The Real Thing

OPENING: January 5, 1984

CLOSING: May 12, 1985

Seen: January 1985

LOCATION: Plymouth Theatre

There are some shows that are absolute magic but still fall into the background.

Sometimes it’s bad timing. In 2016, multiple shows that had huge potential closed early because Hamilton opened. Sometimes it’s because a show is ahead of it’s time (The original 1975 Chicago, anyone?) And sometimes it’s because it’s because it’s creator was so unbelievably talented and successful that some of his work will be part of a highly revered cannon but not remembered individually.

This is what I believed happened to 1984’s The Real Thing.

Having not seen the show myself, it’s hard to give an accurate plot rundown. Stoppard’s work is layered and the relationships of his characters are complicated and The Real Thing is no exception. But from what I am able to piece together, Henry is a prolific playwright mounting one of his shows. His wife, Charlotte, is the leading lady. The leading man is Max, who is married to Annie. But Stoppard is never straightforward; Henry and Annie are having an affair and they leave their respective partners for each other.

Any other playwright would have ended the play there. But Tom Stoppard is not a normal writer and this is literally the first half of Act I. The rest of the play is Henry and Annie evolving their relationship to its inevitable demise.

The concept is fascinating. And as a writer, the premise to me sounds like Stoppard ran with the idea of “You can’t make this s*** up.”

The cast assembled was dreamlike. Playing the role of Henry was none other than Jeremy Irons. Mr. Irons is a highly respected British stage and screen actor, who my generation will best know as the voice of Scar in The Lion King. Also – if you want to truly live in a horror story, he does the narration for the audio book of Nabokov’s Lolita. His interpretation is truly terrifying and I almost did not make it through the whole book.

The adulterous Annie was played by Oscar Winner Glenn Close. To stay on the 90’s kid Disney theme, she was Cruella in the live action 101 Dalmatians. There are other roles that she is more respected for, but I am a 90’s kid at heart and I will always see her with the monochromatic hair.

Christine Baranski played Charlotte. I have no Disney credits for her, but if I am staying on the “Beloved movies of my childhood” train, she played the role of Martha May Whovier in The Grinch. Other credits include Tanya in Mamma Mia and Diane Lockhart in The Good Wife and its sequel The Good Fight.

Peter Gallagher, to my knowledge, was not in the cast of any of my childhood favorites, but his voice was part of the soundtrack – as Sky Masterson in the 1992 Broadway cast of Guys and Dolls. When he later became known as Sandy Cohen on the teen drama The OC, my theatre kid sensibilities went into a rage that none of my classmates even knew who Sky Masterson was, let alone that Mr. Gallagher has a voice like velvet – even the ones that routinely beat me out for the roles I wanted in our high school theatre program.

But perhaps the most shocking member of the original dream team cast was the young girl who played Henry’s teenaged daughter. In her headshot, she is a ruddy faced teenager who looks like she just got out of braces. Her bio stated that she was a senior in high school, which means she probably wasn’t even legal yet. Her name is Cynthia Nixon, who shot to fame as Miranda Hobbs in Sex and the City. The fact that I am currently binging Sex and the City when I am not working or writing just made this discovery even better.

By the time my dad saw this show in January 1985, Baranski, Close, Kenneth Walsh (Max), and Nixon had departed the production. In all actuality, Irons had as well but had returned. It had also won Best New Play and Best Featured Actress for Baranski. Replacing them were Leslie Lyles, Laila Robbins, Simon Jones, and Anne Marie Robbins. Does my dad remember any of it? Probably not. He loves Peter Gallagher – he’s a big fan of Covert Affairs, a short lived USA network original in which he was a series regular. When we started watching Covert Affairs, I had to explain that Mr. Gallagher is a Broadway staple. I have also recently had to do a biography of Laila Robbins.

Actually, I am a responsible blogger. I just checked – no memory. He also did not recognize Peter Gallagher. Suspicions confirmed.

The Real Thing closed it’s original run on May 12, 1985. Since then it has been revived twice – once in 2000 and once in 2014. It won best revival in 2000. The 2014 revival wasn’t even nominated, but the cool thing about it was that it brought back Cynthia Nixon – this time as Charlotte.

I was not familiar with this play before I did the research on it for this blog. But then again – Tom Stoppard has so many high profile plays, I doubt anyone would consider it “Lost”.

CAST: REPLACEMENT

MAX: Simon Jones

CHARLOTTE: Leslie Lyles

HENRY: Jeremy Irons

ANNIE: Laila Robins

BILLY: Peter Gallagher

DEBBIE: Annie Marie Bobby

BRODIE: Vyto Rugins