Theatre Gigante Tells Spalding Gray's 'Stories'

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Photo Credit: Robert M Powell

Theatre Gigante conjures fragmented biographical refractions reflected through five performers on a small stage with Spalding Gray: Stories Left to Tell. Spalding Gray’s fearless, unflinching examinations of a life in the second half of the 20th century echo through three women and two men on an almost entirely bare stage. Each performer lends a unique voice that celebrates the universality of human existence as read into the life of one celebrated storyteller.

Gray’s unique voice and delivery feel a bit disorienting at first coming from the voices of so many others who aren’t him. The production wastes little time in casting enough light on the idiosyncrasies of one person’s life to cast shadows on deeper, more universal issues that examine the human condition.

Each voice explores Gray’s life from a distinctly different direction. John Kishline’s thoughtful, intellectual resonance pulls a soft silence around some of Gray’s more thoughtful family moments. Mark Anderson adds a playfully ragged presence to the stage delivering Gray’s more adventurous side. Deborah Clifton lends warmth to her performance sitting behind a desk reading excerpts from Gray’s journals. Jill Anna Ponasik’s crisp sense of humor is a perfect match for Gray’s whimsical bewilderment at the professional end of Gray’s life. Isabelle Kralj is unabashedly open to Gray’s romantic side.

Kralj and Anderson also direct the show, keeping it moving quite well as moments drift in an enjoyable, meandering chronology echoing through 80 minutes without intermission. Spalding Gray himself closes the show as reflected in a video image projected in the radiant glow of the late storyteller.

Stories Left to Tell ran for one week only. For more information on future Theatre Gigante shows, visit theatregigante.org.