A hit, a palpable hit!

[bironic]

Best. Weekend. Ever.

Well, a very, very good weekend, anyway, and one which seems that much more wonderful when compared to the stress of life lately.

Why, you ask? Let us see.

I. In which she awakes one morning to find herself famous.

Okay, far from famous, but Friday night and Saturday morning I got some of the sweetest, most insightful and encouraging feedback for "Dissonance," plus recs in two communities (!!) -- so much more than I was hoping for. It completely eclipsed the final-days' frustration of writing that story as well as all the RL stuff that's been going on. Heartfelt thank-you's all around.

As far as the ficathon goes, less than half of the entrants have posted their stories even though the deadline was Thursday. (I don't know where the rest are; it's like they're in school with exams to take or something.) I wanted to wait until everyone had posted before sharing recs, but who knows when that might be, so here are my favorites at the moment, in the order in which they appear on the list:

- "After Hours" by thewlisian_afer: A nurse stumbles across House and Cuddy arguing in the clinic one night. Good dialogue, good characterization, and an original character who isn't intrusive or annoying.
- "the slowly ascending curve of dating" by zauberer_sirin: Never thought I'd like Foreman/Cameron, but once again, good writing conquers all. Very nice, spare piece full of quiet, quotable lines and great Foreman characterization.
- "Love Struck Romeo" by ijemanja: A sweet story in which an increasingly intoxicated Cuddy consoles a very drunk Wilson at a bar while they wait for House to come take him home. Don't judge it by the summary.

Found some outstanding stories while skipping along f-lists and community posts. As I dip into this wonderful world of House fanfic I'll be adding more recs to My Memories.

Also, everyone who is remotely interested in House/Wilson—whether you watch the show or not—should check out pun's H/W essay, "Sometimes You Get What You Need," over at ship_manifesto. Very thorough, well-organized, persuasive and funny explanation of why slashers slash 'em. I think the only thing it doesn't mention is the blatant eye sex smoldering glances eerie facility those two have with nonverbal communication.

II. In which RSL and his forearms perform Shakespeare eight feet away.

Today michelle_nine and I braved the downpour, met at the Met (ha ha) for the Hatshepsut exhibit—unimpressive, frankly—and then took a stupid number of subways to get across town to Symphony Space for the first-annual Shakespeare Marathon in honor of the Bard's 442nd birthday. It was scheduled to start at 3:30, free of charge, no tickets, with a host of minor celebrities set to perform, so we planned to arrive fairly early and wait, rain or shine. As it happened, we got there at about 1:00 and there were less than a dozen people in line. This, friends, is just one difference between Harry Potter fangirling and Shakespeare fangirling.

Since we clearly had the time, we ate a leisurely lunch at a diner across the street and then got in the slightly longer line at Symphony Space. The rain had, thankfully, stopped. We were maybe 40 people from the front and wondered whether that meant we would get seats; when Michelle called the theater last week, they told her we had little chance of seeing well since Society members had precedence. I hoped we would be able to see Robert Sean Leonard everyone without squinting from where we sat; she hoped we would be sitting, period.

Imagine our surprise, then, when at 3:15—the line now stretching down the avenue—they let us in and we found that not only was the theater mostly empty with just two rows in the middle reserved, but also that people were filling in the middle and sides while leaving some spots open in the front. After confirming that we could indeed go as far forward as we pleased, we sauntered down, stumbled over the people in the aisle seats, and sat in SECOND ROW CENTER.

The program was divided into four hours, each with a host, a commentator, a group of NYC public schoolchildren, and several small casts of actors doing various scenes. RSL was set for the end of the first hour. It began (on time) with the obligatory introduction from the Society's co-founders and a letter from the Mayor, then a beautiful song whose name along with the singer's name I unfortunately didn't catch, before hostess Marian Seldes arrived to welcome us all, crack a joke about how the rain it raineth every day, wish Will a happy birthday, and introduce commentator... *checks program* Majorie Garber. The author of Shakespeare After All, Garber spoke about unorthodox female roles as seen with Troilus and Cressida, Antony and Cleopatra, and Romeo and Juliet, interspersing her talk with three sets of actors reading scenes from those plays (R&J II ii, T&C III ii and A&C I iii, if you're curious) to illustrate her points. The actors, in nice clothes not costumes, read at microphones from binders. Some had more memorized than others. Juliet (Marsha Stephanie Blake) and Cleopatra (Elizabeth Marvel) were fantastic, but the bit from Troilus and Cressida fell flat; David Townsend as Troilus kept fumbling his lines, and John Rothman was an awkward Pandarus. Or maybe it was because I've never read that play.

