Gray Matter

Comments (0) By Keith Bowers Wednesday, Jan 12 2011

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Spalding Gray was odd and funny and brilliant and (ultimately) tragic. The nerdy northeastern intellectual wrote poetry, founded an experimental theater group, acted in motion pictures and on TV, and finished a novel. More than anything, he's remembered for his minimalist, autobiographical monologues in the 1980s. With a desk, a microphone, a glass of water, and a spiral notebook, Gray was LiveJournal before there was a LiveJournal. He turned several of these performances, including Swimming to Cambodia, into movies. But his battle with depression and bipolar disorder was no secret. His mother killed herself at age 52. He did the same in 2004. In Spalding Gray: Stories Left to Tell, five actors bring the monologuist's spirit back to the stage by portraying different parts of his psyche: love, career, adventure, family, and journal. The production was conceived by Gray's widow and collaborator Kathleen Russo. It mixes parts of his published works with previously private writings, and the actors vary in age, race, and gender. Gray's inner life was always the undisputed center of his monologues; this plural-logue, if you will, shows that the odd, funny, brilliant, and tragic man also reflected the world that encountered him.
Tue., Jan. 25, 8 p.m.; Thursdays-Saturdays, 8 p.m. Starts: Jan. 25. Continues through Feb. 26, 2011