INTERVIEW: Pull up a seat (in a living room) for this play revival
Photo: The Year of Magical Thinking, starring Kathleen Chalfant, is being performed in intimate spaces such as living rooms. Photo courtesy of Richard Termine / Provided by Everyman Agency with permission.
Celebrated actor Kathleen Chalfant is currently performing in The Year of Magical Thinking, the one-woman show written by the late Joan Didion. The revival, produced by Keen Company and directed by Jonathan Silverstein, is the first time the play has been seen in New York City since its Broadway premiere 15 years ago. The show promises an examination of the human heart and how it can remain resilient even through the most difficult of tragedies.
What’s unusual and fascinating about this production is that Chalfant is taking the show to several boroughs in New York City, and on some engagements, she’ll be performing the piece in intimate spaces like living rooms and libraries. Audiences have until Nov. 20 to see the monologue, but be mindful, tickets are hard to come by. (There’s word an extension may occur.)
Recently Hollywood Soapbox exchanged emails with Silverstein, who not only directed the show but also conceived the uniqueness of this Keen production. He serves as the theater company’s artistic director, and some of his previous credits include This Space Between Us, Here/Now: LIVE! and Ordinary Days. Questions and answers have been slightly edited for style.
What was the motivation to revisit this one-person show after its premiere on Broadway a few years ago?
I have always been interested in The Year of Magical Thinking, but I feel it has special resonance now. The pandemic has caused us all to experience a collective sense of trauma. The play’s story of grief and survival is something we all can learn from and, I hope, take some comfort in. In addition, since Joan Didion’s passing, it felt like the right time to take another look at her only play.
What is added to the piece by having it performed in these intimate settings?
Being in someone’s living room gives the audience a whole other relationship to both the performer and the piece. Instead of being in a large theater, with the performer onstage and brightly lit while directly facing the audience who is in the dark, patrons are gathered around Kathleen Chalfant and in the same light as her. It makes it feel more like an intimate conversation amongst friends as opposed to a performance.
Given that this is being performed in living rooms — do you think Keen is making a comment about the expansive possibilities of theater? Can theater be performed anywhere?
Keen Company always strives for a deep connection between performer and audience. This particular story lends itself to a more non-traditional staging that ensures an extremely close relationship between the two. Ultimately theatre is about the performer and the text. It can be done anywhere with very little production values, as long as you have an actor and words. For instance, I love a run through in the rehearsal room when we don’t have the stage, set, costumes, etc. You really get to the heart of a performance. I hope this production does that, as well.
What’s it like to work with Kathleen Chalfant?
This is my second time working with Kathleen, and both times it has been an utter dream. She is so specifically grounded in the main question of the work. I ask a lot of questions in my rehearsal process, and she always answers them by bringing it back to the central question of the play. In the end, her process creates such detailed and specific work. It’s truly remarkable. Of course, she is also just a lovely human being: kind, generous and collaborative. Like I said: a dream!
Has the work taught you some lessons or given you some insights about family, life, death, mourning?
The play lays bare our inner workings and all the different ways we think in order to survive, while at the same time reminding us that we are all on this earth for a finite period of time. I am constantly reminded that no matter how hard we work to control things, the world goes on. It’s been a sobering and comforting thought that has made me appreciate my life and relationships anew.
Given that so many performances are sold out, do you think there’s a chance of more extensions?
It’s so gratifying to know that people want to take this adventure with us! It is my sincere hope that we can ensure the piece is experienced by a wider audience.
By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com
Keen Company’s The Year of Magical Thinking, starring Kathleen Chalfant and directed by Jonathan Silverstein, continues through Nov. 20 in various intimate spaces around New York City. Click here for more information and tickets.
