It is wonderful to write this now and remember that time - because of the wealth of beauty and exciting new voices, anything seemed possible in New York City. My friends and I over the years wrote plays and produced them in bars and restaurants and galleries, we acted together, cooked together, made films together, laughed and loved and explored new styles of art and fashion, and we lived. I don't know if that exists in New York City any more, those days that were so full of life and love of art. I don't know if they exist anywhere, but recently when I shared some precious time with Randy Noojin at the Signature Theatre, with a mural of Lanford Wilson as a backdrop, I started to feel like they might be possible again.
There's a story about Randy that I love to tell, and these days with all the bad news we keep hearing about men behaving badly, I wanted to tell it again to share the good news that there are some wonderful men out there. I had met Randy that night when he arrived in a truck to pick up the set pieces for "Fool For Love," and I knew right away that I'd met someone very special. He had a glow about him, something more than just simply being attractive. He was very handsome, but there was something more, a light that lingered after he left that made me look forward to seeing him again. We became friends that night, talking about theater, our lives and what had brought us to where we were then, and when he returned from Chicago, we continued to see each other on a pretty regular basis because he was part of the LAB, the black box theatre within Circle Rep. In those glorious days we all practically lived in the Theatre, either working on shows, hanging out in the Green Room, or doing readings or workshop productions in the LAB. Circle Rep held regular readings on Friday afternoons and the LAB did a new play in workshop production every weekend, with a reading every Tuesday of new work. The internship I had was a production internship, learning every aspect of running a show from start to finish for a full season of five plays. We'd start with the auditions, move through the Company full cast reading of the play, and were assigned to work with a different designer from props to lighting to sound or costumes, attending rehearsals and working with the Director, Playwright, Actors, and Stage Manager. We ran the shows and understudied the plays too, and some people actually did have to go on so we had to take it all very seriously - it was a full immersion in professional theater life.
One night after an opening or closing night party, someone offered to share a cab with me. He said he'd take it to his apartment and then give me money to pay the cab driver to continue on and take me home. I was used to taking the subway at night by that time, but with our tiny stipend even the subway fare was alot of money, so the offer of a free ride home in a cab was priceless. What I didn't know was that he was known by everyone but me to be aggressive with women, so I agreed very happily and got into the cab with him. He did just as he said he would do and there were no problems or altercations. I got home safe and sound and very thankful for the ride. But a few weeks later, Randy told me that he'd seen us leaving that night and jumped into a cab of his own and followed us to make sure that I would be safe, and he followed me all the way to my apartment and made sure that I got in the door. I know at that time that he didn't have money like that to throw around on a cab to a neighborhood he didn't even live in, but that's just the kind of thing Randy does. In his eyes I was walking into a trap, and he did whatever he could to protect me. As I think of that story, it seems in my memory that there were other times and other ways that he saved my life, some seemingly large and others perhaps smaller - showing up when I needed a friend, making me laugh when my heart felt broken, playing poker all night, bringing life to the party, and always, always talking about theater and music and art. And I know that there were other people he helped, in many ways. I won't share his secrets, but I know from experience that there are so many people whose lives were made better, who were helped when they were down to nothing, who always found a friend in Randy when they were in need.
The first play of Randy's I saw was "Boaz," and I can honestly say it was one of the loveliest plays I'd ever heard. I use that word purposely - not just seen but heard - because Randy has a way with words like the lyrical realists I'd fallen in love with from the time I first began reading the plays of my first theatre love Tennessee Williams. I remember that night so vividly, sitting in the LAB, watching the play of this new friend of mine, and being overwhelmed with its beauty. His play "Unbeatable Harold" I remember for its sweetness, the characters so real and yet so extaordinary, salt of the earth that caught you unawares when they spoke from a life experience so moving. And "You Can't Trust The Male," winner of Applause Books Best American Short Plays - a story so original that I asked Randy where it came from because I was so prepared to have the answer be that he had written from his own experience, which is something that many of us who write do. But no, these characters came from somewhere else, a beautiful imagination that is able to bring something personal into the lives of the people he dreams up, people who perhaps are based on a combination of many, and through his eyes become people we all can relate to and feel their emotions as if they were in some way our own. And on stage as an actor, he is one of the finest. He does the work of acting, something that not very many people really know how to do. He is well versed in every style - from classical to slapstick to comedy and drama - I once cast my own dream cast reading of "Burn This" and knew he would have to read the role of Burton, originated by the phenomenal actor Jonathan Hogan on Broadway, because I knew that he'd be perfect and he was.
