REVIEW: "Spalding Gray: Stories Left to Tell"

Last night I saw Daytime Emmy Award winner Darnell Williams (who Co-Directed by film, Manhattanites) in "Spalding Gray: Stories Left to Tell."

The show, playing at the Minetta Lane Theater, is about the life of Spalding Gray, the compellingly self-centered monologuist who died at 62 in 2004.

“Stories” is delivered by five readers of different sexes, races and ages. Not one resembles Mr. Gray, and not one tries to impersonate him. But as directed with an affection that stops short of hero worship by Lucy Sexton, this collage of four decades of Spalding-isms and set pieces gradually coalesces into a breathing portrait.

The amazingly talented Williams — seated at a simple table with a glass of water, as Mr. Gray usually was in performance — reads from the journals, which often articulate the method and motive behind the exhibitionism. “The unobserved life doesn’t feel like living,” goes an entry from 1978. “Once I no longer felt God watching, I began to watch myself.” And from 1992: “I can’t be creative without being self-destructive.”

The role of 'Career' was played in this performance by UGLY BETTY's Christopher Gorham and it was nice to see him in a different venue.

Overall, it's an interesting and engaging show and I recommend checking it out.

GRADE: B