of seeing COS’ productions of A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, The Secret Garden, Jekyll and Hyde, The Mystery of Edwin Drood, The Phantom of the Opera, and In The Heights, among many others. Join me at COS next season and let’s show this program and school our support with ticket money, butts in seats, and enthusiastic applause, huh? See you there!

[infamousgovernor]

😍😍 #pamelarabe #theglassmenagerie https://www.instagram.com/p/CDe41GPHHz8p8dTsTQekj6DubaMMIVE2p-hGcc0/?igshid=9lk5es3tz57q

[crystallllines]

I, a chronically sick chick known for leaving school and avoiding fun things because i am sick, auditioned for Laura Wingfield. #glassmenagerie #theglassmenagerie #holeinthewall #newbritain #newbritainct #newbritainconnecticut #ct #connecticut #tennesseewilliams (at Hole in the Wall Theater)