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Buy it on Amazon
You’d think a writer who’s just had his first play produced would go to the theater every chance he gets. I don’t. The theater is expensive. And often disappointing. If I hate a play or the production, I leave at the intermission; when I want to but don’t, the second act generally makes me wish I did.
The best play I saw in 2017: “Harry Clarke,” at the Vineyard Theatre. It’s not, strictly speaking, a play — it’s a long monologue, a one-man show. The author: David Cale. The director: Leigh Silverman. And Harry? Billy Crudup.
Crudup’s performance is astonishing, not only for the feat of memorizing a 90-minute monologue, but because he’s playing many characters. Even more challenging, he’s two of them: an alienated Midwestern boy now passing himself off as a very connected Brit.
“Harry Clarke” had a limited run. The great good news: Audible has started a program of presenting short theater pieces as audiobooks. In this case, hearing is believing. And so is re-hearing — the first time, you’re knocked out by the story and the performance, the second time you’ll want to figure out the whys and how. [To buy the audiobook from Amazon for a fraction of the price of a theater ticket, click here.]
The New York Times review was a flat-out rave. The Los Angeles Times review thoughtfully served up the character and his machinations:
Harry Clarke is the alter ego of an insecure Midwestern straggler named Philip Brugglestein, who works as a barista in New York.
The play unfolds through Philip’s point of view. He’s our narrator, taking us through his bizarre adventures after moving to New York after his parents died — an orphan with a loose hold on reality and an even looser hold on morality.
The crux of the drama revolves around Philip’s (or, actually, Harry’s) relationship with Mark Schmidt, the scion of a wealthy family with identity issues all his own. Mark is drawn to Harry, who has wormed his way into his life. Neither understands the strange pull of the other, but it’s irresistible — worryingly so.
As extroverted as Philip is introverted, Harry claims to have worked for years as the singer Sade’s personal assistant. Mark tries to pass himself off as straight, but Philip knows better and, liberated by his wild boy British persona, he boldly seduces Mark on his parents’ boat (christened the Jewish American Princess) before proceeding to other members of the Schmidt family, who are impressed by the Sade connection.
Watch these videos. Warning: They’ll make you wish you’d seen “Harry Clarke.” And make you want one-day delivery of the audiobook.
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Previously published on The Head Butler.
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