Equus
Wow.
Seriously. WOW.
I had the most wonderful week ever in New York, and not just because of seeing Equus eight times.
Where to start? Fabulous friends ( shocolate kerryblaze triomakesmehot vinolila connielane gryffinclaw goneoffthelump star98hope brumeux77 tjwritter jo_ron lnalvgd harrysmom) a whole flock of GRA ladies, and, oh bugger, I know I've forgotten loads of other people ... my brain is broken by jet-lag and bronchitis, not a good combo), fabulous food (Max Brenner's, Tea and Sympathy, A Salt and Battery, Sardi's, Patsy's, Max Brenner's again, and the most wonderful chinese from a place called Happy Sunday), and lots of walking around New York.
My f-list full week, in no particular order:
My wonderful vinolila was my tour-guide for much of the first part of the week, and we had so much fun being stupid and giggly and eating pizza in Central Park, talking about Potter and books and movies and stupid boys and Dan and life and Dan. Is there anything better than just walking with a friend and talking about anything and everything? I was so sad to see vinolila go home on Thursday, and I tried my hardest to persuade her to come back for the closing show, but alas, earwax - it wasn’t to be. I’ll have to settle for seeing her again (hopefully) at Leaky Con, and at the London premiere of HBP, and I’m going to fly out to see her later this year if finances allow. *squishes vinolila*
Shocolate arrived on Tuesday, a day earlier than expected thanks to the snow, and she is just wonderful and fun and witty and I love her so very much. We spent two days gossiping and sighing over Harry/Ron and Dan and Rupert, and I felt like I’d known her forever. Then she left me on Thursday *sob* for kerryblaze, but she came back on Friday, bringing kerryblaze with her, who is equally awesome and fabulous and wonderful, and I love her too, so that was ok.
The fandom meet at Patsy’s was awesomesauce. There were ten of us there, and it was a mad couple of hours of weird and wonderful and loud conversation, with lnalvgd’s boy leaving a rather amusing and horse-related joke on her voicemail for us to listen to.
Saturday evening following the show was so much fun. Gryffinclaw, connielane and I went to gossip with shocolate and kerryblaze in their room, and we talked for about four hours and ate Mars Bars and, much to shocolate’s disgust, Milky Bars. As the resident lj-n00b, I got filled in about a few fandom scandals *gasps in shock at all the debauchery*, and we had our own, good-natured shipping war, and got told off for being too loud.
On Sunday, following chocolate at Max Brenner’s with kerryblaze, connielane and star98hope, Shocolate and I marked the end of Equus with a lovely romantic walk in Union Square. The Empire State building was at our backs, our heads were in the clouds, and our hearts were all a flutter over a deep and meaningful discussion about Dan’s back dimples and what we would like to do to them. Chocolate and toffee dipping sauce from Max Brenner’s was declared to be a good thing to pool in the dimples. There was also much excited squeeing about all the wonderful reports about Cherrybomb, and how we’re all excited that Rupert finally gets to step up and take the lead. It’s been a long time coming, and he deserves everything good that is coming to him over the next year.
Then everyone left me, and I walked back to my hotel from Penn Station, and had to pass the theatre, and they were already taking things down. So I consoled myself by buying yummy Sesame Chicken from Happy Sunday’s, and sat watching Teen Wolf, in my pyjamas, stuffing myself full of gorgeous food. Then the lovely triomakesmehot came back from a meal, along with our equally lovely room-mates L and S, and we all had a gossip and a giggle and I moaned about the fact that everything in the freaking room GLOWED when you turned the lights off, and I seem to remember a rant about the fact that the smoke alarm kept flashing me.
And, I also saw this play. You might have heard of it - Equus?
There are no words. I was completely blown away by Dan. I knew he was going to be excellent, but no matter how many reviews and reports you’ve read, nothing can prepare you for just how very talented and intense he is. He has such a massive stage presence - you HAVE to look at him. He’s compelling even when he’s just sitting there, brooding. The end of Act I is the sexiest, most intense thing I’ve ever seen, and the shuddering, hip-jerking orgasm *Alan’s, not mine, though it was a close thing* nearly killed me.