Then the students of PS 118 came out to do the first scene of A Midsummer Night's Dream, which was hilarious. First of all, the kids were adorable. Imagine a bunch of inner-city sixth-graders in homemade costumes: fairies with blue wings and white tights or socks, Theseus with a yellow cape, Titania with a wreath of flowers in her hair, Helena (I think) with bleached bangs braided and tied back. Now imagine them spouting rapid-fire Elizabethan English at each other with Hispanic, Bronx and Indian accents, in itself presenting a new interpretation of the play, and Demetrius and Lysander getting into a fistfight/wrestling match over their fiancées that Theseus had to break up. (There was also the nervous/excited ?Demetrius rushing in a monotone [if earnestly] through "The course of true love never did run smooth.") Now add a girl walking across stage between scenes with a sign that says "Meanwhile… In the forest." And then transform Titania's fairies into a posse of girls backing up their clique leader, snapping and crossing their arms and doing talk-to-the-hand whenever the queen, one hand on her hip, tells off Oberon. There are no words. The audience was in stitches.

We also had opera singers. David Townsend and Marsha Stephanie Blake reappeared to do the pilgrims' hands/lips scene from Romeo and Juliet, and then a pair of opera singers did Gounod's version of the same, to live piano accompaniment. It was really lovely. Like being back at school again and having easy access to these special comparative and/or expository performances.

And then, at last, it was RSL's turn. We were treated to Shakespeare Society artist-in-residence Joe Plummer (reminiscent of Alan Cumming, only prettier) as Poins, RSL as Prince Hal, Philip Bosco as Falstaff, and David Townsend and Marsha Stephanie Blake as Peto and the hostess, respectively, doing Henry IV Part I II iv: At the tavern, Falstaff spins his tale of escaping dozens of thieves (not knowing it was Hal and buddies); Hal calls him on his lie; and Falstaff and Hal roleplay as King and Heir Apparent. If you don't know the play, you can read the scene here, starting with Poins' "Welcome, Jack: where hast thou been?" straight through to "I do. I will." (Only without Bardolph and Gadshill, and with various other small amendments.) It's alternately hilarious and poignant, just the way we like it.

As you might gather from the length of that excerpt, they read for a marvelously long time, long enough even for me to drink my fill of Robert Sean Leonard standing eight feet away looking so very hot and reading Shakespeare. *ahem* He didn't look as dorky as he did at that Academy of Television Arts & Sciences panel they webcast from California last Monday, and he further didn't have the handicap of having to answer questions on the fly or for that matter say anything that wasn't scripted; in other words, perfect. He had his glasses today, his hair dry and ruffled-looking like it was at the end of "Sex Kills," wore a gray-green silky-looking shirt with the top buttoned (but a little triangle of neck visible) and sleeves rolled to the elbows—oh, elynross, did I think of you—a silver watch, belted brown pants and dark brown dress shoes. We were so close I could see the stubble along the bottom of his jaw when he turned toward Falstaff and tilted his head up slightly. H-o-t. I'm sure there will be pictures for all you unfortunates who couldn't be there.

He was poised and seemed comfortable. He was the only one who didn't fiddle with his stand or book, for instance, except for flipping pages, and a few times pushing up his glasses or tugging at his pants (I don't wanna know); kept his hands loose at his sides, or in his pockets, or in a few memorable moments behind his head as he laughed through the insult wars with Falstaff. Oh man, neither of them could keep straight faces for that. RSL's eventually went red and he had that dopey grin and buried his hands in his hair. Here, for those of you who don't know the play and are too lazy to click that link ;), read this and imagine what it was like:

PRINCE HENRY
I'll be no longer guilty of this sin; this sanguine
coward, this bed-presser, this horseback-breaker,
this huge hill of flesh,--

FALSTAFF
'Sblood, you starveling, you elf-skin, you dried
neat's tongue, you bull's pizzle, you stock-fish! O
for breath to utter what is like thee! you
tailor's-yard, you sheath, you bowcase; you vile
standing-tuck,--

PRINCE HENRY
Well, breathe awhile, and then to it again…

Yeah. Lots of laughing all around. He smiled a lot today. [/squee]

So, yes. The scene started with a soliloquy from Hal that I can't seem to locate, though I recognized it, warning us that he is about to play antagonist; must've been transplanted from later in the play. RSL was excellent, as was Philip Bosco. No egos there, just good, clear, funny reading. I can't say how RSL compared to Matthew Macfayden, whom musicisbelievng and I saw at the National Theatre last year with Michael Gambon as Falstaff (and David "Filch" Bradley as Henry IV), since everyone was reading from the scriptbooks at microphones instead of watching and interacting with each other. The name-calling and increasingly preposterous lies were audience favorites. Standout lines for RSL include:

