INTERVIEW: In ‘Anatomy of Gray,’ a mysterious healer comes to town
Photo: Erica Mae McNeal and Martha Demson star in Jim Leonard’s Anatomy of Gray. Photo courtesy of Frank Ishman / Provided by Lucy Pollak PR with permission.
Anatomy of Gray, the play by TV producer and writer Jim Leonard, is currently receiving its Los Angeles premiere at the Atwater Village Theatre, courtesy of Open Fist Theatre Company. The show, directed by Ben Martin, follows the character of June, a 15-year-old who has recently lost her father and decides to pray for a “healer” to come to town and spare the community any more misery. What the teenager ultimately receives is more than she asks for and includes an epic clash between science and faith. Performances continue through Jan. 21.
Leonard should be well known to TV audiences. He has helped produce some of the most successful TV hits in recent years, including Dexter, Major Crimes and Ray Donovan. He is also accomplished in the theatrical realm, having previously written The Diviners, among other shows. This is not the first time Anatomy of Gray has played in front of a live audience. The show originated at Circle Repertory Theatre in New York City, followed by engagements in San Francisco and Seattle. Additionally, there are plans to adapt the play into a musical, according to press notes.
Recently Hollywood Soapbox exchanged emails with Leonard about the show, which features Erica Mae McNeal and Rebekah Paugam alternating in the role of June. Questions and answers have been slightly edited for style.
Where did the idea for Anatomy of Gray come from?
I grew up in Indiana. I went to college with Mike Pence. The world is that small. Like the VP, I spent quite a bit of time in church. He stayed in Indiana and eventually went into politics, and I moved to NYC after college — in the midst of the HIV/AIDS crisis.
Does writing a teenage protagonist come easy? How did you get into her mindset?
In my first draft of this (which did not work terribly well), I had a mayor/narrator character modeled on the perfection that is Our Town. June was central, but it wasn’t her story. I put the play in a drawer for a decade, but June wouldn’t shut up. I got it back out just to play around with her opening monologue, and like my own kids, she kept talking.
One of my first plays, And They Dance Real Slow in Jackson, is also set in Indiana and also has a young female lead, so I guess I have a teenage girl hanging around in my mind. The simplest answer: I like women, and I enjoy writing for them.
Beyond the obvious, what’s different about writing for theater versus writing for TV?
When a show is good and the cast is good — as was true for Dexter — TV becomes a little like repertory theatre. I like writing TV when it’s in production because it all happens quickly, and we don’t have time to second guess ourselves too much. Actors and writers get dialed into each other.
Theatre is muscular and maddening, and when it works, which we all know is kind of rare, there is nothing better to work on or to experience. Remember how you felt about five minutes into seeing Hamilton, when, if you were like me, you were saying to yourself, “My God, this is even better than the hype.” That’s the goal. To transport people, right?
What’s it like working with Ben Martin?
I haven’t been involved in casting, concept meetings or rehearsals. I’m just grateful that the folks at Open Fist are still crazy enough to still make theater by hand — no big budgets, no resources, just actors and a director and some pages.
What do you hope the takeaway is for adult audience members? How about teenagers?
What good acting. What a good story.
By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com
Anatomy of Gray, written by Jim Leonard and produced by Open Fist Theatre Company, continues through Jan. 21 at the Atwater Village Theatre in Los Angeles. Click here for more information and tickets.
