My Blue Manhattan... NYC Part DEUX
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OK... first things first... here is what got us started on our trip to the most largest of apples, New York City. We hop on the turnpike to get stuck behind a truck transporting _Johnny on the Spots_, I'm getting ticked as this porting port o' John is _married_ to the car in the right lane, & barely moving though in the passing/fast lane. Mum turns to me & says, (I love this woman), "Lizzie, no need to get _PISSED_, it's just a little _SHITTY_" !!!! Is she not the COOLEST ???As soon as this sentence comes out of her mouth - we are in hysterics, the truck passes his "wife" & pulls into the right lane & on we go.First night we head to an Italian restaurant recommended by a friend, "Rossini's". Fantastic place - exceptional food - the maitre d is straight outta Goodfellas/Soprano's, down to constantly adjusting his shirt cuffs (with cufflinks) & adjusting his pinky ring.Then it's off to the first of four shows - Blackbird with Jeff Daniels (Terms of Endearment, The Squid & the Whale) & Alison Pill (Pieces of April). It's the story that looks back to 15 years ago when Jeff Daniel's character "Ray" is in his 40s, & Alison's character "Una" 12. They have a sexual relationship & he's found guilty & sent to prison for 7 years. The person who truly served a sentence much longer & MUCH harder than Ray is Una - she's a shell, stunted & still 12 - desperate for love, understanding & attention from a male father-figure. By the time they pull away all the bandages - the wound is so raw that the entire audience almost sighs collectively when the lights go down on the stage after 90 minutes in hell. As Jeff & Alison take their bows - it is aparent that they are completely drained from such intense, powerful & heartwrenching performances. Somehow, Jeff walks the fine line between letch & broken man - almost feeling sympathy for his character - he fell for a girl - but the connection was there. His performance blew me away - I could feel how brutally painful this role was for him. He's a family man, happy living in Michigan working mostly with the theatre company he started near his home & raising his family with his wife. Then "Ray" shatters any hope of understanding when his long-time girlfriend's *_12 year old daughter_* comes to the door & clings tightly to him as he calls her _darling_ & begs for her to go back to the car - he'll be right there. When she turns to see Alison - a jealous rage comes out of her - all of 12 years & jealous of a woman really no older than she, though in her 20s. At this point, _Una_ has offered herself again to the man she thought loved her - but then left her alone for hours after sleeping with her. She tells the story of post-trial where her mother considers her an unacceptable offspring, totally worthless & someone who asked for what she got. Her desperation, her grief for the loss of herself, her completely hollow shell of the last 15 years becomes even more devastating when she tells of her sexual past since their tryst all those years ago. 83 men have each taken a bit more of her soul - she is ever searching for someone to fill the void he turned from a misunderstood girl about to begin puberty into an adult incapable of feeling anything good. What starts as blind fury, ends with the lights going out and Ray leaving her once again _alone_ while he tries to find out the source of the loss of light in the building where he works. Her fear, her total vulnerability, like that of her at 12 in that room at the shore, the fear that brought her to leave the room & search blindly for a man who left her for smokes and a drink - it ripped at me - clawed at me - I almost went to comfort her, it was *_that real._* I was spellbound by both performances though destroyed by the subject matter.Most of the audience seemed to be very put off by the play. Not me. Though the premise is purely destructive & evil in all accounts, the performances pulled me so far into their worlds, as a one-time actor (way back in the day while still in school), I was totally moved by the two of them. Abuse - in any form is totally unacceptable - yet so many of us live with it in one form or another at some point in our lives, I have, my friend's have... I really don't know that I have anyone in my life that has not lived through some form or another. For me - there is no such thing as a "lesser" form of abuse - in ALL it's forms - the destruction can rarely be repaired to bring back the person before the abuse began. This belief was no more apparent than in the play Blackbird. It is not for the faint of heart - it is extremely difficult to watch, but I am truly glad I saw it - it was torture - but it was brilliantly acted, directed & designed. As a woman who once lived both on stage & behind the scenes, I couldn't help but be impressed with all the involved parties - especially with the two actors who owned that stage.... so I leave you with two songs I've always loved... that helped me through some tough times of my own & that I dedicate to all who've suffered in silence - who've thought it's what they deserve - to be hurt over & over again by someone they love. 
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