There and Back Again

Tonight I had the pleasure of watching on stage and meeting the great Sir Ian McKellen. Having seen almost all of his movies, I had to somehow see him on stage. Besides, that is where his career started. So when www.theonering.net announced that he was going to have a one-man show to benefit the Vancouver Playhouse (in Vancouver, BC of course), I knew I had to pull all resources together to see him. Lucky me, Vancouver isn’t far at all from San Francisco and almost like a miracle, my calendar is free on the days before and after the show, which meant I got me an instant vacation! What could be better?

A Knight Out with Ian McKellen was 90 minutes of him conversing with the audience. He read Shakespeare and J. R. R. Tolkien among others, answered questions, shared anecdotes about acting and life and talked about his coming out as a gay man and the politics that still restrict gay rights. It was 90 minutes of pure brilliance! Watching Ian McKellen improvise is probably one of the world’s greatest wonders.

The stage was as cozy as it could get. There was a nice Persian rug and a nice, comfy sofa. Beside the sofa was a glass coffee table holding a bottled water, a glass and a vase overflowing with flowers. He later used the table to set his laptop - free advertising for Macintosh right there! - and books. Not far from the sofa was a mini-podium, on top of which was a bobble-head Gandalf who is of course, his most famous movie role to date. Lined up in front of the stage were six (if I counted and remember them correctly) pairs of shoes: a blue suede tennis shoes (John Varvatos-kind), a red, light blue, white, and hideous silver/gray mule-type shoes (I call them ER-Doctor shoes) and a dark brown dress-shoes.

Ian entered the theater from the back of the orchestra section. He was bundled up in a Burberry raincoat and scarf. One hand was carrying an umbrella, the other a Union Jack flag. He wore only his slippers so that later he could let the audience decide which of the six pairs he should wear with his outfit. To my dismay the audience picked the hideous silver/gray one. After taking off the scarf and raincoat, he took off a blue blazer to reveal a brown cardigan sweater, a white shirt and a blue tie. His outfit almost reminds me of Mr. Rogers, only Ian looked very GQ.

I was watching the show intently so that I couldn’t keep up with the task of mentally taking notes of everything that was going on. Especially since he was improvising a lot, it was difficult to remember every single bit when I transfer my mental notes on to paper. So instead of attempting to pour out every detail, I will list what I think were the highlights of the show:

***The impersonations were hysterical. He said it is a dilemma for an actor to decide how to enter the stage. Some do it from the right side, others from the left side. He then played a guessing game with the audience where he would impersonate an actor’s entrance and we’d guess who it was. No one guessed Jerry Seinfeld but someone got Elton John. He also did a really funny Dame Edna impersonation. The last one I couldn’t guess. He did a lot of twirling on the floor. I know I’m wrong, but it looked like a 1980’s Madonna impersonation to me.

***Someone asked if he still gets nervous about acting or being on stage. He said “no” without a blink. He went on to talk about how Directors direct but that they don’t go with you - not that you’d want them to.

***He was asked where home was and he said home was wherever he was at the moment he is asked.

***He auctioned off one of the shoes lined up on stage. The white one, he said, was the same one Magneto wore at the end of X-Men: The Movie. It went to a young man named Charlie who quoted the famous MasterCard commercial - for everything else there’s a MasterCard - when Ian said he can’t take credit cards.

***He auctioned off a lot of others items including a Frodo Lives baseball cap (I wanted that!) and an X-Men silver necklace. Someone from the balcony asked how much for a handshake and he said $5. And yes, when he was auctioning off the cap, someone’s bid was “one night in bed.” Nice try, dude!

***His delivery of Oscar Wilde’s love that dare not speak its name, trial speech was moving.

***Every now and then he would talk to the Gandalf bobble-head or tuck it under his arms and walk around the stage with it. Naturally, its head would bobble as they walked around. Ian then asked the toy why it kept bobbing its head. He answered in a mock Gandlalf voice that it keeps bobbing its head because he - Ian - kept tugging its bottom. He broke the figurines bobbing head when he later dropped it (intentionally?).

***He read excerpts from J. R. R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings to the delight of everyone. His reading of The Bridge of Kazad-dum and the battle with the Balrog was magnificent. When he whispered, “fly, you fools!” I almost got up to give him a standing-O!

***He did an amateurish recital of Henry V’s speech as part of his very funny story on his Cambridge audition. He ended the story by telling us Cambridge gave him a full scholarship, which was revoked a year after cause he wasn’t working too hard. He was acting too much.

***I have to say Sir Ian was born to read and deliver Shakespeare. His Tullus Aufidius (from Coriolanus) piece was poignant.

***He also did a piece from Robert Bolt’s A Man for All Season. He also read this letter written by a gay to his parents, telling them the truth about himself. I believe the letter was an excerpt from Armistead Maupin’s Tales of the City. Ian said his letter to his parents had they been alive when he came out, would have said the same thing.

***He gave us a funny story about his friend David Hockney and why David is fond of the cinema. He said in one of David’s visit to the cinema, the man next to him took his (David) hand and put it on his privates. (Sir Ian of course, used a more explicit term but I will leave that out His punch-line came in a few seconds later…”I’ve loved the cinema ever since,” said David.

***Someone asked him about Harry Potter. I shouted out, “Dumbledore!” and then he said, “Oh yes, what a pity,” referring of course to Richard Harris who recently passed away. He had a short story about the first time he met Harris and touched a bit on Harris’ comment before his passing that Ian was a passionless actor. He said no, he wasn’t up for the Dumbledore role. Well I’m still keeping my fingers crossed. Chris Lee — much as I love him — is not D’Dore. He’s Count Duoku — the evil Jedi — for crying out loud!

***He gave us a preview of the opening scene for Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers. It’s going to be exciting! I won’t post it here so I won’t spoil it for anyone. Email me if you want to know.

***Encore was hilarious! It took me awhile to get into it but it was basically a reading of the different definitions of gale forces. But you know Sir Ian, he made it sound like a battle cry in one of Shakespeare’s tragedies!

After the show, there was a banquet and there I shook his hand and talked to him a bit. It was a surreal moment. Thankfully, I didn’t say anything stupid. My sister and I told him that we flew in all the way from San Francisco, California and that we were so close to shaking his hand too at the Pride Parade in June 2002 and he was like, “did you really?” in that nice Brit accent of his. I took pictures of him milling around with other folks and yes even though I didn’t get his autograph I did get picture taken with him so I’m happy, happy. Besides, seeing him on-stage and actually shaking his hand is enough of a souvenir for me.

All in all it was an astounding show and evening all because the great Sir Ian Mckellen is GREAT! He was funny and witty, eloquent and charming. And may I add that he is a very sexy and good-looking man! I don’t think I’ve ever had a stage actor move me as much. As much as I love his movies, I hope he would do more stage plays and one-man shows too. When he does, I’ll be there rain or shine. He’s definitely a can’t-miss actor.

(Note: It rained in Vancouver all night long.)

Background music: Gabrielle’s self-titled album.