In the past few years, among other projects he's worked on as an actor and director, Randy has been performing around the world in "Hard Travelin' With Woody," the award-winning multimedia solo play that he wrote about Woody Guthrie that includes Guthrie's music and artwork. Backstage.com wrote: "By equating the conditions of Depression-era America with those of today, writer-performer Randy Noojin invests "Hard Travelin' with Woody" with topicality and urgency, rescuing it from mere homage and transforming it into a call for united action against greed and selfishness . . . blows the dust off Guthrie's standards . . . restoring their sting and deepening their soulfulness." Will Kaufman, author of "Woody Guthrie American Radical" said, "Randy Noojin's Woody Gurthrie is a revelation. He captures the spirit of the man like no others have done onstage. His Guthrie is not just some folksy cardboard caricature; we've seen enough of those. Noojin's Guthrie is ornery, pugnacious, sly, and driven by the twin forces of anger and love." And the rave reviews go on and on - you can read more on the website, HardTravelinShow.com.
In 2016 he started touring in a new show he'd written about Pete Seeger, www.SeegerShow.com. I haven't seen this performance yet, and when I went to the website I watched a video that showed me a side to my friend that I hadn't known. I grew up listening to the music of Pete Seeger, watching shows like the Smothers Brothers in a home where that kind of thought and music was a part of life. I saw Pete Seeger perform live every time he was anywhere near where I was for as long as I can remember, and I met him once, a little more than ten years ago, at a benefit I attended for the Clearwater, the Hudson River Sloop he had built for sailing and education and as a symbol of environmental awareness to help begin the clean up of the Hudson River and encourage cleaner waterways nationwide. As I watched the video, I can say in all honesty that I couldn't tell where Randy Noojin ended and Pete Seeger began. He even had his body language and vocal cadences. My friend's voice I know so well and that I've heard so many times in so many ways over the years became Pete Seeger's voice, and musically it was perfection. Randy has always been a wonderful musician - I remember so many nights and so many parties both large and small when he showed up with a guitar and played so many favorites like the Rolling Stones "Love In Vain" with brilliance, but I had no idea that he would be that amazing with the amazing oeuvre of Pete Seeger. The banjo playing was flawless, and the songs and presence were the songs and presence I've known and loved for years, beautifully combined with the beautiful voice and presence of my dear friend.
A few weeks ago I asked Randy if he had any time to meet and talk for a blog post. I hadn't seen him for a while because he's been so busy traveling and performing, and just as the confluence of time and space brought us together all those years ago, we were able to spend several hours together one night. From the first moment I heard his voice I was laughing - the spirit of joy he carries with him is contagious. He's known hardship and loss and pain and struggle, but somehow when I am with him I feel no darkness, only the light of life. We talked over dinner at Hibernia Bar And Grill, and then went to see a play he had tickets for at Signature Theatre, but when we arrived for the play, they told us that they could not seat us - something unexpected had happened and they had a full house of press people arrive that they had to honor tickets for. The Manager offered to reschedule, and said he'd be happy to buy us a drink at the bar, and when I looked over and saw a mural of Lanford Wilson on the wall, I told Randy that missing the play would be fine with me - I had been missing my old friend and would enjoy the time to sit for a while longer and talk. As we talked about old times and memories, my laughter kept bubbling over. So many years, so many people, so much history, so much water under so many bridges. He told me that Marshall Mason, the Director and another Co-Founder of Circle Rep who had directed all of Lanford Wilson's plays over the years, was introducing him to a venue in Mazatlan, and just after he mentioned it his phone rang and there was Marshall, calling from Mexico to talk. A mural of Lanford Wilson on the wall behind him, Marshall Mason on the phone, and my friend the brilliant Playwright, Actor, Director and Musician sitting in the lobby of the Signature Theatre with me - all those rivers meeting, from the past, the present and the future, reminding me that when we have shared a deep connection in our creative lives, something will always remain of the beauty we shared even as it flows ever onward into something new.
I've come to know in this life that having a friend for a long time is not easy. People come and go, sometimes they are wonderful, sometimes not so much, sometimes the beginning is better than the end. To have a friend like Randy Noojin, someone who is there in the good times and bad, honest and true and with a heart to help and the ability to make light is a rare and beautiful gift. The fact that he's also one of the best of the Playwrights, Actors, Directors, and Musicians in New York City and beyond makes me all the more thankful for that confluence that brought us together in the Circle Rep lobby all those years ago.
Randy Noojin
In New York City
In Conversation With Marshall Mason
Who Called From Mexico
To Discuss The Upcoming Play
Just After His Name Was Mentioned
Outside Of Hibernia Bar And Grill
In Front Of The Amazing Mural
Featuring UFC Champion Conor McGregor
By The Transcendent Artist Jeremy Wolff
401 West 50th Street
New York City
JWolffStudios.com
www.HiberniaBar.com
Blessings,
Jannie Susan
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