There are so many things I loved about Dan’s performance that it would take me an age to list them all, but here’s a few high points:
Foot pointing. During the ‘do you have a special dream’ scene, I love how Dan gestures with his foot at the end of his question. I don’t know why I love it, but I do. It’s one of the few scenes - other than when it’s done on purpose - in which Alan is child-like, and that gives the character a poignancy that otherwise might not be there. Those hints of an average seventeen-year-old make you feel for Alan more than if he was constantly in everybody’s face.
Block Picking, scratching, and Stage Seats. Picking off bits of the blocks, rolling them between his thumb and forefinger, then flicking it away. Totally in character for Alan, IMHO, and probably in character for Dan, too, as he is a hyper, twitchy little bugger, but I think Dan’s too focused to do anything on stage that isn’t all Alan. If it didn’t fit for Alan to fidget and pick, then we wouldn’t have seen any block picking.
I had stage seats on two separate occasions, and with the exception of my J-107 seat for closing night, they were my favourite places to be. You see so much that you miss in the audience, things that you think of as a secret thing between you and the cast. Like the look on Dan’s face during the ‘begat …’ sequence - the anguish when he calls out ‘Equus’ (which you can hear in his voice and see in his posture from the audience, but it’s just not the same as seeing it from the stage). And the amount of energy that goes into the flagellation - dude has GOT to be sore after that. He’s not holding anything back, and it’s so intense I was holding my breath.
And the scratching. He’s constantly grabbing at some part of his body, be it his chest, or his stomach, or his thigh, or his upper am. And he has a hell of a welt on his right bicep that he kept scratching at, hard enough to make it bleed on one occasion *resists urge to smack his hand away and apply sudacrem*. The thing that gets me is that most of the scratching was consistent. He scratched the same place at the same point in the play every time. Of course there was additional scratching, but a lot of it was on purpose.
Vulnerability. The end of Act I. I think Dan simulating orgasm on stage is actually as brave as his being nude. This is one of those moments where he lays himself completely and emotionally bare, and it’s beautiful and shocking and slightly unsettling in its sheer honesty.
Physicality. I was very, VERY impressed by just how in control Dan is of his own body. Every movement is considered and controlled, and speaking as somebody who can barely cross a room without flailing, I see that as an achievement. And the way he flings himself around on stage - I know he’s nineteen and full of seemingly boundless energy, but man. And the trembling in the closing scenes - how on earth does he do that? He shook from head to toe, and it was utterly convincing.
Projection. I was sitting on my own for most of the performances, so ended up striking up a conversation with whoever happened to be sitting next to me during intermission. In four intermissions, out of a total of eight, every single person I spoke to mentioned how impressed they were by the fact that a: the cast aren’t wearing mics, and b: that Dan, in his first Broadway show, could be heard clearly throughout the theatre. I love the fact that he trained for this for months, and all that training really shows, particularly when you compare him to Carolyn McCormick, who, despite having quite the stage resume, has seemingly been neglecting her voice training whilst filming for TV.
Pony Nuzzling. Um. Yeah. Last show, Dan dragging his open mouth down Ponyenzo’s side from hip to mid-thigh … Dan manages to make something that could be vaguely creepy - because, hello, horse? - sensual and moving and beautiful. GUH.
Dan is made to be on stage. He’s so very obviously in his element up there, and all that energy of his is channelled into some shockingly amazing performances.
As for the play itself - it’s no good me even attempting to review it, because I can’t focus enough to write anything coherent. Richard was fabulous, his understudy, Bill Buell, equally fabulous, Kate Mulgrew was better than I expected, Anna Camp was OK, but she needed to SPEAK UP FFS, I couldn’t stand Carolyn McCormick … and the horses. OH MY GOD, the horses. I know they’re actors and dancers, and it’s their job to make me believe that they are horses and not beautiful men in skin-tight clothes, but HOW THE HELL do they do that? Just one shake of the head, and a drag of a foot, and you’re seeing these amazing, powerful creatures.
And Lorenzo. Oooooooooooooh, Lorenzo, Ponyenzo, you gorgeous, gorgeous man. When he’s Horseman - incredible. All those little twitches of the hips, and shifting of postion - you really would believe that he’s astride a horse. And as Nugget, he has this air of majesty that makes you understand just why Alan worships horses so.
