Alan Carmichael puts money in the bucket of “James Madison,” — actually actor Andrew Chappelle — following the blow-you-away performance of the play, “Hamilton.” Every year for one designated week theater folks collect money for a charity called Broadway Cares, which helps people affected by AIDS.
Nearly 40 Knoxvillians bundled up last week and, shrugging off the predicted rain and freezing temperatures, set out for an annual trek to New York City.
Four plays in four days and a vow to only eat at restaurants we had never before visited were the highlights of the trip for Alan and me, but there was so much more on this action-packed excursion.
Clarence Brown Theatre’s Artistic Director Cal MacLean and his team plan the trip each year, and they always manage to make each visit unique. Sometimes the group gets to meet actors (click here and here) or playwrights and casting directors (click here), or they go behind the scenes at a Broadway musical (click here).
This year the organizers arranged a lunch at The Players, a storied, private social club founded in 1888 by Edwin Booth, arguably the greatest American actor of his time.
Booth purchased the Gothic Revival-style mansion facing Gramercy Park and commissioned architect Stanford White to transform it into a club “for the promotion of social intercourse between the representative members of the dramatic profession and the kindred professions of literature, painting, sculpture and music, and the patrons of the arts.”
To put it in layman’s terms, the actors and other artistic types wanted a private space where they could relax, eat, drink and converse without having to be out in public where they could be recognized and possibly disturbed.
The tradition continues more than 125 years later.
John Gill stepped out on the balcony of The Players to snap a picture of Gramercy Park.
After lunch in the club’s dining room, many of the group toured the premises and saw scores of portraits of famous actors and hundreds of artifacts of theatrical history. A pool table where Mark Twain often played is in the club’s grill, as is his pool cue.
My favorite room was the Kinstler Room displaying paintings and drawings of many famous actors who were and are members of The Players. A reproduction of John Singer Sargent’s full-length study of Edwin Booth is mounted above the fireplace and flanking it are portraits of Christopher Plummer as Prospero from “The Tempest” and Alfred Drake as Hajj in “Kismet.”
In the building’s library is a growing collection of books, manuscripts, photographs, prompt books, notebooks and more than 50,000 playbills, which began with Booth’s personal library.
Many also visited Booth’s suite, a parlor and bedroom where he lived his final five years after the opening of The Players.
The parlor and bedroom have been left furnished as they were when he died in 1893 at age 59, five months before his 60th birthday.
A reproduction of a portrait of Edwin Booth painted by John Singer Sargent.
I loved this portrait of actor Christopher Plummer painted by Ray Kinstler.
This is Kinstler’s beautiful take on Katharine Hepburn.
Artist and journalist Betsy Ashton painted this portrait of Hal Holbrook. Ashton is a friend of Georgiana Vines, who was in the Knoxville group, and the two got together during the visit. (Photo by Georgiana Vines)
At lunch at The Players, from left, Lezah Pinnell, Townes Osborn and Bob Marquis.
From left, Georgiana Vines, Fran Scheidt, Lisa Hammann and her aunt, Sara Phillips.
From left, Doug McKamey; Jim Lawson, our host at The Players; and actor Tandy Cronyn, the daughter of actors Hume Cronyn and Jessica Tandy.
From left, Neil and Maureen Dunn McBride, Donna Davis and Buzz Beltz.
From left, Michele and Barry Maves, Nancy Voith and Kenneth Stark.
Donna and Terry Wertz.
From left, David Byrd, the managing director of Clarence Brown Theatre; Jeffrey Stanley, Rosemary Gilliam, and her daughter, Caroline Gilliam.
From left, Cal and Rebecca MacLean, Karen and Brooks Clark. Brooks is chairman of Clarence Brown’s advisory board.
Nancy Voith, center, visiting with Kathy and John Bohstedt.
From left, Kristy and Nancy Hays, a daughter-mother duo, with Michele Maves
Buzz Beltz was surprised with a candle on his dessert in honor of his birthday.
Well, as Shakespeare said, “The play’s the thing!”
Here’s what we saw.
The set of “Hamilton.” Alan and I added this play onto the beginning of the trip. We paid a fortune for these seats in the nosebleed section. But we loved it.
Alan outside “Hamilton.” Go if you can. We bought our tickets on the secondary market through Stub Hub. It was our favorite play of the trip.
“Something Rotten” was my second favorite play of the visit. Here’s the curtain. Welcome to the Renaissance!
Cal makes a donation to actor John Cariani who played Nigel Bottom, a Shakespeare rival, in “Something Rotten.” It was a blast.
“Fun Home” was a close third for me, when ranking our four plays in order of favorites. It’s about a seriously (I mean seriously!) dysfunctional family. Trust me, this group does NOT put the “fun” in dysfunctional. But it is thought-provoking and very well done, and we do recommend it.
Alan giving a “Broadway Cares” donation to actor Zell Steele Morrow who played the younger son in “Fun Home.”
Although the fourth play, “The Father,” was last on our list of favorites, it was still worth seeing simply for the tour de force performance by veteran Broadway great Frank Langella. Langella, a three-time Tony Award winner, plays a father in the final stages of Alzheimer’s disease – and all the fun that that implies. Again, thought-provoking but tough to watch.
At one point in our New York stay, we jumped in a cab and headed to Greenwich Village to find Eerdmans Fine Art, a small gallery currently exhibiting the work of Knoxville-born artist John Kelley.
Ha. A sign like this is in every cab now.
Located below street level at 14 East 10th Street, it’s a little hard to find.
But it’s charming. Here’s its gracious proprietor, Emily Eerdmans.
