The long, strange and wonderful journey Denver native Martin Moran has been on since writing “The Tricky Part” has now taken him to South Africa.
Moran is taking three weeks off from his role as Sir Robin in Broadway’s “Spamalot” to fulfill a dream. His one-man play, which recounts his sexual relationship from ages 12-15 with a grown man, is now being performed in Capetown. Though “The Tricky Part” has been performed in the United Kingdom, Johannesburg and Australia, this is the first time Moran is seeing it performed by another actor.
“I am in the midst of an incredible adventure,” Moran wrote by e-mail from Capetown. “It is overwhelming. So moving, this country, its history. It’s a whirlwind. Jet-lagged and amazed at … everything.”
“The Tricky Part” was a hit off-Broadway, across the country, and now around the world, but it was a particular sensation at Curious Theatre in 2005 – in the city where Moran’s story took place. It’s one that reaches into the unknowable – the collision of Catholicism with the pleasure of sexuality, all of which led a confused kid to the brink of suicide and, eventually, to grace.
“The Tricky Part” was made into a book, and Moran is working on a screenplay. But long ago he said the true test of his play would come when other actors took over.
Now, they have.
A South African reviewer hailed the actor now playing Martin: “Peter Hayes conveys years of battered nerves and alienated frustration. By revealing the things he enjoys, and what makes him tick, he claws his way back to normalcy.” The play was hailed as “an intimate confession presented with immaculate care … words flow in an unstoppable torrent, raw and powerful.”
Hayes discussed the challenge of playing Martin with local journalist Marianne Thamm.
“The tragedy of sexual initiation of this kind is that the child suffers and never shakes off the guilt and shame of having, at times, enjoyed it,” said Hayes, adding: “If you were not abused, you may never understand the confusion of desire. That stuff stays with you for life, and that is the truth of sexual abuse.”
Moran returns to Broadway’s “Spamalot” on Sept. 25. The national touring production opens here on Tuesday. Moran weighs in on our rundown of the best moments in Monty Python history on Page 3F.
“Blonde” goes MTV
It’s either desperation or unprecedented marketing genius: A juiced taping of “Legally Blonde,” which has been sputtering at the Broadway box office, will air at 11 a.m. Sept. 29 on MTV. It’s the first time in history a Broadway show will air on TV before closing.
MTV will combine tape from three performances – one normal, one without an audience, another free to theatergoers ages 15-25 (the target audience). Wags say it will expand the show’s audience, which dipped last week to 59 percent of capacity. Cynics say it eliminates any reason for TV viewers to then see the show live.
Whatever: Here in Denver it means we all get to see Wheat Ridge High grad Annaleigh Ashford (formerly Swanson) play Margot before she departs to star as Glinda in “Wicked” (it tapes before her final “Blonde” performance Sept. 23).
Briefly …
The Littleton Town Hall Arts Center has dedicated its current production of “Nunsense A-Men” to longtime costumer Mary June Anderson, who died in a July traffic accident (303-794-2787) …
Colorado native Mike Houston has been nominated for a New York Innovative Theatre Award for his solo performance in Jack Hanley’s “The Ledge.” Houston graduated from the University of Colorado-Boulder in 1999. Winners announced Sept. 24 …
Remember “Hats,” the musical on happy aging that premiered at the New Denver Civic Theatre – then left us after about five minutes? The producer, Sibling Theatricals, has signed a multiyear agreement with the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center to produce it at multiple Florida venues through 2009, with a two-year option. At least the newly released cast album features the original Denver cast. That’s about the only evidence left that it ever played here …
A preview performance for the Denver Center Theatre Company’s “You Can’t Take It With You” is free at 6:30 p.m. Thursday at the Stage Theatre. Tickets available beginning at 4:30 p.m., first-come, first-served …
And finally, welcome back to Anthony Holds, who’s going “Monty” on us again: The Navy veteran who played Jerry in the Arvada Center’s 2006 “The Full Monty,” is back as Sir Galahad (and others) in the national touring production of “Monty Python’s Spamalot.”
Theater critic John Moore can be reached at 303-954-1056 or jmoore@denverpost.com.
This week’s theater openings
TUE-OCT. 7 | Denver Center Attractions’ Monty Python’s “Spamalot”
THU-OCT. 20 | Denver Center Theatre Company’s “Third” (Space Theatre)
THU-SEPT. 30 | Colorado Festival of World Theatre | COLORADO SPRINGS
THU-OCT. 6 | Boulder Ensemble Theatre Company’s “The Glass Menagerie”
THU-OCT. 27 | El Centro Su Teatro’s “Bowl of Beings”
THU-OCT. 13 | Crossroads at Five Points’ “Voices from the Soul (Images in a Writer’s Mind)”
FRI-NOV. 24 | Carousel Dinner Theatre’s “Altar Boyz” | FORT COLLINS
FRI-SEPT. 29 | Backstage’s “Escanaba in da Moonlight” | BRECKENRIDGE
FRI-SEPT. 29 | Parker Arts Council’s “Deathtrap”
This week’s theater closings
TODAY | Denver Center Attractions’ “The Taffetas”
TODAY | Miners Alley Playhouse’s “Prelude to a Kiss” | GOLDEN
TODAY | Modern Muse’s “All in the Timing” (at the Bug Theatre)
FRI | Creede Repertory Theatre’s “Pygmalion”
SAT | Creede Rep’s “Leading Ladies” and “Everything in the Garden”
SAT | Rocky Mountain Rep’s “My Way” | GRAND LAKE
SAT | Arvada Festival Playhouse’s “Sin, Sex, and the CIA”
SAT | Longmont Theatre Company’s “The Foreigner”
SEPT. 23 | Jesters Dinner Theatre’s “The Wizard of Oz” | LONGMONT
This week’s podcast
RUNNING LINES | This week’s guests are Joan and Richard Bell, founders of Boulder’s Upstart Crow, now staging “The Hostage.” |denverpost.com/theater