*fans self*
And, that’s about that.
Oh, I did the fangirl at stage door thing Friday night, which was an experience in itself, let me tell you. The original plan was to get there about 7:30, so I could wait til everyone was in the theatre then attach myself to the bollard a friend had pointed out as being the anchor point for the barricade, but you know what they say about the best laid plans …
Walking back from Times Square around 5:45, I had to pass the theatre, and I spotted a group of girls, Equus playbills in hand, who were very obviously there for the stage door thing. So I hurried back to the hotel, just around the corner, dressed in loads of layers, grabbed my camera, and headed back to the stage door at 6, with a bucket sized cup of tea from Starbucks. Resigned to a loooooong wait, I settled in to listen to The Hold Steady, leaning against my post *no, I am not a prostitute, no matter how much that makes me sound like one*, and happened to look up only to see Dan heading into the theatre. Very surreal to be standing there, listening to a band I love but had only heard of because of Dan talking about them, and watching the man in question walking by. Total bonus Dan moment, as I’d assumed he’d have been at the theatre long before then.
It’s a shame he doesn’t sign on the way in, because I wouldn’t have had to stand outside for five hours and end up losing a couple of layers of skin off of my feet.
That little moment made me like the FanGirls, as they didn’t squeal or point or take photos when Dan walked by - they just smiled, and waved, and he did the same in return - so I got talking to them, and we all banded together, sisters-in-arms. This was their second attempt to get autographs - they got to the front of the barricades first time they tried, but Dan got whisked off before they got his autograph, so they were determined that this would be it.
In the end, they got their autographs, as did I, and we went away very happy. I got to tell Dan he was wonderful in the play, and I got a nod and a ‘thanks’ before he was pulled off to the car, and that is all I wanted, and I never, EVER want to do the stage door again because it is horrible and soulless and bloody cold.
Oh, and I have photos. But LJ is being an arse and the coding is screwed, and I have no clue how to fix it, so I'll try to put them in a separate post. Thanks for trying to help, Shoc!
Seriously. WOW.
I had the most wonderful week ever in New York, and not just because of seeing Equus eight times.
Where to start? Fabulous friends ( shocolate kerryblaze triomakesmehot vinolila connielane gryffinclaw goneoffthelump star98hope brumeux77 tjwritter jo_ron lnalvgd harrysmom) a whole flock of GRA ladies, and, oh bugger, I know I've forgotten loads of other people ... my brain is broken by jet-lag and bronchitis, not a good combo), fabulous food (Max Brenner's, Tea and Sympathy, A Salt and Battery, Sardi's, Patsy's, Max Brenner's again, and the most wonderful chinese from a place called Happy Sunday), and lots of walking around New York.
My f-list full week, in no particular order:
My wonderful vinolila was my tour-guide for much of the first part of the week, and we had so much fun being stupid and giggly and eating pizza in Central Park, talking about Potter and books and movies and stupid boys and Dan and life and Dan. Is there anything better than just walking with a friend and talking about anything and everything? I was so sad to see vinolila go home on Thursday, and I tried my hardest to persuade her to come back for the closing show, but alas, earwax - it wasn’t to be. I’ll have to settle for seeing her again (hopefully) at Leaky Con, and at the London premiere of HBP, and I’m going to fly out to see her later this year if finances allow. *squishes vinolila*
Shocolate arrived on Tuesday, a day earlier than expected thanks to the snow, and she is just wonderful and fun and witty and I love her so very much. We spent two days gossiping and sighing over Harry/Ron and Dan and Rupert, and I felt like I’d known her forever. Then she left me on Thursday *sob* for kerryblaze, but she came back on Friday, bringing kerryblaze with her, who is equally awesome and fabulous and wonderful, and I love her too, so that was ok.
The fandom meet at Patsy’s was awesomesauce. There were ten of us there, and it was a mad couple of hours of weird and wonderful and loud conversation, with lnalvgd’s boy leaving a rather amusing and horse-related joke on her voicemail for us to listen to.
