(l-r backrow) " David Cromer, Pierre Epstein, Jeff Seymour, Molly Ranson, Betsy Aidem, And so the ones that I was willing to share were the ones that couldnt be avoided and, I guess, were the most important. And there were conversations among the cast about, Well, what do we do at home? My father died in 1975; I dont remember whether I jumped ship in 74 or 75. During our wide-ranging Zoom conversation, Topol is thoughtful and generous, laughing and smiling . 212-581-1212 The Lucky Starbegan previews on April 26, 2022 in Theater A and opened May 5 for a run through June 12, 2022. But I feel like he shouldnt be a better piano player than I am in this play. His father, Jacob Topol, was Russian and in the early 1930s immigrated to Mandatory Palestine, where he worked as a plasterer; [4] [5] he also served in the Haganah paramilitary organization. But were still on track for the fall. Now, of course, Im totally madly in love with Patrick and I wouldnt have it any other way. Then we got into the rehearsal space in December. Tuesday Sunday through March 27, $99 He covered everything. Ive always had this obsession with searching for a father and he was my father-in-law, so lets do that. And putting it up and investing in it, saying, Im sorry, this is too important. The actor was ecstatic as he began his journey to fatherhood, it had been greatly anticipated, so when it eventually happened, he became dedicated to the course. And then we did a couple of Zoom workshops. But Im also not religious. Im a tree worshiper. Why am I doing this play? So then the pandemic hit and immediately I got the virus. rt: I think he would be disappointed. Is it just Jewy enough? That was so much fun. They bicycled around Manhattan delivering the scripts because they didnt want to email them. What was that like? I was like, No, no, no. It was so satisfying. rt: Yeah. twi-ny: Thats really interesting to me, because you fit so well as Patrick. He was really amazing. Get the fuck out of here. At least in that experience I can cut myself some slack. I know I was a Mets fan in 73, and then we moved, and my next-door neighbor was a Yankees fan. Rich Topol is third guy from the right in cast and crew photo from Prayer for the French Republic opening night (photo 2022 by Daniel Rader). Lets do what we can. And then because the pandemic happened, we both had the time to really work on it. And so, kicking and screaming, it became more and more about my relationship to Lukas and then my relationship to fatherhood. Pierre Epstein, Peyton Lusk, Jeff Seymour, Francis Benhamou, Nancy Robinette, Kenneth Tigar, Ari Brand, Pierre Epstein, Peyton Lusk, and Richard If you can listen to him playing on Lenny Bernsteins Age of Anxiety, listen to the piano on that. He thanked me, saying that he was actually the understudy and that was the only time he had gone on. Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play (Outer Critics Circle Awards) for Indecent . What was the experience like sharing your life, in person, in front of people, back onstage? He escaped the Nazis. So thats the sort of glib answer. And without, I think, insulting anyone and without becoming didactic and preachy. Originally from Larchmont, NY, he now lives in New York City with his wife, actress Eliza Foss, and their daughter. I remember at the time talking with people and saying, Oh my God, this is the longest period of time between . rt: He was really sweet and really happy to be there and to be seeing this play with his wife, Carmen, having this stuff brought to life. Then we got into the rehearsal space in December. Im not going to risk that. And I survived. rt: He does a great job of giving everybody a valid argument. Thats the exterminator, not exterminating Jews but exterminating bugs that Nazis would think are like Jews. BWW TV: Performance Highlights from MTC's REGRETS! Manhattan Theatre Clubhas announced a final extension forPrayer for the French Republic, written by Drama Desk Award winnerJoshua Harmonand directed by Tony Award winnerDavid Cromer. David Aaron Baker, Nina Hellman, Richard Topol & More to Star in THE UNBELIEVING at 59E59 Theaters by Chloe Rabinowitz - Sep 12, 2022. Im hoping to bring the show to New York, but I think doing it here, thatll be scary. Ive been to some plays where Im sitting right next to total strangers and everybody has their mask on, and this was the same. Its a symbol, a metaphor for the journey of our family. There was a sense of having more in the heads of the director and the producers, what we could imagine this great thing being, that infused the development and the rehearsal and experience of doing it. I play my father-in-law. All materials copyright 2021 by Mark Rifkin / This Week in New York, THE INSIDER'S GUIDE TO THE CITY SINCE 2001, TWI-NY TALK: RICHARD TOPOL PRAYER FOR THE FRENCH REPUBLIC, this week in lectures, signings, panel discussions, workshops, and Q&As. Bikeman will be available to listen to online on demand from September 8-18, 2022. It was this biodrama about Lukas and it was missing something. Topol was born on September 9, 1935, in Tel Aviv, [1] [3] in what was then Mandatory Palestine (now Israel ). Showing Editorial results for richard topol. Since these are your lines and theyre about you, if a joke didnt quite take or something emotional didnt register with the audience, is it more or less upsetting than when youre reciting somebody elses words and something might not go as expected? Theyre like, To be honest, Charles should be, if not actually North African, at least more Sephardic, more Middle Eastern. He is married to actress Eliza Foss; they have one daughter, and Richard was close with his father-in-law, the late German-American composer, pianist, and conductor Lukas Foss. Hes an extremely amiable mensch who clearly loves his chosen profession. So weve been careful and thoughtful