- His faux-concerned "What's the matter?" as Falstaff prevaricates about losing the thousand pounds;
- "He'll have more anon" to Poins when Falstaff embellishes his story by adding more and more attackers, a line which sadly got laughed over and I think lost to most people;
- "How long is't ago, Jack, since thou sawest thine own knee?" which also didn't get the reaction it should have;
- Deepening his voice when caricaturing his father—"Now, Harry, whence came you? … The complaints I hear of thee are grievous";
- His switch from teasing to attacking while describing Falstaff from "his father's" perspective; and
- His final, solemn, "I do. I will."

Sigh.

The first "hour" ended up lasting 100 minutes, and, having got a representative sampling of the entire program and having seen whom what we came for, we left when the second hour's host announced that there wouldn't be any intermissions, that we were free to go at any time and that there were people outside who would be glad to have our seats. Sure enough, we saw at least a hundred people on line on the sidewalk when we stepped out. I hope they got in to enjoy the rest of what was surely a more-than-four-hour performance.

Have one more point to make about Hal/Wilson and Falstaff/House parallels noticed by virtue of RSL having played both parts, but it's late now. Tomorrow perhaps.

ETA: I've posted it over here.

ETA 2: Some lovely soul on the TWOP forum posted the soliloquy I couldn't place. Shades of Puck, indeed! "I'll so offend, to make offense a skill."

ETA 3: Photos available, finally! Shoddy quality but better than nothing.

From shakespearesociety.org.

Comments

[shoedog.livejournal.com]

Thanks for letting me live vicariously through your RSL experience!

[shoedog.livejournal.com]

'' He didn't look as dorky as he did at that Academy of Television Arts & Sciences panel last Monday, and he further didn't have the handicap of having to answer questions on the fly''

I also love how we his fans accept the fact that he's a bit of a backwards dweeb.

[bironic.livejournal.com]

Anytime! It's nice to have replies so I don't feel like I'm talking to myself, which is how it usually goes. :)

Fans forgive all flaws -- it's what we do! Personally I like my actors dweebish (though it'd be cool if he could actually speak in full sentences); they're more human that way, and there is that tiny adolescent fannish voice in the back of my brain that insists it's good because if we ever met we'd get along famously.

[elynross.livejournal.com]

OMG THE ENVY YOU HAVE NO IDEA! Not just the forearms, but SHAKESPEAREAN FOREARMS. And the PS 118 kids sounds like a lot of fun, too. *g* What a lovely way to spend time!

[bironic.livejournal.com]

Oh, I have some idea. :) Wish you could have been there.

[wildelamassu.livejournal.com]

I came wandering over from your House story, snooping around for more, and was delighted to find this thorough, RSL! Shakespeare! Agah! summary of an event that I really, really wanted to attend.

Though there was no other House fic to be found, I greatly enjoyed your various reaction posts (to the show and otherwise), and ended up wasting twenty minutes reading about Lestat. Would you mind if I added you to my reading list? In the interests of full disclosure, I'm an exceedingly dull lit student who tends to lurk in the void until someone mentions Tom Stoppard and Robert Sean Leonard in the same sentence. *G*

[bironic.livejournal.com]

Thanks! Yeah, sorry, that was my Very First House Fic, but more to come on that front as RL stuff tapers off in the next few weeks.

Better to have wasted 20 minutes reading a review than 2 1/2 hours seeing the play, eh? j/k, I quite enjoyed "Lestat" and will probably be going back, which you know since you read that post.

No such thing as a dull lit student (says the former English major). I'm a bit overwhelmed at the moment so I hope you don't mind if I stalk you a little before friending you back. :)

[wildelamassu.livejournal.com]

For me, LJ's "friending" function, rather than being as it sounds, is much more about "aggregating many interesting blogs;" as such, you're under absolutely no obligation to read me back! I'm just popping in to hunt House-related goodies and, again, waste thesis time reading the reviews of shows that I'll likely never be able to attend. *g*

[bironic.livejournal.com]

Boy, those were the days. Now I waste conference paper time writing reviews of shows I shouldn't have attended. :)

Okay re: friending policy. You never know when people might be touchy about that sort of thing.

[bironic.livejournal.com]

Oops, I'm an idiot and can't read brochures properly. Will fix.

[aworldinside.livejournal.com]

I followed you over from your post on house_md about this, and as a Shakespeare and RSL fangirl, (mmm, forearms, Shakespare's Histories, glasses) can I say that I am horribly jealous but this sounded like a blast and thank you so much for your very detailed report. :)

This, friends, is just one difference between Harry Potter fangirling and Shakespeare fangirling.