Saturday evening following the show was so much fun. Gryffinclaw, connielane and I went to gossip with shocolate and kerryblaze in their room, and we talked for about four hours and ate Mars Bars and, much to shocolate’s disgust, Milky Bars. As the resident lj-n00b, I got filled in about a few fandom scandals *gasps in shock at all the debauchery*, and we had our own, good-natured shipping war, and got told off for being too loud.
On Sunday, following chocolate at Max Brenner’s with kerryblaze, connielane and star98hope, Shocolate and I marked the end of Equus with a lovely romantic walk in Union Square. The Empire State building was at our backs, our heads were in the clouds, and our hearts were all a flutter over a deep and meaningful discussion about Dan’s back dimples and what we would like to do to them. Chocolate and toffee dipping sauce from Max Brenner’s was declared to be a good thing to pool in the dimples. There was also much excited squeeing about all the wonderful reports about Cherrybomb, and how we’re all excited that Rupert finally gets to step up and take the lead. It’s been a long time coming, and he deserves everything good that is coming to him over the next year.
Then everyone left me, and I walked back to my hotel from Penn Station, and had to pass the theatre, and they were already taking things down. So I consoled myself by buying yummy Sesame Chicken from Happy Sunday’s, and sat watching Teen Wolf, in my pyjamas, stuffing myself full of gorgeous food. Then the lovely triomakesmehot came back from a meal, along with our equally lovely room-mates L and S, and we all had a gossip and a giggle and I moaned about the fact that everything in the freaking room GLOWED when you turned the lights off, and I seem to remember a rant about the fact that the smoke alarm kept flashing me.
And, I also saw this play. You might have heard of it - Equus?
There are no words. I was completely blown away by Dan. I knew he was going to be excellent, but no matter how many reviews and reports you’ve read, nothing can prepare you for just how very talented and intense he is. He has such a massive stage presence - you HAVE to look at him. He’s compelling even when he’s just sitting there, brooding. The end of Act I is the sexiest, most intense thing I’ve ever seen, and the shuddering, hip-jerking orgasm *Alan’s, not mine, though it was a close thing* nearly killed me.
There are so many things I loved about Dan’s performance that it would take me an age to list them all, but here’s a few high points:
Foot pointing. During the ‘do you have a special dream’ scene, I love how Dan gestures with his foot at the end of his question. I don’t know why I love it, but I do. It’s one of the few scenes - other than when it’s done on purpose - in which Alan is child-like, and that gives the character a poignancy that otherwise might not be there. Those hints of an average seventeen-year-old make you feel for Alan more than if he was constantly in everybody’s face.
Block Picking, scratching, and Stage Seats. Picking off bits of the blocks, rolling them between his thumb and forefinger, then flicking it away. Totally in character for Alan, IMHO, and probably in character for Dan, too, as he is a hyper, twitchy little bugger, but I think Dan’s too focused to do anything on stage that isn’t all Alan. If it didn’t fit for Alan to fidget and pick, then we wouldn’t have seen any block picking.
I had stage seats on two separate occasions, and with the exception of my J-107 seat for closing night, they were my favourite places to be. You see so much that you miss in the audience, things that you think of as a secret thing between you and the cast. Like the look on Dan’s face during the ‘begat …’ sequence - the anguish when he calls out ‘Equus’ (which you can hear in his voice and see in his posture from the audience, but it’s just not the same as seeing it from the stage). And the amount of energy that goes into the flagellation - dude has GOT to be sore after that. He’s not holding anything back, and it’s so intense I was holding my breath.
And the scratching. He’s constantly grabbing at some part of his body, be it his chest, or his stomach, or his thigh, or his upper am. And he has a hell of a welt on his right bicep that he kept scratching at, hard enough to make it bleed on one occasion *resists urge to smack his hand away and apply sudacrem*. The thing that gets me is that most of the scratching was consistent. He scratched the same place at the same point in the play every time. Of course there was additional scratching, but a lot of it was on purpose.
Vulnerability. The end of Act I. I think Dan simulating orgasm on stage is actually as brave as his being nude. This is one of those moments where he lays himself completely and emotionally bare, and it’s beautiful and shocking and slightly unsettling in its sheer honesty.
