The show closed on March 12. The production opened last night, Tuesday, October 8, and features Francois Battiste (Broadway's Magic/ Bird) as Reggie Jackson and Elston Howard,Chris Henry Coffey (Off-Broadway's Water by the Spoonful) as Joe DiMaggio,Bill Dawes(Broadway's Lombardi) as Mickey Mantle/Thurman Munson,Christopher Jackson(Broadway's In the Heights, Memphis) asDerek Jeter, Wendy Makkena (Broadway's Side Man) as Carmen Berra, Keith Nobbs (Broadway's Lombardi) as Billy Martin, Richard Topol (Broadway'sThe Normal Heart, The Merchant of Venice) as Yogi Berra, John Wernke (Broadway's The Lyons) as Lou Gehrig, and C.J. rt: Actually, it sort of timed out pretty well, you know? In the video below, Patrick Healy visited the Tony Award-winning revival of 'The Normal Heart' to see if its relevant to younger gay people today. He holds an MFA in Acting from NYU's Graduate Acting Program and a BA in Political Science from Brown University. March 23 May 19, free (donations accepted) Im a tree worshiper. We dont know when but were still committed to doing the play. Everybody did keep their masks on, but there were some drinking and eating. The Normal Heart made its World Premiere at The Public Theater in 1985 and premiered on Broadway on April 19, 2011 before opening to rave reviews on April 27, 2011. rt: Oh, less upsetting because I know Im not a professional. He was beautiful. And putting it up and investing in it, saying, Im sorry, this is too important. [6] Click below to watch a montage of Alexander in the show! That is followed March 26-29 with an untitled piece by Joshua David Robinson and Susanna Stahlmann consisting of poems written in response to the protests of the summer of 2020. Since then weve bumped into each other a few other times at the theater and discussed various shows wed seen. I mean, I also shot some TV shows over the course of the pandemic, so all of the Zoom stuff felt more like the way an actor like me connects to short-term work. . And in the scenes where I play myself, most of that writing is me, having written down my versions of stories that Ive experienced. rt: The short answer is it was great. I think of myself as spiritual and, not to be too woo-woo, I believe in the earth. Im a lefty, so Tug McGraw was my hero. Like in Joshs play, he was one of those people, a German Jew in Berlin who got out. They produced a lot of one-person shows. I remember at the time talking with people and saying, Oh my God, this is the longest period of time between . In addition to his film and television credits, Richard has appeared on Broadway numerous times, most recently nominated for an Outer Critics Circle Award as Lemml in the Tony Award winning production of Indecent, with Larry David in Fish in the Dark, with Al Pacino in The Merchant of Venice, with Denzel Washington in Julius Caesar, with Mark . And there were conversations among the cast about, Well, what do we do at home? And we were shut down. So what could it be about. And then we did a couple of Zoom workshops. One of his best friends - Rehavam ("Ghandi") Ze'evi, a minister in the Israeli government, was murdered in 2001 by a Palestinian terrorist. These wins helped 'The Normal Heart' become the number one search term on Google all across America on 'Tony Sunday.' Ive actually asked that of some of my Jewish friends too. Rich Topol meets Yogi Berra on opening night of Bronx Bombers (photo David Gordon). Tony Award winner Santino Fontana (Tootsie) will star in the new play The Pianist as Szpilman in a by-invitation only development reading Thursday June 23 in NYC. And then the symptoms were gone. rt: He was really sweet and really happy to be there and to be seeing this play with his wife, Carmen, having this stuff brought to life. rt: Right. Im like, Why is my agent calling me? The Acting Company He thanked me, saying that he was actually the understudy and that was the only time he had gone on. I dont subscribe there. rt: Exactly. My father died in 1975; I dont remember whether I jumped ship in 74 or 75. So weve been careful and thoughtful and fortunate, and I hope we continue to be so. And I mean, I havent read every play in the last ten years, but Ive read a lot of plays and Ive seen a lot of plays, and I thought, this is astoundingly amazing. If you can listen to him playing on Lenny Bernsteins Age of Anxiety, listen to the piano on that. I got the feeling that this was a group of actors working in tandem. A grown-up Reuven (Richard Topol) acts as narrator on occasion, giving the play a reflective glow reminiscent of ''Conversations With My Father,'' Herb Gardner's 1992 Broadway success. Manhattan Theatre Club twi-ny: Yes they had, with Yogi Berra as manager. Willy and I had been talking about this play for a number of years. Hes an extremely amiable mensch who clearly loves his chosen profession. Why am I doing this play? twi-ny: Its been very strange. Rich Topol poses with a hot car on set of EPIX series Godfather of Harlem. Josh was holding it close. Behind him in his living room is a landscape by his mother-in-law, the painter and teacher Cornelia (Brendel) Foss. I think of myself as spiritual and, not to be too woo-woo, I believe in the earth. BroadwayWorld brings you performance highlights below! twi-ny: Jon Stewart would ask, is it too Jewy? So thats the sort of glib answer. Lets take that idea of writing and switch over to Prayer for the French Republic, which is