*rolls*

[a-to-zita.livejournal.com]

I heartily agree with your assessment! RSL's performance was definitely a standout of the afternoon, reading my favorite role in my favorite play. He was obviously extremely comfortable with the role and really had an idea of what he was doing - it was far beyond a reading for him. His final "I do. I will" was so powerful, but i was pretty much a puddle of goo by that part anyway. I went as a serious shakespeare-lover but devolved into a grinning fangirl as soon as i saw him and his glasses *drool* take the stage. I was able to separate him from Wilson, though i kept waiting/hoping for him to put his hands on his hips :)

I may be able to offer insight on the flatness of Cressida's performance. When i came out of the subway about an hour before the show opened, i was stopped by a woman looking for the theater. I pointed to it (we were a block away) and she thanked me and asked me what part i was doing. I told her, "uh, i'm in the audience..." and she informed me that she was playing Cressida. I didn't think that it was a good sign that, only an hour before the show, she couldn't find 95th and Broadway while standing at 96th and Broadway!

(i found your post on the twop forum, so i'm not some weirdo)

[bironic.livejournal.com]

Hey, I'm all for weirdos, but thanks for the explanation. :) Didn't know there was a link in the twop forum.

I hadn't realized Hal was one of my favorite roles until I heard RSL would be reading it and the mental squeeing kicked in. Absolutely, he and Philip Bosco (and MSB as Juliet in the first half of the balcony scene, and of course the opera singers) were the best of the first-act bunch. It's fortunate that it ended up that way, because either one of them against a lesser-prepared or -talented actor wouldn't have been nearly as effective or enjoyable.

Let me put it this way: If the marathon had been held closer to my town, or if I lived in Manhattan, I would have been there as a Shakespeare geek. But what got me on the train was RSL, so my cred drops a bit there.

He did at one point put his hands on his hips, yes?

Ah, that does explain a lot about Cressida, if you imagine that she put as much effort into the role as well as she did looking up directions. Sorry, that was mean. Maybe the rush of trying to find the theater one block away where the streets are successively numbered in a grid so close to showtime upset her balance.

[a-to-zita.livejournal.com]

hey, i live in one of the outer boroughs (the least cool one, for sure) and i make no bones about the fact that the prospect of forearms and that delightful hint of speech impediment got me to brave a zillion subway transfers. i met some nice people in the line while waiting outside and when we went in we were all going to sit together. i was trying to keep up my adult facade so i couldn't say "we need to sit close enough for RSL to sweat on me!" but thankfully we ended up four rows back stage right.

did he put his hands on his hips and i missed it?! I guess i was swooning from the running-hands-through-hair gestures :)

yes, someone at twop has linked to your review so that people across the country can have a vicarious squee.

[bironic.livejournal.com]

Alas, michelle_nine and I were standing among 40- and 50-somethings talking about designer shoes and real estate; no fan meetups there.

I don't *think* I'm making up the hands on hips pose, but it's possible... I am sure that he pointed at Falstaff once like he did to House back in season 1 by the elevator when House let slip that he might like Cameron ("Oh boy! You're in trouble.").

[queenmabsreveng.livejournal.com]

Coming in from the house_md link...

'Twas there, too (actually, I was sitting third row slightly stage right of center)! I saw the actress who played Cressida in the Theater for a New Audience's production of All's Well That Ends Well as Helena. I really didn't enjoy her kind of stilted, deer-in-the-headlights performance there, but I thought it was just because I'm not a fan of the character. Seeing the continuity in her performance here kind of justified it for me. Bah. John Christopher Jones who played Lavatch in AWEW was Sir Toby Belch in the last hour's selections from Twelfth Night and he brought down the house in both. Go clowns.

I ended up staying the whole time; you left at probably the best time to leave. IMHO, the second "hour" was the weakest. The first performance of the section was interesting, but Marjorie Garber's commentary about the women in the first hour was much more engaging). The sonnet exchange got rather tedious. (The kids in that hour were really good, though!) The whole thing lasted 5 hours!

Um, and yes. RSL? Oh my. I haven't read that play in something like 6 years, but holy crap. When he stepped up to give that monologue in the beginning? The measured timing that he used was just awesome. And then contrasted with the great pacing of the insult war? Ummmmm....and the hot? Yeah...I was so fangirling, too.

[bironic.livejournal.com]

Third row almost center, eh? You were probably right behind us. Not that I remember or could recognize anyone in the audience other than possibly the people right in front of us, were you near the empty seat where a woman from our row stashed her jacket partways into the first hour?

