by Bob Sparrow
My travels last week took me all the way to L.A., I know it’s not that far, but it sometimes seems like a foreign country. With the 35-mile drive to the Montalban Theater taking over an hour and a half, I was reminded that L. A. stands for Lotta Automobiles. The occasion was a Christmas gift from daughter, Dana & husband, Joe, a presentation of Hamlet by Eddie Izzard.
Linda and I decided that we’d leave early to make sure we weren’t in the middle of commute traffic, to have dinner prior to the show, somewhere in L.A. close to theater. After parking the car and looking in the immediate area, we found a place that sounded like what we were looking for. It was on Vine Street a block or so off Hollywood Blvd called the Lemon Grove – it’s a bar and restaurant on a sixth story rooftop. At the street level we found several bouncer-like guys at the entrance of the elevator, who looked ominous, but were actually very friendly and invited us to try the restaurant and bar on the rooftop and gave us a card for a free drink.
We took the elevator up to the sixth floor – it was spectacular! We decided we just wanted to sit at the uncovered, outside bar and have some small plates – short rib sliders and a ‘tater tots’ kind of potato – delicious! It was a beautiful evening and If you ever get up that way, I would highly recommend this restaurant.
After we finished eating, we then walked to the Montalban theater and had front-row, balcony seats.
I was introduced to Eddie Izzard probably as many as 20 years ago; he was a very, very funny British comedian, who dressed in drag. She now identifies as a female and is doing a one-man, er . . . one-woman world tour, playing every role in Shakespeare’s famous play.
She came out before the performance and addressed the audience to set the proper expectation, as most of the audience knew him, oops, her, as a comedian. She said that, like Shakespeare, who did both comedy and tragedy, that tonight’s performance was not a comedy; she was preparing the audience for a different side of Eddie Izzard; although there were some funny parts, but mostly it was classic Shakespeare.
When I said it was a one-woman show, it was truly a one-woman show; Izzard played all 27 characters in the play, from Hamlet to Ophelia to Rosencranz and Guildenstern – she was not just the only person on stage, but she was the only ‘thing’ on stage – no scenery, no props.
The performance was incredible, the fact that anyone could memorize all those lines and deliver them with such feeling and impact, while having conversations with yourself, was amazing. I must admit that it may not be for the non-Shakespeare fan or someone not familiar with Hamlet and the various plot twists that it takes. I silently thanked my college English Literature professor, Dr. Viola Chapman, for giving me a strong appreciation for Shakespeare.
It was a most delightful evening, and the bonus at the end was that it took less than an hour to drive home.
All’s well that ends well.
