Hey, Hollywood: Why not work on the L.A. stage?
source: http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/arts/la-ca-notebook3-2009may03,0,1791516.story?tra...
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"If TV and movie actors have such an affinity for the stage -- in New York right now, Jane Fonda, Susan Sarandon, Jeremy Irons, Geoffrey Rush and Marcia Gay Harden are flaunting their Oscar-validated skills alongside such multiple Emmy winners as James Gandolfini and Allison Janney -- why don't more of the L.A.-based among them take advantage of the great opportunities in their own backyard?
Of course, there are the dedicated actors -- Annette Bening and Laurence Fishburne, chief among them -- who have demonstrated a willingness to performing locally at our leading theaters (the Mark Taper Forum, Geffen Playhouse and Pasadena Playhouse). And then there are the daring fugitives from TV- and movie-land who every once in a while turn up in the sub-100-seat houses, eager to stretch their well-paid typecast muscles. Best of all are the inveterate stage animals, such performers as Laurie Metcalf and Neil Patrick Harris, who, in demand as they are, will work just about anywhere to animate a worthy part in front of an avid audience.
What connects these thesps is a commitment to both their craft and the cultural life of their city. Now why can't artistic directors and producers get more of the more seriously gifted A-listers to see the world through these actors' eyes?
In a city with such a dense concentration of acting talent, no brow has to be lowered in the luring of stage-estranged luminaries back to the boards. If acting thoroughbreds are once again gung-ho for the Broadway challenge surely a few more of them could be enticed to work here, where a sizable number keep homes or even live year round."
Of course, there are the dedicated actors -- Annette Bening and Laurence Fishburne, chief among them -- who have demonstrated a willingness to performing locally at our leading theaters (the Mark Taper Forum, Geffen Playhouse and Pasadena Playhouse). And then there are the daring fugitives from TV- and movie-land who every once in a while turn up in the sub-100-seat houses, eager to stretch their well-paid typecast muscles. Best of all are the inveterate stage animals, such performers as Laurie Metcalf and Neil Patrick Harris, who, in demand as they are, will work just about anywhere to animate a worthy part in front of an avid audience.
What connects these thesps is a commitment to both their craft and the cultural life of their city. Now why can't artistic directors and producers get more of the more seriously gifted A-listers to see the world through these actors' eyes?
In a city with such a dense concentration of acting talent, no brow has to be lowered in the luring of stage-estranged luminaries back to the boards. If acting thoroughbreds are once again gung-ho for the Broadway challenge surely a few more of them could be enticed to work here, where a sizable number keep homes or even live year round."
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