Hm, so the deer-in-headlights thing wasn't a specifically Cressida trait? I can see where that would get insufferably annoying. Bleh. Sorry to have missed Twelfth Night, though; it's the Shakespeare play I've seen most often and am always up for another go. Was the ensemble good?

Mmmm, monologue. He started with a kind of sigh, didn't he? And took his languid time for the rest, quite a change from those who'd gone before and, as you've pointed out, from the rapid-fire witticisms of his exchanges with Falstaff right after.

Ummmmm....and the hot?

Ha, right there with you.

[bironic.livejournal.com]

Sorry, in all the replies here I think I neglected yours. Hi! You're welcome, and I'm sorry for the horrible jealousy but I hope the details made up for not being there. We'll all be able to ogle tomorrow night anyhow, as close as we please.

*rolls*

Aw, as a sometime HP fangirl myself, I did say that with love.

[a-to-zita.livejournal.com]

i'm obviously still so keyed up from yesterday's performance that i can't hit the correct "reply to" link (see above), but i just want to add that when i left at 7, they were not even halfway through the third "hour" and, though the rest of the performances were very good, you definitely saw the best bit.

[bironic.livejournal.com]

Good to know. I'm sorry not to have seen Avery Brooks angry-breathe his way through Othello, but we didn't think it was worth the wait when other people wanted to get in.

[pun.livejournal.com]

Ah, RSL and his amazing forearms! *g*

Thanks for the report. Sounds like a really great time.

Also, if you live in/near NYC you might want to come to one of the LJ gatherings we have from time to time. They're generally a lot of fun.

[bironic.livejournal.com]

Hmmm...... You mean, like, hanging out with real, live people? Could be scary.

Haha, yes, I'm about an hour away from midtown by train from home, 20 minutes by train from where I work. I seem to go in a few times a month. How does one go about finding out more about these LJ gatherings? (asks the dork)

:) I made a big deal out of the forearms thing because we were talking about them last weekend after "All In" and then they were, well, right there to be ogled in all their rolled-up-sleeves, dusting-of-light-hair, watch-adorned glory.

[pun.livejournal.com]

I feel like his forearms come up a lot in discussion because that's one of the rare bits of Wilson skin we ever get to see.

I live an hour outside the city too, but my boyfriend ("Sir Pun") and my best friend live in Manhattan so I'm in and out all the time. Whenever there's a big gathering that I know about I post the invite in my LJ. Sometimes they're motivated by the presence of a special guest from out of town and sometimes not. I will make sure to tell you about the next one I know of. Although, there are things in the works in my life that would mean no socializing of any kind for me for the foreseeable future. But we shall see. I'll know better by the end of this week.

[bironic.livejournal.com]

Okay, cool.

Life for me is going to be... interesting... until early June, when three major deadlines, none of which have to do with my job, will have passed. In all sympathy I wish you the best of luck in whatever you will soon be dealing with.

[daasgrrl.livejournal.com]

Oh, and I didn't say anything at the time, but I was incredibly jealous that you got to see this. RSL + Shakespeare = love :)

[bironic.livejournal.com]

RSL + Shakespeare = love

You can say that again. :D

I couldn't believe I was seeing it even as it was happening. It's a very good thing that scene lasted so long because there was time to get over the excitement and disbelief and just enjoy the reading.

P.S. What time zone are you in? I can't for the life of me pin down your likeliest response time and it's driving me batty.

[daasgrrl.livejournal.com]

Hee - that's because my computer time is wildly erratic. I'm in GMT+8, but unlike many people my free time is usually in the mornings, which I find nicely coincides with US evenings *g*. I'll usually be on at some time between GMT 0100 - GMT 0500. Of course today would have to be the day I make a liar of myself because I'm heading out the door in a few minutes which is why I'm checking my email in great haste now. But *usually* I do the bulk of reading/writing/posting then. I also flit in during the day in five minute bursts, and sometimes have a spare hour or two in the afternoon/evening. Weekends are completely random :)

[bironic.livejournal.com]

You're in +8 and I'm in -5 which is about when I was figuring -- you're just coming online when I have to go to bed (damn commute). But then you posted this morning and all theories went out the window.

[daasgrrl.livejournal.com]

But then you posted this morning and all theories went out the window.

Eh? Your morning? My morning? Or was that just an "I worked it out" comment, in which case I will nod in agreement. I am often on around GMT 1300 (9pm) as well but usually only for half an hour or so unless something interesting comes up :)

[bironic.livejournal.com]

My morning, although now I've forgotten the precise timing. Not that it really matters -- was just curious and looking to appease my OCP. :)