He looked up, put on a big smile, and said in that Yogi way, No ones asked me about that in years. And on the other hand, it was incredibly scary because it was the first play that Id ever cowritten with anybody, and it was about my life. I love the progression of the piano in the play. I play my father-in-law. In addition to his film and television credits, Richard has appeared on Broadway numerous times, most recently nominated for an Outer Critics Circle Award as Lemml in the Tony Award winning production of Indecent, with Larry David in Fish in the Dark, with Al Pacino in The Merchant of Venice, with Denzel Washington in Julius Caesar, with Mark Ruffalo in the Tony Award winning revival of Awake and Sing, with Ellen Barkin in the Tony Award winning revival of The Normal Heart, and with Morgan Freeman and Frances McDormand in The Country Girl, directed by Mike Nichols. Why am I doing this play? rt: He was really sweet and really happy to be there and to be seeing this play with his wife, Carmen, having this stuff brought to life. 59E59 Theaters and The Civilians have announced the full cast & creative team for Hes really, really, really kind to all his characters. There was a sense of having more in the heads of the director and the producers, what we could imagine this great thing being, that infused the development and the rehearsal and experience of doing it. Wilson (Happy Now? And I survived. rt: No, no, no. They hand delivered the scripts to everybodys homes. That theater had stayed open through the pandemic because Maine had so few cases, because of the regulations, and because of their skill at keeping people safe. And Im slightly disappointed myself too, because I knew I was going to do this part for a long time and I knew that these songs were in the piece. Since then weve bumped into each other a few other times at the theater and discussed various shows wed seen. Yeah, I love that play. And then Willys like, Come on, come on. It doesnt have any songs . rt: Thats when I was a Mets fan. And then Josh tested positive right before tech. twi-ny: Its been very strange. And Ive been an actor for over three decades. I dont think Im as extreme as Patrick; Patrick is a Jew who doesnt know anything about his Judaism and is happy to not know anything about his Judaism and is somebody who thinks of organized religion as what he says in the play, which is bullshit.. And I survived. I had symptoms on the ides of March, on the 15th of March, and I was in bed for nineteen days with Covid-19. 59E59 Theaters and The Civilians have announced the full cast . I love the progression of the piano in the play. And we were shut down. Moon, which is about fathers and sons, particularly about how you lost your father when you were very young and eventually found a father figure in Lukas Foss. rt: He does a great job of giving everybody a valid argument. And so what to do about that? Youre not invested in a team, the whole idea of a team creating a thing and living together and becoming a version of a theater family, or whatever it is. And Ive been an actor for over three decades. Get the fuck out of here. We do not want to shut this play down. Did you enjoy working on Zoom? Im a tree worshiper. You dont develop a through-line, you dont understand the arc of things. So this was the middle of December now, right before Christmas, and shows were going down left and right. twi-ny: Thats really interesting to me, because you fit so well as Patrick. Ive actually asked that of some of my Jewish friends too. Like in Joshs play, he was one of those people, a German Jew in Berlin who got out. I was really glad to do it at Portland Stage, where most of the people who were watching knew nothing about me and I didnt have to feel so exposed. With the streets controlled by the Italian mob, Bumpy must take on the Genovese crime family to regain control. And then because the pandemic happened, we both had the time to really work on it. Check out the performance highlights below! Then we did a couple of workshops that fall and then at the end of February of 2020. So then the pandemic hit and immediately I got the virus. Even though he wasnt Jewish; he didnt think of himself as a Jew. Rich Topol debuted his intimate one-person show at Portland Stage in November (photo by No Umbrella Media LLC). And then Josh tested positive right before tech. The production opened last night, Tuesday, October 8, and features Francois Battiste (Broadway's Magic/ Bird) as Reggie Jackson and Elston Howard,Chris Henry Coffey (Off-Broadway's Water by the Spoonful) as Joe DiMaggio,Bill Dawes(Broadway's Lombardi) as Mickey Mantle/Thurman Munson,Christopher Jackson(Broadway's In the Heights, Memphis) asDerek Jeter, Wendy Makkena (Broadway's Side Man) as Carmen Berra, Keith Nobbs (Broadway's Lombardi) as Billy Martin, Richard Topol (Broadway'sThe Normal Heart, The Merchant of Venice) as Yogi Berra, John Wernke (Broadway's The Lyons) as Lou Gehrig, and C.J. Richard Topol has not appeared in the West End. They produced a lot of one-person shows. He was even more thankful when I told him that I had included him in my review. rt: I think he would be disappointed. I feel like the Jews, the Jews get it, the New York Jews get it, or they have really strong opinions about it. And I thought, Oh, thats perfect. They produced a lot of one-person shows. And Im slightly disappointed myself too, because I knew I was going to do this part for a long time and I knew that these songs were in the piece. So Ill tell you. And he told me about how much fun it was doing that. theactingcompany.org First of all, I dont like one-person shows, I dont like seeing one-person shows; theyre not interesting to me. Maybe Im fooling myself. We have a full Biography, Photos, Theatre Credits, and more! Lets take that idea of writing and switch over to