Him (Walken play)
Him is a 1995 play written by actor
Cast
- Christopher Walken - Him/Her
- Rob Campbell - Rob
- Larry Block - Doc/Borden/Taxman/Stylagi
- Barton Heyman - Joe/Mel
- Peter Appel - Al/Disappointed Fan/Stylagi
- Ellen McElduff - Nurse/Dolores/Journalist[4]
Synopsis
Taking place in an "unspecified present",
Music
Walken does not utilize many impressions of Presley other than clothing and hair style,[3] instead singing in his own voice, with an occasional "Tennessee Williams-style" accent. Musical Direction and Sound Design was done by Mike Nolan, who led the band, "Organ Donor." The band played the show live every night in the stage right orchestra pit. The original music, written by Mike Nolan and Scott Williams, was contemporary to the audience rather than to Presley.
- Mike Nolan - Guitar, Pedal Steel Guitar
- Scott Williams - Bass
- Annie Gosfield - Organ, Sampler, Synthesizer
- Michael Evans - Drums and Percussion
Artistry
The main poster for the play consisted of the idiosyncratic Presley hair-style set against a yellow background, with 'HIM' in large, pink lettering in the center. Walken requested such imagery, as it was his main physical impression of Presley.[8] Walken himself spends a large amount of time during the play in a green velvet jumpsuit and a cape as he plays Presley, aside from the end scenes as the waitress where he dresses in "female garb".[7]
Performances
The play was deemed as a "workshop" and ran for three weeks of previews followed by thirteen performances.[7] It ran for 75 minutes at each showing, with no intermissions.[4][7]
Reception
A review by Michael Feingold stated that "You [Walken] write good strong sentences - not true of every actor who takes up playwriting - and your reflections on the strange state we call celebrity in America aren't foolish. But you haven't written a play yet. Disjointed as modern art has been, loose remarks, anecdotes, and routines around a theme still don't add up to a dramatic form."[1] Other critics agreed on Walken's performance as "strange and rambling"[9] or a "farrago of nonsense"[7] while critics Thomas Hischak and Gerald Bordman identified it as the oddest play in New York that year.[7]
The
The New Yorker writes that "When he [Walken] dons Elvis's cape, he seems ready to take flight."[5] However the New York Magazine theatre critic, John Simon, referred to it as "garbage" and "maudlin masturbation". He describes Walken's performance as self-indulgent and scornful.[3]
We got a series of pretentious and unfunny vaudeville sketches that dimly and distortingly alluded to Elvis's life and work, but without either analyzing or satirizing him, or making any kind of comprehensible point. The whole thing just maundered on smugly and murkily, reminding me of the joke: What do you get if you cross a mafioso with a deconstructionist? An offer you can't understand.[3]
Notes
- ^ a b c "Review by Michael Feingold". Archived from the original on 2016-12-12. Retrieved 2007-03-25.
- ^ "Christopher Walken - The Song and Dance Man". Celebrating Christopher Walken. Archived from the original on 2016-10-19. Retrieved 2009-02-18.
- ^ a b c d e f Simon, p. 72.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Canby, Vincent (January 6, 1995). "THEATER REVIEW: HIM; Walken Conjures Up The King". New York Times. Retrieved 2009-02-18.
- ^ a b Wolcott, James (January 9, 1995). "The Tak of the Town, "Walken on the Wild Side"". The New Yorker. Retrieved 2009-02-19.
- ^ a b Plasketes, p. 103.
- ^ a b c d e f Hischak and Bordman, p. 369.
- ^ Bucher, p. 178.
- ^ Tantich, p. 50.
References
- Bucher, S. G. All Access: The Making of Thirty Extrodinary Graphic Designers (London, 2004)
- New York Teathre Critics' Reviews (New York, 1995)
- Plaketes, G. Images of Elvis Presley in American Culture, 1977-1997 (New York, 1997)
- Simon, J. Big Famine, Small Feast from New York Magazine Vol. 28, No. 5. (New York, 1995)
- Tantich, R. Plays and Players (New York, 1995)