and fortunate, and I hope we continue to be so. Intense. The truth is, most of the play, I play other people. Topol was raised in Mamaroneck and lost his father when he was twelve. And then one of our stage managers tested positive, and luckily she didnt give it to anybody else. 131 West 55th St. between Sixth & Seventh Aves. And I survived. rt: Yeah. So it was thrilling to be back in a theater on a stage with a live audience, even though they were masked. rt: Exactly. Photo Coverage: THE MERCHANT OF VENICE After Party. Manhattan Theatre Club's world premiere of REGRETS, the new play by Matt Charman, directed by Carolyn Cantor will open tonight, Tuesday, March 27 at MTC at New York City Center - Stage I (131 West 55th Street). He came in with his finished draft and we did a reading of it, prepandemic and in-person. I remember at the time talking with people and saying, Oh my God, this is the longest period of time between . BWW TV Flashback: THE NORMAL HEART Closes Today on Broadway, STAGE TUBE: THE NORMAL HEART and Today's Gay Youth, STAGE TUBE: THE NORMAL HEART Box Office Triples Since Tony Wins; Broadway Community Shows Support, Outer Critics Circle Awards - 2017 - Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play. He had a mind that was brilliant and fingers that could play I dont know if youve ever heard him play or listened to something. rt: Actually, it sort of timed out pretty well, you know? Drama Shaun and Lea make a big life decision and are pleasantly surprised by the support they receive from their friends at the hospital; Asher struggles to accept that he and his father may never truly understand one another. rt: Oh, less upsetting because I know Im not a professional. And in the scenes where I play myself, most of that writing is me, having written down my versions of stories that Ive experienced. "Like. The truth is, most of the play, I play other people. We did a developmental workshop in June up in Maine. I had seen a number of shows when I came back from Maine, and some had nobody in the audience and some were jam packed. We thought, Okay, thats an interesting idea for a play. Did you enjoy working on Zoom? And she said, You just got an offer from Manhattan Theatre Club for Prayer for the French Republic. And Im not going to any of that stuff. Its a short question, right? Josh was holding it close. The production opened last night, Tuesday, October 8, and features Francois Battiste (Broadway's Magic/ Bird) as Reggie Jackson and Elston Howard,Chris Henry Coffey (Off-Broadway's Water by the Spoonful) as Joe DiMaggio,Bill Dawes(Broadway's Lombardi) as Mickey Mantle/Thurman Munson,Christopher Jackson(Broadway's In the Heights, Memphis) asDerek Jeter, Wendy Makkena (Broadway's Side Man) as Carmen Berra, Keith Nobbs (Broadway's Lombardi) as Billy Martin, Richard Topol (Broadway'sThe Normal Heart, The Merchant of Venice) as Yogi Berra, John Wernke (Broadway's The Lyons) as Lou Gehrig, and C.J. Broadway: Lemml in Indecent (Outer Critics Circle Award Nomination), Larry David's Fish in the Dark, The Merchant of Venice with Al Pacino, Tony-winning revivals Awake & Sing! Just last night, Manhattan Theatre Club celebrated opening night of the Broadway premiere of the Pulitzer Prize-winning How I Learned to Drive, at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre. I think a lot of people forget that. I met him once at a Mickey Mantle Foundation dinner at Gracie Mansion. I went to a concert where everybody had to be masked and there were some empty seats, but it was pretty much sold out. rt: There was a computer open and his computerized voice would come through. That theater had stayed open through the pandemic because Maine had so few cases, because of the regulations, and because of their skill at keeping people safe. So it was thrilling to be back in a theater on a stage with a live audience, even though they were masked. I love acting with other people, and it cant be about me because Im not interesting. And audiences have come. Are you Jewish, or is it just a coincidence that you play a lot of Jews? I was like, No, no, no, no, no. twi-ny: Okay, for my last question, I have a sort of bone to pick with you. What was the rehearsal process like? I mean, I also shot some TV shows over the course of the pandemic, so all of the Zoom stuff felt more like the way an actor like me connects to short-term work. And so, kicking and screaming, it became more and more about my relationship to Lukas and then my relationship to fatherhood. Richard Topol's 11 research works with 198 citations and 348 reads, including: Complex Remanence vs. We do not want to be shut down. He holds an MFA in Acting from NYU's Graduate Acting Program and a BA in Political Science from Brown University. Im no Josh Harmon. twi-ny: Jon Stewart would ask, is it too Jewy? And I mean, I havent read every play in the last ten years, but Ive read a lot of plays and Ive seen a lot of plays, and I thought, this is astoundingly amazing. I dont think Im as extreme as Patrick; Patrick is a Jew who doesnt know anything about his Judaism and is happy to not know anything about his Judaism and is somebody who thinks of organized religion as what he says in the play, which is bullshit.. It felt to me that it was really important that this play be put up during the election. Shipwreck was the closest we got to working on a play because we rehearsed for a couple of weeks and it felt like, Okay, Im going to rehearsal today. [Director] Saheem Ali was great and it was a great cast, obviously in a really interesting play. rt: Thats when I was a Mets fan. And so the guy lost his physical abilities and his mental abilities. And so I was so excited to be part of the beginning of it. But the larger questions that Josh asks in the play relate to almost everyone. 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