It’s hard to know why Matt Damon hasn’t done more work in theater.
Last night, he absolutely killed it as the lead of an all star cast in a reading to raise money to save a NYC Landmark.
Damon, Alec Baldwin, J Smith Cameron, Gretchen Mol, Lucas Hedges, and Peter Friedman stood at microphones in a drafty Upper West Side church and performed Kenneth Lonergan’s “Hold On to Me Darling” as if it was going to Broadway.
Neil Pepe directed the group after his original off Broadway production with Adam Driver earlier this year.
The reason for all this was to raise money for the campaign to save another NYC landmark, a former church on Amsterdam Ave and West 86th St. now known as the Center at West Park.
The Center’s removal for a big glass tower of expensive condos is the latest insult to a neighborhood trying to hold on its history and architecture. But of course, developers are bearing down on local committees and the Landmarks Commission to level the building for reason other than greed.
Just a short time ago, the group trying to preserve the Center at West Park held a staged reading of “All the President’s Men” at Guild Hall in East Hampton. They have another one, of “All About Eve,” coming up with Scarlett Johansson and J Smith-Cameron, in November.
This team of actors last night, including Charles Everett reading stage instructions, was sensational. Of course, Lonergan’s writing sang through the room as the almost three hour play about a country singer returning to his hometown to bury his mother unfolds.
Most of the people in the room had never read or heard this play, so it fell to Damon to guide them through it, and he did it with aplomb. Damon captured the singer, Strings McCrane, as if he’d played him for years. Indeed the actors just had a short rehearsal time. Each one of them helped convey Strings’ saga decisively. By the time they were done, you really felt like you’d spent time in Tennessee dealing with the funeral of a difficult woman.
I was particularly happy to see Gretchen Mol, a fine actress who was once touted for A list stardom she never asked for. She should be leading a peak TV show on Netflix or Apple. My favorite moment of the night was when Peter Friedman, from “Succession,” took the stage at the end. Cameron, his “Succcession” cast mate, was just beaming with pride from her seat.
And how nice to see Lucas Hedges again. He should be working more.
Read more at the campaign to save the Center at West Park here. They need help with people attending meetings to stop the developer cold in their tracks.
And someone find a play for Matt Damon to do on Broadway — fast. He should have won an Oscar for “The Martian.” He could easily win a Tony Award with the right material. (Maybe bring “Darling” to Broadway with him in it!)