Prayer for the French Republic, which is exquisitely written. And Im not going to any of that stuff. He was by himself and I went over to him and said, Im going to ask you something that no one probably ever asks you about. I was like, No, no, no, no, no. So you cant pick a bone with me if it was because my father had just died and my next-door neighbor was a Yankees fan. Search instead in Creative? BWW TV: Check Out Kelli O'Hara and More in KING LEAR - Performance Highlights! At least in that experience I can cut myself some slack. And the play started to be about that. That was so much fun. at Primary Stages, Broadway's The Big Knife,Glengarry Glen Ross) as Babe Ruth. So thats the sort of glib answer. Itll be sometime in 2021. Now, of course, Im totally madly in love with Patrick and I wouldnt have it any other way. Alexander steps into the role created by David in the comedy about a death in the family. Rich Topol starred as stage manager Lemml in Indecent (photo by Carol Rosegg). twi-ny: Okay, for my last question, I have a sort of bone to pick with you. A few days after Prayer for the French Republic opened at Manhattan Theater Clubs Stage I at City Center, we talked about one-person shows, getting Covid, baseball, and what its like being an actor in lockdown, including a detailed description of mounting a play as a pandemic continues. Since these are your lines and theyre about you, if a joke didnt quite take or something emotional didnt register with the audience, is it more or less upsetting than when youre reciting somebody elses words and something might not go as expected? I tapped him on the shoulder during intermission and told him that I had just seen him at the Signature in A. R. Gurneys The Wayside Motor Inn and had enjoyed his performance. Click below to watch a montage of Alexander in the show! Where I feel most soulful and spiritual is when Ive climbed a mountain and I feel small in relation to a large, amazing thing. rt: We were wearing masks around the table. People who know me and my life saw it. Then we did a couple of workshops that fall and then at the end of February of 2020. So weve been careful and thoughtful and fortunate, and I hope we continue to be so. Check out Richard Topol's Bio Now All materials copyright 2021 by Mark Rifkin / This Week in New York, THE INSIDER'S GUIDE TO THE CITY SINCE 2001, this week in lectures, signings, panel discussions, workshops, and Q&As. And I wanted to be his friend. Bikeman will be available to listen to online on demand from September 8-18, 2022. But still there was that sense of, Whos producing a new eleven-person play, with nobody famous? He came in with his finished draft and we did a reading of it, prepandemic and in-person. We do not want to be shut down. It went really well and theyre, like, We want to produce this and we have a slot. Ive actually asked that of some of my Jewish friends too. I love Charles. twi-ny: You finally returned to the stage in November in Portland with Searching for Mr. He came in with his finished draft and we did a reading of it, prepandemic and in-person. It was this biodrama about Lukas and it was missing something. Photo Coverage: THE MERCHANT OF VENICE After Party. It goes from Molly just clinking one note to me playing something schematic to Peyton [Lusk] playing that lovely Chopin piece to the end; the piano has a journey too. Rich Topol poses with a hot car on set of EPIX series Godfather of Harlem. ( 2013-04-21) (USA) Chronology. Look, we live in a world where the hate for other has been unleashed. Behind him in his living room is a landscape by his mother-in-law, the painter and teacher Cornelia (Brendel) Foss. At that time I was reading Charles, actually. But because its about one of the hardest things and most personal struggles that Ive experienced for the last forty-six years of my life, since my father died, it was scary to share, but it felt worth sharing. We did a developmental workshop in June up in Maine. Josh is a writer. Or is it not? And then we did a couple of Zoom workshops. But I feel like he shouldnt be a better piano player than I am in this play. rt: Exactly, the third guy from the left. So we had a lot of time processing it with Josh and helping him wrangle this epic piece into what you saw. . And the play started to be about that. All events can be watched for free on YouTube, although donations will be accepted, to be split between the Acting Company and Jeffrey Wrights Brooklyn for Life!, a nonprofit that supports Brooklyn health-care workers and small businesses, primarily restaurants. 131 West 55th St. between Sixth & Seventh Aves. I am pleasantly surprised at how many hundreds of people are coming to see the show every day. Willy was like, I want to write a one-man show for you. And I asked him about managing the 73 Mets. The business is entirely shut down. His father, Jacob Topol, was Russian and in the early 1930s immigrated to Mandatory Palestine, where he worked as a plasterer; [4] [5] he also served in the Haganah paramilitary organization. We did a developmental workshop in June up in Maine. Manhattan Theatre Club is presenting the world premiere of Prayer for the French Republic, written by Drama Desk Award winner Joshua Harmon and directed by Tony Award winner David Cromer. Originally from Larchmont, NY, he now lives in New York City with his wife, actress Eliza Foss, and their daughter. Francis Benhamou, Jeff Seymour and Yair Ben Dor in Prayer for the French Republic (courtesy of Matthew Murphy). And there were conversations among the cast about, Well, what do we do at home? Photo Coverage: On the Red Carpet for the 62nd Annual Obie Awards! He escaped the Nazis. He holds an MFA in Acting from NYU's Graduate Acting Program and a BA in Political Science from Brown University. 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