But Hes Finally Learning Not to Make the Dangerous Career Choice.
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Would you give me a callI need your opinion on something pressingthanx.
Frank Langellas email hits my in-box late on a Sunday afternoon in March.
The subject line reads A FAVOR.
I commiserate over the prospect of humiliation.
It reminds me (and Langella) of Douglas Brackman Jr., the Alan Rachins character onL.A.
Law,continually subjected to exploding toilets and other indignities.
Beyond that, I hold my tongue.
Im not about to encourage him to give up a lucrative job.
I want to be the animal in the jungle you watch, he told me.
I want you on the edge of your seat from the moment I appear till the end.
The experience for an audience every night hasgot to becatastrophically emotional on both sides.
Im shocked and dismayed at how few actors want to do that.
Although Langella often bounced ideas around his intimate circle of friends, he followed his own instincts.
And hadnt some found it catty, even cruel?
It was then I began to feel I was not meant to run with the pack.
In 1977 he landed the title role inDraculaon Broadway, earning $30,000 a week.
Frank was stunningly sexy, recalls Elizabeth I. McCann, one of the shows lead producers.
He played it with great gusto and great wit and great style.
He had it nailed.
To me there would never be another Dracula.
The exposure and renown encouraged his growing sexual adventurism in a no-holds-barred era.
Davewas a defining role for me, Langella told me.
I hadnt been seen onscreen for a while and I had begun to lose my hair.
I was 20 or 30 pounds heavier.
The matinee idol was now playing the heavy.
But, he says, I do have self-valuation.
Whenever I get an award, I think of all that I havent achieved.
He also played King Lear,in a performance that left both British and American critics exhausting the superlatives.
Not untilKidding, and this stolid character, Seb.
His wife (Archers andArrested Developments Judy Greer) is divorcing him.
Their pubescent son (Cole Allen) is spiraling into a drug haze.
And then theres Seb.
Its hard to tell if hes joking.
Jim [Carrey] immediately wanted him.
He brings such a gravitas and seriousness to all of our most absurd moments in the show.
I just wanted to write big, Tony-nominated speeches for him.
Kopit had been eager to see his long-forgotten play resurrected with Langella as Mme.
He understood how it was about terror, and how Madame Rosepettle was scared.
He understood something about it that I thought was absolutely real.
But it was not to be.
At the workshop production, I watched as the invited guests squirmed, declining to engage.
No producer ever came forward to mount a full production.
The project was shelved.
Was this a failure?
I didnt think so.
It was the perfect illustration of the qualities that have set Langella apart from so many of his colleagues.
True to form, hed made the dangerous choice, following where instinct led him.
Which is why I hold my tongue when Langella asks me aboutKidding.
The artists involved are interesting and the money is great.
I figure hell find a way to make it work.
A few days later, he writes:
Jeremy,
All good on KIDDING.
I leave for LA Sunday.
Showtime declines to make Carrey, or any of the principals involved, available for this story.
A few days ago, I emailed him about setting up a time to discuss the new show.
It was a long four months in LA.
I hope you are well.
All Best,
Frank
With a bit of trepidation, I launch the advance screeners ofKidding.
King Lear he isnt, but it looks and sounds like the great Langella.
Sure, the bee stings are there, and the dabs of Calamine lotion.
So is the gravitas.
The poop line is gone.