exquisitely written. Photo Coverage: Kelli O'Hara, Sam Waterston & More Open KING LEAR at the Public! And the first two drafts of it were about that. I play my mother, I play my wife, I play my mother-in-law. It was a total strikeout. No, not from all perspectives, but certainly from a lot of perspectives within the Jewish community. Im a lefty, so Tug McGraw was my hero. And so actually the last few days of rehearsal and through tech, he watched the play like this. Although my mother came and saw the show. It was so satisfying. We did the workshop, we did a live reading in front of people. Or Mark Blum, a lovely man who lost his life to it. And I thought, Oh, thats perfect. rt: Thats when I was a Mets fan. twi-ny: You finally returned to the stage in November in Portland with Searching for Mr. Here we have been waiting for so long to do it. Photo Flash: THE MERCHANT OF VENICE on Broadway - Production Shots! twi-ny: Throughout your career, and especially more recently, youve played a lot of Jews: Sam Feinschreiber in Awake & Sing, Fritz Haber in Genius: Einstein, Lemml in Indecent, and now Patrick, who is a nonreligious Jew. Michael 3 episodes, 2018 Saul Rubinek . Tuesday Sunday through March 27, $99 First of all, I dont like one-person shows, I dont like seeing one-person shows; theyre not interesting to me. But because its about one of the hardest things and most personal struggles that Ive experienced for the last forty-six years of my life, since my father died, it was scary to share, but it felt worth sharing. Originally from Larchmont, NY, he now lives in New York City with his wife, actress Eliza Foss, and their daughter. Ive actually asked that of some of my Jewish friends too. Now, of course, Im totally madly in love with Patrick and I wouldnt have it any other way. What was the experience like sharing your life, in person, in front of people, back onstage? Maybe Im fooling myself. He escaped the Nazis. The Public Theater is now presenting KING LEAR, directed by James Macdonald. It was a really great time. Here we have been waiting for so long to do it. rt: Right. So you cant pick a bone with me if it was because my father had just died and my next-door neighbor was a Yankees fan. "There were probably a good two dozen words that were a regular part of our household," he says. We do not want to shut this play down. Photo Coverage: On the Red Carpet for the 62nd Annual Obie Awards! And I wanted to be his friend. Richard Topol is the author of Naked City (3.75 avg rating, 5387 ratings, 446 reviews, published 2011), The Maze at Windermere (3.50 avg rating, 2855 rat. He is married to actress Eliza Foss; they have one daughter, and Richard was close with his father-in-law, the late German-American composer, pianist, and conductor Lukas Foss. and Larry Kramers The Normal Heart. That theater had stayed open through the pandemic because Maine had so few cases, because of the regulations, and because of their skill at keeping people safe. I sing well, and maybe Im justifying, but I feel like I play and sing just well enough but not too well for who he is. Irish Repertory Theatre has announced the return of special audio event, Bikeman by Thomas F. Flynn, directed by Joseph Discher, produced by Robert Cuccioli, and featuring Robert Cuccioli, Stephen Eng, April Ortiz & Richard Topol. It felt to me that it was really important that this play be put up during the election. twi-ny: As a listener, I felt it Shipwreck was one of the audio plays that worked the best during the lockdown. Then when my wife told the story to Willy about when she gave birth the opening scene of the play is her giving birth to our daughter and Elizas parents, in black tie, come in from a gala, bursting into the delivery room because they thought she was about to have a baby she was about to have a baby were like, What are you doing here? Some of us have children and partners, but there was a real commitment to being safe so that we could get it up on our feet. At least in that experience I can cut myself some slack. All materials copyright 2021 by Mark Rifkin / This Week in New York, THE INSIDER'S GUIDE TO THE CITY SINCE 2001, TWI-NY TALK: RICHARD TOPOL PRAYER FOR THE FRENCH REPUBLIC, this week in lectures, signings, panel discussions, workshops, and Q&As. MTC at New York City Center Stage I [Director] Saheem Ali was great and it was a great cast, obviously in a really interesting play. Browse Richard Topol movies and TV shows available on Prime Video and begin streaming right away to your favorite device. Photo Flash: THE NORMAL HEART Production Shots! The Mets had been to the World Series, right? You played Yogi in Bronx Bombers. So then the pandemic hit and immediately I got the virus. Are you Jewish, or is it just a coincidence that you play a lot of Jews? This is your first one-man show, which you wrote with Willy Holtzman, a two-time Pulitzer nominee. Willy and I had been talking about this play for a number of years. Just last night, Manhattan Theatre Club celebrated opening night of the Broadway premiere of the Pulitzer Prize-winning How I Learned to Drive, at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre. America on 'Tony Sunday., I felt it Shipwreck was one of those people a... Back onstage car on set of EPIX series Godfather of Harlem do at?! A German Jew in Berlin who got out in 1975 ; I dont remember I... 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