Physicality. I was very, VERY impressed by just how in control Dan is of his own body. Every movement is considered and controlled, and speaking as somebody who can barely cross a room without flailing, I see that as an achievement. And the way he flings himself around on stage - I know he’s nineteen and full of seemingly boundless energy, but man. And the trembling in the closing scenes - how on earth does he do that? He shook from head to toe, and it was utterly convincing.
Projection. I was sitting on my own for most of the performances, so ended up striking up a conversation with whoever happened to be sitting next to me during intermission. In four intermissions, out of a total of eight, every single person I spoke to mentioned how impressed they were by the fact that a: the cast aren’t wearing mics, and b: that Dan, in his first Broadway show, could be heard clearly throughout the theatre. I love the fact that he trained for this for months, and all that training really shows, particularly when you compare him to Carolyn McCormick, who, despite having quite the stage resume, has seemingly been neglecting her voice training whilst filming for TV.
Pony Nuzzling. Um. Yeah. Last show, Dan dragging his open mouth down Ponyenzo’s side from hip to mid-thigh … Dan manages to make something that could be vaguely creepy - because, hello, horse? - sensual and moving and beautiful. GUH.
Dan is made to be on stage. He’s so very obviously in his element up there, and all that energy of his is channelled into some shockingly amazing performances.
As for the play itself - it’s no good me even attempting to review it, because I can’t focus enough to write anything coherent. Richard was fabulous, his understudy, Bill Buell, equally fabulous, Kate Mulgrew was better than I expected, Anna Camp was OK, but she needed to SPEAK UP FFS, I couldn’t stand Carolyn McCormick … and the horses. OH MY GOD, the horses. I know they’re actors and dancers, and it’s their job to make me believe that they are horses and not beautiful men in skin-tight clothes, but HOW THE HELL do they do that? Just one shake of the head, and a drag of a foot, and you’re seeing these amazing, powerful creatures.
And Lorenzo. Oooooooooooooh, Lorenzo, Ponyenzo, you gorgeous, gorgeous man. When he’s Horseman - incredible. All those little twitches of the hips, and shifting of postion - you really would believe that he’s astride a horse. And as Nugget, he has this air of majesty that makes you understand just why Alan worships horses so.
*fans self*
And, that’s about that.
Oh, I did the fangirl at stage door thing Friday night, which was an experience in itself, let me tell you. The original plan was to get there about 7:30, so I could wait til everyone was in the theatre then attach myself to the bollard a friend had pointed out as being the anchor point for the barricade, but you know what they say about the best laid plans …
Walking back from Times Square around 5:45, I had to pass the theatre, and I spotted a group of girls, Equus playbills in hand, who were very obviously there for the stage door thing. So I hurried back to the hotel, just around the corner, dressed in loads of layers, grabbed my camera, and headed back to the stage door at 6, with a bucket sized cup of tea from Starbucks. Resigned to a loooooong wait, I settled in to listen to The Hold Steady, leaning against my post *no, I am not a prostitute, no matter how much that makes me sound like one*, and happened to look up only to see Dan heading into the theatre. Very surreal to be standing there, listening to a band I love but had only heard of because of Dan talking about them, and watching the man in question walking by. Total bonus Dan moment, as I’d assumed he’d have been at the theatre long before then.
It’s a shame he doesn’t sign on the way in, because I wouldn’t have had to stand outside for five hours and end up losing a couple of layers of skin off of my feet.
That little moment made me like the FanGirls, as they didn’t squeal or point or take photos when Dan walked by - they just smiled, and waved, and he did the same in return - so I got talking to them, and we all banded together, sisters-in-arms. This was their second attempt to get autographs - they got to the front of the barricades first time they tried, but Dan got whisked off before they got his autograph, so they were determined that this would be it.
In the end, they got their autographs, as did I, and we went away very happy. I got to tell Dan he was wonderful in the play, and I got a nod and a ‘thanks’ before he was pulled off to the car, and that is all I wanted, and I never, EVER want to do the stage door again because it is horrible and soulless and bloody cold.
Oh, and I have photos. But LJ is being an arse and the coding is screwed, and I have no clue how to fix it, so I'll try to put them in a separate post. Thanks for trying to help, Shoc!