Chekhov’s Mistess

“Bloomsday on Broadway” 2005

Walking into Symphony Space for their twenty-fourth annual “Bloomsday on Broadway” celebration, the first thing I noticed was that it was not nearly as crowded as last year’s Bacchanalian affair, where by midnight the event’s host Isaiah Sheffer could be found, McSorley’s in hand, lounging in the poster bed out front with a Molly model.

The second thing I noticed was the composition of the program, which seemed very different from years past. This was my fourth year – practically a tradition now – and I’ve never seen as many musical and extra-Ulysses readings on the program, which included among others, the original New York Times review of Finnegans Wake and James Joyce’s poetry set to music.

We arrived too late to catch the “Chorus of 34 Mollys,” but walked in during the “Whirlwind Tour of Women in Ulysses,” which set out the thematic plan of the six segments for the night. This year’s theme was “Love Literature Language Lust: Leopold’s Women Bloom.” And bloom they did. In one of the night’s stand-out performances Bernadette Quigley and Frank Delaney read from the Nausicaa episode (Symphony Space uses the Odyssean designations throughout). Ms. Quigley effused the precocious Gerty McDowell so well that by the time Bloom’s “Roman candle burst” and the narrative turned to Delaney’s excellently understated characterization of him, I felt a little dirty as if I were there on the beach myself, watching.

Unfortunately the cackling boys behind me seemed to think so too. I don’t mean to sound dull, but these guys were laughing so loudly – as if to make sure everyone around them knew that they were in on things – I questioned myself when I didn’t laugh at parts, as when Bloom said “near her monthlies” and the cacklers slapped their knees. Fortunately they didn’t stay long.

The Nausicaa episode was encouraging because shortly before, three actors read the “Wandering Rocks” episode pretty weakly and I thought it was going to be a long night. The programming of letters and music as punctuation between Ulysses readings served to break things up nicely though, and gave the readings a more orderly look. Typically there is a stream of actors entering and leaving the stage as others read which usually adds to the slightly chaotic feel of the night. The concentration on Bloom necessarily eliminated some of the more populated scenes and Stephen Colbert, an accurate if not exactly penetrating Bloom, spent a lot of time on stage and mostly with few fellow readers.

Among the singers, Ashley Davis’s “Shul Aroon” (“Walk, My Love”) was beautiful and appropriately melancholy, but the group Kaiku, who sang Joyce’s ill-fated Chamber Music poems set to music, was eerie with haunting slow moving harmonies and I felt like it was too much toward the end, like a distractingly melodramatic movie soundtrack.

Kate O’Brien sang “The Lass of Aughrim” setting a wistful mood for Fritz Weaver (the first actor to ever read in “Bloomsday on Broadway”) and his partner Rochelle Oliver to read the final passage of “The Dead.” Their reading was wonderful and sad right down to the final “…snow falling faintly through the universe and faintly falling, like the descent of their last end, upon all the living and the dead.”

Aside from the melancholy singers, Bloomsday on Broadway has a fun tone and part of that is seeing the cast of accomplished actors enjoying themselves. Although Frank “Angela’s Ashes” McCourt, who also wrote the introduction to last year’s book Yes I said Yes I will Yes, has been there for most of the 24 years of this celebration, he was absent last night as were a few others. But Frank’s convivial brother Malachy was there, this year sporting a bright green jacket instead of the boa and rouge of last year.

Now, if you’re around my age you may have had a crush on Barbara Feldon when you were but a wee little fella. Even in her 70’s she still looks and sounds just like Agent 99 from so many years ago. Other Symphony Space regulars, like Lois Smith and Terry Donnelly were there. Ms. Donnelly read Molly in the Penelope episode, which is read at the end of every show and I’ve yet to make it through, although more for the fact that I’m too tired by then to listen to someone read (even Molly) in a dark room.

About four hours into the readings, I was getting pretty sleepy, particularly after drinking warm McSorleys, but managed to hang on to listen to Marion Seldes, whom I love, read an excerpt of the Anna Livia Plurabelle episode from Finnegans Wake. That was preceded by Mac Barrett reading the original Wake review from the New York Times (interestingly, it was Ms. Seldes father, Gilbert Seldes who reviewed a smuggled copy of the banned Ulysses for The Nation) and followed by the recording of a different passage of Anna Livia Plurabelle from Mr. Joyce himself. That recording, which shows how rhythmic Finnegans Wake can be, was read by Joyce under very difficult circumstances when he could barely see. As the story goes, someone stood next to him and whispered the lines into his ear as he read.

I left the hall with James Joyce’s “My back my back my Bach” still ringing in my ear.

Update: Thanks to Stuart Greenhouse, I found out that there is a movie of Ulysses with Stephen Rea as Bloom. Yes, I’m doubtful.

Read widely, think well, and write often

comments

I haven’t been able to be there these years, maybe next year I’ll be able to--thanks for the detail. It sounds wonderful.

I have that recording of Joyce reading from ALP--it really is gorgeous, isn’t it?

    – Stuart Greenhouse (06/18  at  09:44 AM)

Agree wholeheartedly re “Bloomsday”.

Much better job this year---shorter, and with the music mixed in---more impact.

Bernadette Quigley’s Gerty was transcendent.

    – Mr. Dave (06/24  at  11:24 AM)

...and Fritz Weaver’s segment with Rochelle (sorry forgot her last name) really had me glued to the radio. While overall, my attention at times wavered, there were other times that brought back for me the feeling of “old time radio"---there I was hovered over the radio on a spring evening, like my grandparents did. But instead of “Fibber Magee & Molly” it was more “Steven & Gerty & Molly”!

    – Mr. Dave (06/24  at  11:28 AM)

I always liked the idea of the radio too. Although I’m afraid I would get distracted.

    – Bud Parr (06/24  at  01:17 PM)

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About this Post

• Posted by: Bud Parr
• Date: June 20, 2005
• Filed Under:
  Reading Railroad: Events

• Comments:4
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