Broadway Baby

My sister called me about 1 a.m. New York time to let me know that Kristina's Broadway debut was an absolute smash. And that she's going on again in today's matinee. How cool is that? I got e-mail from Jim Newman, director of What's My Line Live on Stage, who managed to get to the show last night. He wrote:

So I just returned from the theatre having seen your niece's Broadway debut. "August: Osage County" is a play full of great lines and great performances. Kristina fit right in. Had I not known that it was her first night on Broadway ever, I would have thought she'd been part of the opening night cast along with all the other fantastic actors.

She looked radiant and beautiful (what a head of hair!)

She did not appear in the first act of the three act play, but she opens the second act with a four page monologue! She got laughs and applause on her lines, she had a big old kissing scene. Her character was playful and nervous and fragile and self-deluding and Kristina nailed every aspect.

During the curtain call, as usual the actors with less stage time take their bows first and the leads come last. In this case the four leads take their bows together. There was Kristina in the final four. It was a big, meaty role.

Thanks for letting my know about this. I would have missed it otherwise and it's not the type of experience I would have liked to miss.

I thought it was great to get an unbiased opinion of the performance . My sister said she sat through the monologue with tears rolling down her face--not the reaction a director might want to see in the audience of a comedy, but she's incredibly proud of her talented daughters. Me too.