Kelley’s current exhibit, called “Portraits of Stone,” features paintings of Greek and Roman sculptures.
This one, a Corinthian general, was my favorite. A little creepy, I know. But I like it.
I was a classics major for a brief time in college so I agree with John Kelley’s statement about why the classics fascinate him so much: The Greek myths embody everything that is timeless about the human experience. They reveal truths and acknowledge mysteries. They survive in the subconscious of western man to the point that to learn about them is to experience a shock of recognition.
The John Kelley show at Eerdmans Fine Art runs through April 29.
View from our window at the InterContinental New York Times Square.
On the recommendation of our friend Margie Nichols, Alan and I visited a unique exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. It featured the portraits of Vigee LeBrun (French, 1755–1842), one of the finest 18th-century French painters and among the most important of all women artists.
LeBrun’s portrait of Charles Alexandre de Calonne (1784). She did many portraits of Marie Antoinette and her children, which were my favorites. But we weren’t supposed to be taking pictures, so this is the best I could do.
LeBrun was remarkable not only for her technical gifts but also for her understanding of and sympathy with her subjects. This is the first retrospective and only the second exhibition devoted to Vigée Le Brun in modern times. It continues through May 15, and we recommend you check it out if you are in New York.
Alan, the art lover, taking it all in at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
I, on the other hand, liked this one called “Kongo Power Figure” from the last half of the 19th century.
It’s just moving to spend any time at all in this beautiful space.
A highlight of every Clarence Brown Theatre trip to New York is a reception for the theater’s alumni who live in the area.
This year’s reception was held at the Playwright Celtic Pub in the Theater District.
At the reception, from left, Brooks Clark, Conrad Ricamora and Alan Carmichael. In front, Cal MacLean. Ricamora is a Clarence Brown alum.
From left, Bill Morrow, Michele Maves, Nancy Voith and Ginny Morrow.
Cal with Amanda Middleton of his staff. She was the point person on trip details. A saint, I’m telling you. A saint.
Alums Chris Deatherage and Kathy Gerhardt.
Doug McKamey, left, with Matt Horton, the president of UT Alumni in New York City.
It’s a fun bar scene at Playwright Celtic Pub.
Cal making a few remarks. (He talks with his hands!)
From left, Wayne Gildroy, Alan Carmichael, Margie Nichols and John Gill.
From left, Lezah Pinnell, Sara Phillips and Lisa Hammann.
Jacob Clark, left, with Clarence Brown alums Shea Madison, center, and Kolt Free.
John and Kathy Bohstedt.
Karen and Brooks Clark with alum Stuart Matthews, center.
Haha! Doug McKamey photobombing my shot of two mother-daughter duos. From left, Caroline and Rosemary Gilliam with Nancy and Kristy Hays. And Doug, of course!
After a jam-packed four days that were thoughtfully planned to allow everyone to customize his or her own experience, Sunday came and we all headed back to the warmer climes of Knoxville.
At a long layover in Atlanta, Alan was glued to the final day of The Masters golf tournament on TV.
And here’s our welcoming party.
I know, I know. You foodies want a report on the restaurants we visited. That’s in the next edition of The Blue Streak.
I agree that Cal and his team, including David and Amanda, staged another successful Clarence Brown Theatre tour. Everyone is especially proud of the success of UT’s Conrad Ricamora, who is on the ABC series “How to Get Away with Murder” and in the Broadway cast of “The King and I.”
Looks like so much fun. Looking forward to the Foodie Report!
You are amazing the way you capture so many aspects of this whirlwind visit to Manhattan. Thank you for including pictures of John Kelley’s works. We also
visited the LeBrun exhibit at the Met. She really shared the history of the time from portraits of Marie Antoinette to Tolstoy’s family. The beautiful Tiffany windows at both the Met and The Players Club were exquisite. And then the wonderful variety of Theatre. It’s always great to spend time in this City
Cynthia,
Thank you for stopping by to see John’s show – it was a delight meeting you and Alan! I think you saw more NYC theater during your trip than I have in the past few years combined. You’ve inspired me!
All best wishes,
Emily Eerdmans
Gay: You need to get in on this!
Rosemary: I am glad that you are a “regular” on this fun trek!
Emily: Thanks so much for commenting on the blog. And thanks for meeting us at the gallery. We loved seeing John’s latest work and meeting you.
The portrait of Katharine Hepburn is stunning. Absolutely stunning. I so enjoyed the art photos in this edition.
Maria: Thanks. I loved that picture of Hepburn, too.
I, too, loved EVERY minute of this expertly choreographed trip ! Everyone was such fun and soooo interesting. I too was able to see “Hamilton” – BEYOND phenomenal !!! To afford the price of the tickets, I DID NOT DINE IN ANY FANCY RESTAURANTS !!!! I had 5 separate meals of hot dogs on the street corners. Wish I’d taken selfies with the purveyors !!!
Thank you to all of our MAJOR PLAYERS !!!!!!
Lezah: I’m so glad you came along! Isn’t it a fantastic trip? That is so funny about you and the hot dogs! It would have made a great blog post!
I just took a trip down a memory lane that is less than a week old and enjoyed it again. Really love your photos and comments. Thanks for including the one of Hal Holbrook taken by my friend, Betsy Ashton.
Rebecca and I had a great time, once again. Thanks to all for the splendid fellowship. And thanks especially to all those alums who showed up at the alumni party. To all the New York alums: Come one, come all, we have ourselves a time!
Georgiana: Thanks for giving me the pic!
Cal: Going to be hard to top!
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