trying
I have a hard time with plays. A few months ago we saw Doubt, with second row seats (complements of our benefactor, Joe), which was excellent, but other than that, I couldn’t remember the last time I really enjoyed a play. Up until this weekend, that is. We went up to Hartford, CT to see our friend Lena in Trying, which was fantastic.
The two-person play is about the generational/personality conflict between an aging and difficult former Attorney General and the young, earnest Canadian secretary who has the unenviable job of assisting him with his daily affairs. Lena played the Saskatchewanian secretary (say that five times fast) and did an incredible job. Playing opposite her (in the role based on Francis Biddle) was Michael McGuire, who was simply amazing. With believable dialogue and an incredibly life-like set (minimal stage settings just don’t do it for me), everything felt very real. At no point during the show did I have to force myself to concentrate – a play-going first for me. Even a shocking amount of audible flatulence from a crowd with an average age of seventy couldn’t sway my attention.
Knowing firsthand how difficult forging a career in the arts can be, Julia and I are very proud of Lena for her perseverance and refusal over the years to become another bitter actor in New York. Julia, having grown up with Lena, was understandably emotional after the show.
With success comes trying times as well – Lena is stuck in Hartford (the poor man’s Worcester) all summer. The Playhouse is only a couple of blocks from the apartment building they’re putting her up in, but due to all the shady characters that roam around the city, she has to get a ride home at night. The poster from the show (and Lena's smiling face) hangs in almost every storefront and restaurant window in town, which freaks her out (we got a kick out of it).
So if you’re in Hartford over the next month or so (maybe you’re in the market for a stolen car or have tickets to a WWE event at the Hartford Civic Center), you should definitely go see the show. It’s not like there’s anything else to do.
posted by Justin at 4:59 PM
3 Comments:
Thank you so much for your posting of June 20. With your permission, we want to use it in all future promotional material.
Best wishes,
Tony "Bonecrusher" Famigliatta
Executive Director
Hartford Chamber of Commerce
The "poor man's Worcester"? Those are fighting words, my friend. You're defaming the town in which I was born and spent the first years of my life. There are definitely many shady parts of Hartford, but it is kind of a lovely city, beneath all the decay and desertion. I've been hearing about a significant amount of development going on downtown, and an increase in the number of people choosing to live downtown, more foot traffic at night, etc.
The Hartford Stage is great. The next time you're up there, please visit Bushnell Park (the country's first municipal park), the Mark Twain House, the Wadsworth Atheneum (America's oldest art museum), the Italian bakeries and cafes on Franklin Avenue, and finish a half hour before sunset at the rose gardens in Elizabeth Park.
Apologies. Any city that spawned such a fine creature as yourself must have some good points. I'll pass on your recommendations to Lena.
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