A desk, a chair, a notebook and a glass of water. For many theatregoers, this set-up is already enough to conjure one specific performer. They may be surprised, however, to find that Spalding Gray is currently surrounded by a political posters, panelled walls, props, costumes and -- gasp -- other actors. He plays William Russell in a revival of Gore Vidal's political drama, The Best Man, which opened Sept. 17 at the Virginia Theatre. It's far from the first time the famed monologist has appeared in a more traditional -- and populous -- theatre piece. He was the stage manager in the highly-acclaimed Lincoln Center revival of Our Town, and his film credits (besides film versions of his monologues) include "The Killing Fields," "King of the Hill" and "Beyond Rangoon." Still, as co-founder of the vaunted Wooster Group in the late 1970s, Gray is best known for his 18 autobiographical solo flights, from Sex and Death to the Age of 14 (1979) to last season's Morning, Noon and Night. In a phone interview conducted three days before opening night of The Best Man, Gray's the first one to label himself a neurotic, dyslexic, hypochondriacal obsessive-compulsive. Such quirky yet matter-of-fact confessions, alongside his astonishing gift for detailed and poetically intricate storytelling, only enhance his appeal as a performer.

A desk, a chair, a notebook and a glass of water. For many theatregoers, this set-up is already enough to conjure one specific performer. They may be surprised, however, to find that Spalding Gray is currently surrounded by a political posters, panelled walls, props, costumes and -- gasp -- other actors. He plays William Russell in a revival of Gore Vidal's political drama, The Best Man, which opened Sept. 17 at the Virginia Theatre. It's far from the first time the famed monologist has appeared in a more traditional -- and populous -- theatre piece. He was the stage manager in the highly-acclaimed Lincoln Center revival of Our Town, and his film credits (besides film versions of his monologues) include "The Killing Fields," "King of the Hill" and "Beyond Rangoon." Still, as co-founder of the vaunted Wooster Group in the late 1970s, Gray is best known for his 18 autobiographical solo flights, from Sex and Death to the Age of 14 (1979) to last season's Morning, Noon and Night. In a phone interview conducted three days before opening night of The Best Man, Gray's the first one to label himself a neurotic, dyslexic, hypochondriacal obsessive-compulsive. Such quirky yet matter-of-fact confessions, alongside his astonishing gift for detailed and poetically intricate storytelling, only enhance his appeal as a performer.

The Public Theater has announced a series of post-performance discussions and events as part of the Public LAB presentation of Darrell Dennis' Tales of An Urban Indian.

This week in the life of Seth Rudetsky, Audra McDonald shares behind-the-scenes Ragtime history, and Seth serves namaste hands on Will & Grace.

A proposal to demolish the American Shakespeare Festival Theatre, once home to actors such as Katharine Hepburn, Christopher Walken, Jill Clayburgh and Christopher Walken, has inspired opposition in Stratford, CT, where supporters have organized protests in support of the historic building, the Connecticut Post reports.