When Spalding Gray succumbed to depression and took his life in the winter of 2004, he left behind a loving family, a legion of devoted fans and an enormous body of work. LEFTOVER STORIES TO TELL charts a uniquely personal journey through Spalding’s inimitable perspective and voice, featuring excerpts from his hilarious monologues juxtaposed with journal entries, poems, and other unpublished – and previously unperformed – writing.
LEFTOVER STORIES TO TELL also offers the chance to rediscover Spalding’s brilliance as a writer. The image of Spalding, alone on a bare stage spinning his brilliant monologues, became an indelible one through which his writing and performance were completely intertwined. Now, to experience his words read by a stellar cast of his colleagues, friends, and admirers brings his stories to life in new and unexpected ways, highlights his prodigious gifts as a writer, and underscores the transcendent power of the universal themes at the core of his work.
Created and co-directed by his widow Kathleen Russo and Lucy Sexton, this resonant program is exquisitely crafted from excerpts of both his classic work as well as previously unpublished writing and will be performed by renowned actors and authors at Performance Space 122 in New York from May 31-June 4.
Featuring:
James Urbaniak, Bob Holman, Ain Gordon, Jonathan Ames and Hazelle Goodman with guest performers :
- Olympia Dukakis (Wednesday, May 31)
- David Strathairn (Thursday, June 1)
- Steve Buscemi and Aidan Quinn (Friday, June 2)
- Fisher Stevens and Debra Winger (Saturday, June 3)
- Joel Grey (Sunday, June 4)
Running Time: 1 hour, 20 minutes (no intermission). Guest performer schedule subject to change.
“On May 4th a preview excerpt of ‘Leftover Stories to Tell’ was performed as a tribute to Mr. Gray and to benefit Performance Space 122… The piece offered a poignant combination of hilarity and despair, finally leaving the audience on its feet in a rousing ovation. It was almost what Mr. Gray was always searching for: ‘a perfect moment.’ The only thing missing was Mr. Gray himself.”
-Click to read the full feature, “For Spalding Gray, One Last Tale” in The New York Times (pdf 3.1 MB).
May 31 – June 4, 2006
Wednesday – Sunday 8 p.m.
General Admission $50, $40 (Members)
Reserved Seating $75, 50 (Members)
