PhotosSpend a Busy Two-Show Day with James Lecesne at The Absolute Brightness of Leonard PelkeyJames Lecesne invites readers to come along on a two-show day at his acclaimed solo play The Absolute Brightness of Leonard Pelkey. Enjoy!
By
Matthew Blank
September 23, 2015
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Spend a Busy Two-Show Day with James Lecesne at The Absolute Brightness of Leonard Pelkey
Spend a Busy Two-Show Day with James Lecesne at The Absolute Brightness of Leonard Pelkey
James Lecesne invites readers to come along on a two-show day at his acclaimed solo play The Absolute Brightness of Leonard Pelkey. Enjoy!
38 PHOTOS
Where the day begins - usually at 8AM (no alarm).
I love the tree outside my window - we’ve been lovers for 25 years.
James Lecesne
8:05 AM - Nothing happens without that first cup of coffee. The cup was a gift from my dear friends Melanie and Molly, who live on Cape Cod - I’ve been missing them this summer, but the cup allows me a moment every morning to think of them.
James Lecesne
Every morning I sit at my desk, check my email and then begin to work on whatever writing project I’ve got going. Right now I’m working on a Young Adult novel about a kid who is facing the reality of that his grandmother has Alzheimer's.
9:35 AM - Your Neighborhood Office - Johnny Wong works Saturdays at YNO, which is the heart and the hands of the West Village. Our local mailspot that acts as concierge, post office, and personal assistant. I’d be lost without them. Just there to mail something. And advertise my show!
James Lecesne
9:45 Breakfast - Pretty much the same every day - granola, yogurt, fruit. What’s not to like?
James Lecesne
10:05 Dean stopped by to visit with iced coffee. We talked about Buddhism and chanted a bit. Nam Myo Ho Renge Kyo http://www.sgi-usa.org/
James Lecesne
12:40 PM - On My Bike - and up the Westside Highway bike path toward the theater.
James Lecesne
12:45 PM - My trusty Schwinn parked outside of Adella, the fabulous wine bar across from the theater.
James Lecesne
12:50 PM - Every Saturday there is a greenmarket outside of Manhattan Plaza, across from the Theater. TOMATOES!
James Lecesne
12:55 PM - Ran into actor, Barbara Garrick sitting outside of The Little Pie Company. Getting ready to see a matinee of Daddy Long Legs on Broadway
James Lecesne
With Barbara Garrick
James Lecesne
1:05 PM - We ran into Matt Cody, an actor who lives at Manhattan Plaza!!
James Lecesne
1:15 PM Sean our House Manager!!
James Lecesne
1:15PM - Karen - Box Office!
James Lecesne
1:15 PM - Ross, who sells our Merch and keeps the Brightness happening in the lobby.
James Lecesne
1:20 PM My dressing table.
James Lecesne
1:20 PM - The Absolute Team! Hannah Woodward, Stage Manager; Grace Richardson, Production Manager and Alex Orbovich, Company Manager.
James Lecesne
1:25 PM My understudy, Kevin Bernard. “We got lucky with him,” said Hannah, our Stage Manager.
James Lecesne
My fan mail. To be answered!
James Lecesne
1:30 PM My costumes - made by the talented and amazing Paul Marlow. He makes me look good.
http://www.paul-marlow.com/
James Lecesne
1:55 PM - T-minus five minutes to Showtime. As seen on Otto’s clock, a gift from producer Daryl Roth.
James Lecesne
2:00 PM PM Backstage and looking onto the stage, about to go on for the matinee.
James Lecesne
Talk back with members of The Hudson Valley LGBT Center in Jersey City.
James Lecesne
3:20PM - Look who stopped by! Daryl Roth, our producer.
James Lecesne
4:00 PM - Meeting with audience members outside the theater - Sarah Polen, Phillip Hall, Joseph Kissing and Frank Blass
James Lecesne
3:35 Back on my bike and down the Westside Highway bike path.
James Lecesne
3:40 PM A quick nap on the grass along the river. A beautiful day.
James Lecesne
3:50 PM Warby Parker. I lost my reading glasses and stopped by the amazing Warby Parker to get them replaced. Mal gave me $10 off because she said it’s a drag to lose your glasses.
James Lecesne
4:15 PM - My Apartment Building in late afternoon, late summer light. My fellow tenants and I have just fought our landlord who was trying to evict us, despite the fact that the building is rent-stabilized. Took us two and half years, but we won! Home sweet.
James Lecesne
4:45 PM Reading Ken Corbett’s Murder Over A Girl, A psychologist's gripping, troubling, and moving exploration of the brutal murder of a possibly transgender middle school student by an eighth grade classmate. True story.
James Lecesne
6:30 PM Back on my bike up the westside Highway. Setting sun
James Lecesne
7PM I’m embroidering a quote from the Tempest. Seems only right. It’s a pillow case:
"Yea, all which it inherit, shall dissolve,
And, like this insubstantial pageant faded,
Leave not a rack behind. We are such stuff
As dreams are made on; and our little life
Is rounded with a sleep."
James Lecesne
Dinner! Hannah and Grace get sandwiches!! It’s sandwich Saturday!
James Lecesne
7:30 PM We watch Iain Loves Theater Review. Iain is 7 years old and he saw the show on Wednesday. I’ve been eager to see what he had to say. “Let’s take a moment to think about Brightness…”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hgEri0rCF3g
James Lecesne
9:30 PM After the show at Adella for drinks with friends, Mike and Rick, who are visiting from Provincetown.
James Lecesne
10:30 Back on my bike up the Westside Highway toward home.
Based on his best-selling novel "Absolute Brightness," the production plays the Westside Theatre.
The show is written and performed by Lecesne and directed by Drama Desk nominee Tony Speciale. It features music by Tony winner Duncan Sheik (Spring Awakening). The production also has have scenic design by Jo Winiarski, lighting design by Matt Richards, sound design by Christian Frederickson, projection design by Aaron Rhyne and costumes by Paul Marlow with original animation and photography by Matthew Sandager.
In The Absolute Brightness of Leonard Pelkey, Lecesne portrays the various characters of a small Jersey shore town as they struggle to comprehend the mysterious disappearance of a teenager. Through these differing viewpoints, the secrets of the mystery, as well as those of the community, are slowly unveiled.
Lecesne is a writer and performer whose short film "Trevor" won an Academy Award. Also the recipient of a Drama Desk Award and nominated for an Emmy, he has created several acclaimed solo shows and collaborated with artists such as Mike Nichols, Elaine May and Linda Lavin.
Absolute Brightness is produced by Darren Bagert, Daryl Roth, Jane Dubin, Curtis Forsythe, Michael Mayer, Diane Procter, Seaview Productions and Minerva Productions/Joshua Goodman.
Tickets are $85 and available at Telecharge or by calling (212) 239-6200, or at AbsoluteBrightnessPlay.com. The Westside Theatre is located at 407 West 43rd St.
Filmed in 2023, the one-night-only event featured Brian Stokes Mitchell, Audra McDonald, Peter Friedman, and more from the Ahrens and Flaherty musical's original cast.
Surrounded by period-accurate, 19th-century holiday decorations lit via candlelight, the 70-minute production is based on Dickens' own script of the classic.
