The Columnist and John Lithgow's bottom

On May 17, 2012, I had the pleasure of seeing the 2:00pm show of The Columnist at The Samuel J Friedman Theater. The show begins immediately with showing you a nude John Lithgow. He isn't putting on a show where you see him prancing about without his clothes, but he does remove his robe in such a way that he isn't trying to prevent you from seeing his bottom. It is quite a shock though. John Lithgow is a fairly famous actor, but for some reason it isn't common knowledge that he bares his buttocks on stage. When other actors/actresses do it, it is big news. Not for Dick Solomon.

I will break the rest of the show down by reviewing the plot, performances, and the theater/audience.Other than John Lithgow's bottom, the show is very good. It definitely was not what I expected; the blurb where I i first read about the show mentioned that it was a one-man show, but there were definitely a few more people in the performance. In fact, I was not the only person who expected a performance consisting of only John Lithgow; there were other people in the audience who also expected a solo show.

The Columnist is based on the life of journalist Joe Alsop, a closeted gay man who is very powerful in the world of journalism and politics. There is a bit of US history mixed throughout the play, so having a little bit of knowledge about JFK and Vietnam is fairly helpful, or some of the play just won't make sense. In fact, the play moves forward in time months and sometimes years, and a couple of these flashes forward in time are made evident by what is going on politically. The show is based on a book by Gore Vidal, which is based on Joe Alsop. Although I never knew Mr. Alsop personally, I imagine that the story does take some liberties, especially with both the opening and closing scenes. From the very start, the show makes it clear that Alsop's character is not one dimensional; he is arrogant but sometimes kind, he's gay, which is a hefty plot point, but the story doesn't need to bludgeon you with his sexuality, and there are many moments throughout the story where you expect him to have learned something from an interaction with another character, but you learn that he hasn't learned anything.

The plot is very enjoyable, up until the very end for me. I will not spoil anything, but I would have been fine with the play ending with the funeral scene. The last couple scenes were completely unnecessary in my opinion, and they feel so unrealistic that they break the illusion that you are watching something real. The cast of the play consisted only of six people or so, with a couple of the characters only being in a couple scenes. John Lithgow was in nearly every scene throughout the show, and it did not take long for you to forget that he was John Lithgow and to believe that he was this other person. He had a few flubbed lines, but this wasn't a big deal and they didn't detract from the performance. The show featured other actors who are all famous in their own right, but I don't remember any of their names and my playbill is not handy as I sit and type this at Bryant Park.

The theater was surprisingly small, which means that any seat you have is a good seat. It is off the main Broadway drag, so there weren't huge crowds or multiple food,drink, and souvenir peddlers, and the peddler who was there lacked the enthusiasm of the peddlers found at the bigger named shows. The audience consisted mainly of the elderly, which was something that I did not expect. The elderly audience members on both sides of me fell asleep multiple times during the show. There were also lots and lots of talkers, but also people who scolded them aggressively and suggested that they move outside. Coughers, sneezers, and all forms of sick people were present as well and performing their noisy crafts to the best of their ability.

I give this play a 8.75 out of 10. The overall experience was very enjoyable, and I would definitely recommend the play to others, especially if you enjoy John Lithgow, journalism, or politics.