Stories by Heart

This play at the Mark Taper is a one-man show starring John Lithgow.  For this performance, Don, Lisa, Alex and Alyssa came with us.  We bought them tickets for the same show as our season seats as a Christmas present.  (I'm guessing on the date we saw this play because I don't have the tickets.  The production was from January 4 - February 13, 2011).

All Alex and Alyssa know about John Lithgow was that he portrayed The Trinity Killer on Dexter, and he scares them. We didn’t tell Alex and Alyssa who was starring in this production because we wanted to surprise them.  Also, we gave them our 2^nd row seats while we sat with Don and Lisa in the seats further back.

John is a great storyteller and it is amazing to me whenever someone can recite on and on.  Having such a memory is wondrous to me.  Both Max and I wish we could tell stories in such a manner to capture an audience’s attention. 

John’s father passed away and in remembrance to him, John reads a favorite book that his father would read to him as a boy.  He starts to read, but then he gets up, puts the book away and enacts the story with his words and actions.  His facial expressions are so vivid and entertaining.

The stories were not that great, but he was able to pull it off due to his abilities.  I would give it a B and I’m not sure I would see it again.  I would see another performance by John Lithgow though.  I am such a fan of his.  He can be a comedian such as his alien character in 3^rd Rock from the Sun or his scary character in Dexter.