I did come to Princeton for a reason and that was so see my friend Sam Gates in this play "In the Red and Brown Water." It is part of a trilogy called "The Brother/Sister Plays." The theatre is the Tony Award-winning McCarter Theatre. Wow. The play was fantastic in content, direction, acting and production. I was hooked. I love plays that are done in a story-telling style and this was one at its best. I was just absorbed.
The playwright, Tarell Alvin McCraney, is 29 years old. He grew up in the projects in Miami and his mom died young of drug addiction and AIDS. His dad raised him and his siblings and Tarell graduated from the Yale School of Drama. What a great investment anyone who supported him has made. He is a writer with loads of promise, much of it realized on stage tonight.
Sam Gates is a friend of mine, but I had never seen him perform. He was great and I was proud of him! He has got a great presence on stage and I forgot it was him. That is good. I told him I find I am always harder on actors I know because I am subconsciously accusing them of being themselves, but most often they are not. And he wasn't. Great job Sam.
Me and Sam after the curtain. A terrific guy. I missed my train so I got to meet the whole cast and see a bit more of the town. It was raining and "The Wizard of Oz" was playing outdoors on a jumbo screen in a park. A memorable image. Got home around 1:30am, but it was all well worth it.
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