Talk Radio: A Brilliant Play That Is Worth the Hype

Father's Day was a great day this year: we took Daddy to see Talk Radio on Broadway, starring Liev Schreiber. To say that Schreiber was incredible is simply an understatement. Here's an example: my father, who has taught acting to Sean Penn, Harvey Keitel, Lorraine Bracco, and Calvin Levels (among many others) stood up and gave him a standing ovation (we all did) at the end of the play. Dad never does that unless the persons is truly exceptional...I mean, c'mon...he's seen more theatre and been around/taught/directed more name actors than a lot of people walking around, so for him to be impressed, it has to be a big deal.

Same thing with Mom, but since she's an actress, she's a bit more sympathetic to the actor - but she and I were standing to our feet, like happy puppies. Of course I'm totally in love with Schreiber (he's on my top 3 list of celebrity crushes, being number 2; Johnny Depp and Daniel Craig are the others) so that added to it; but now I'm not just in awe - I'm almost envious. I want to be as good an actor as that. He was so...right on. His work has steadily gotten more an more developed over the years (I've been watching) and now...he's the next Deniro/Duvall/Hoffman...in fact, screw that. He's the next...Schreiber. He does The Work. How the hell he does it, I don't know, but it inspires me to keep up with what I'm trying to do. My beloved pal Bitchy Actress agrees with me; she had just seen it, and her family is in the same industry as mine; they all loved it, and their reaction was the same. She and I are both scratching our chins as we plan how we're going to become the next female Schreibers.

He was amazing. The supporting cast (including Stephanie March, Peter Hermann, Michael Laurence, and Sebastian Stan along with a cast of callers, some of whom were really great) was amazing. The script, by Eric Bogosian, was amazing. The set design was amazing.

The show goes on for another couple of weeks - so get your ass over there and drop $100 and get a seat. If you see nothing else the rest of the year, see this.