By the Way, Meet Vera Stark is a hilarious play loosely based off of Theresa Harris, an African American actress in the 1930s. Theresa Harris lit up the screen and stole the scene in the 1933 movie “Baby Face,” where she starred opposite Barbara Stanwyck. But in those days it was hard for African American women to make it in Hollywood. This play takes place in 1933, 1973 and 2003. The first half of the play shows Vera Stark (Sanaa Lathan) as a maid for the starlet Gloria Mitchell (Amanda Detmer.) Vera shares an apartment with two other African American women, Lottie (Kimberly Herbert Gregory) and Anna Mae (Merie Dandridge) who are also trying to figure out how to make it in Hollywood. Anna Mae is light skinned so when she gets asked out on a date by a famous director she tells him she’s Brazilian. So, as Vera is helping Gloria learn her lines for the new movie “The Belle of New Orleans” she discovers that there is a part that she herself is perfect for. And funny chaos ensues as she tries to audition for this coveted role. The second act takes place in 2003 and 1973, with the 2003 people playing back an interview of Vera and Gloria from 1973. It is a group of 3 analyst who are analyzing Veras behavior during the interview. I hate to say more about the story because I don’t wanna spoil it! It honestly is an amazing play, which is now playing at the Geffen playhouse. You will be on the floor laughing throughout the play. There is never a dull moment, the cast is absolutely fantastic. Go see it!
On Sunday August 12th, 2012 I went to the fabulous Geffen Playhouse in Los Angeles to see the first ever Exorcist play. The cast includes: Brooke Shields (as Chris MacNeil,) Emily Yetter (as Regan,) David Wilson Barnes (as Damien Karras,) Stephan Bogardus (as Dr. Strong,) Richard Chamberlain (as Father Merrin,) Manoel Felciano (as Father Joe,) Harry Groener (as Burke Dennings,) Tom Nelis (as Dr Klein,) and Roslyn Ruff (as Carla.)
Let’s start with the fact that The Exorcist is one of my all time favorite films! I even started reading the book, but that was even more terrifying. So, when I heard that The Geffen Playhouse was putting on the first ever Exorcist play I jumped at the chance to see it. Being such a big fan of the movie, I definitely had high expectations, and wondered how they were going to portray the film on a live stage. The entire show took place on one set, the church, with the table being used as the main piece of furniture changing from various tables to the bed. The film is famous for its make-up, which in the play was non-existent. There were no make-up or wardrobe changes. Everything was done with lighting, which really shows you the power of good lighting. I know what you’re thinking, “how about the famous levitation scene?” Well, they did put that in the play, how could they not? And it was actually mid-boggling! After the play was over everyone was asking how they made her levitate. There were no signs of strings, no glass under her, nothing! It still is making me think, even in the movie you can see strings, but in this live show, you can’t see anything. I’m pretty sure it was magic. The play definitely exceeded my expectations.
All the actors did an amazing job, the one that stood out the most to me was Harry Groener, who played Burke Dennings, the director of the film that Chris MacNeil is in. If you know the film you know that the character of Burke is a drunk, and adds a comedic perspective to the film. Harry Groener nailed the part of Burke, he was absolutely hilarious, and when he took the stage all of my attention went to him. It’s safe to say that he stole the show. Emily Yetter, who played Regan, was also very good. She had the perfect look for the part, very young and innocent. I thought that the character of Damien Karras was poorly cast when it comes to the look, we know Damien as the Brooklyn-Italian type, David Wilson Barnes, looked more like a nice Jewish guy. But other than that all of the actors were absolutely terrific!
The show was directed by John Doyle and written by John Pielmeier. The directing was actually amazing. When the curtain came up and it was only one set I thought to myself, “Oh no, this is going to be terrible, how can they only use one set?” But John Doyle made it work so well, if there was another set the play would not have as much an impact as it did. The writing was phenomenal, of course you could never compete with the original screenplay, but it was perfect fot the 2012 theater audience.
All in all, I would definitely recommend the play to anyone who has or hasn’t seen the movie. Whether you love the movie, or not, I would definitely find out when this play is playing near you and go check it out.
