Citizen Twain - Reaction (and a Dream Come True)

So, for those of you who don't know. I'm the biggest Val Kilmer fan out there. I own his entire filmography on DVD.  Val Kilmer has been my hero since I was about 8 years old. I saw the Ghost and the Darkness and it became my favorite movie, and has remained a personal love. I watched him in Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, and the gag reel, and thought they looked like they were having so much fun, I had to try that out. And I did. I enrolled in an acting class and most of you know the rest. I've acted in over 15 shows the last 5 years. I've starred in several, and produced a couple that I'm very proud of. And I'm not even close to getting started. Acting changed my life. It allowed me to discover who I was as a person, gave my life direction, and finally allowed me to define my identity in a word: Actor. So thanks for that Val.

Anyway, he's been developing a film about Mark Twain and Mary Baker Eddy for the past decade, which he has written, will direct, and will star as Mark Twain. I've been following it for the past 3-4 years since the preview was put on Youtube.

It's been a long slow process. But the last year things have really picked up. Val was ready to make the movie, but realized he hadn't spent enough time developing Twain as an actor, since he'll be too busy directing to take actor breaks. Which  lead him to the conclusion that the only way to discover Twain is to do him on stage. Acting is a funny thing.

After a year of previews and workshops, Citizen Twain finally hit the road, and to my delight, the second stop was the not too distant city of Dallas. I scooped up my ticket, and one for my lady friend, and almost peed myself when the option for a VIP ticket, that came with a meet and greet with my all time hero Val Kilmer was presented. I of course purchased it.

I got to Dallas and the theatre was gorgeous. The Wyly is a really cool looking building, in a happening part of town. I walked the area and people-watched quite a bit (I was unsurprisingly early). Once inside I hit the merch table immediately. I purchased a photo for Val to sign, a tshirt with the poster on it, the poster for the show, and a short documentary that gave a little glimpse into the rehearsal process. Anything to watch Val working on the craft.

So the doors open and we're inside. The set is simple, the 3d mapping a cool touch, as starts whiz by. I'm in the third row. Not 10 feet away from the stage. Dead center. Perfect seats.

I'm waiting, thumbing through the program, the pronounces production of the film will commence once Val, "gets the dough." Should've saved that Red Planet paycheck. It's about 10 minutes until curtain, when I spot the creme colored suit out of the corner of my eye. Then the crazy white wig. It's VAL (Mark Twain). He comes out into the audience (a small black box that seats about 450 (says an usher) there is about 400 in attendance) and begins to mingle. Puffing on a cigar, sipping a fifth of whiskey, he proclaims that he's lost. Hobnobs about, toasting with excited guests. I could've grabbed his ass at one point. He's hurrying stragglers to their seats. I'm lit up like an xmas tree. Most of the audience hasn't even noticed, or don't recognize him.

He then hits the stage. There I am, watching Val Kilmer. Act. In front of my eyes. "I apologize if you're having trouble hearing me in the back," he croaks in a phlegm ridden Missouri twang, "I'm dead." The audience guffaws in unison. I'm sold.

What follows is a most interesting experiment written, directed, and performed by Val. It's somewhere between a stand up show, and a stream of consciousness monologue in which Twain cracks one liners about politics, cat food, and whiskey. He also provides commentary on god, slavery, death, and family. He reenacts scenes from Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn as if they were anecdotes.

The premise being that Twain's ghost has been sent back by god (Twain's foot must be in his mouth upon that meeting) to apologize to Mary Baker Eddy and finish his autobiography. Eddy is the founder of Christian Science (Kilmer is a christian scientist) whom Twain was obsessed with, jealous of, and in a way akin to. He wrote a book about her. His worst. He called her a crook. And a genius.

Twain's autobiography set out to both tell Twain's story (as they tend to) and but also, Twain felt anything that popped into his head was him. So he included that too. Which allows some understanding into the structure and writing of the show. What could be seen as unfocused and damn near schizophrenic is actually an attempt to bring that style of writing to life.Viewed through that lens it is a success.

The first act of the show plays like a standup comic. The show uses something like 50% Twain's writing, and 50% Val. It's all interspersed and it's hard to tell where one ends and the other starts. The 3d mapping in the background provides laughs and visuals to accompany the story. It's a nice touch to give the whole thing some pop.

At one point Val accidentally spilled his whiskey where he needed to sit continuously through the show. Which was fun for me to see, because I could see his actor wheels turning on how to deal with the problem in character. Mopping up with prop newspapers, checking nonchalantly, all the things I did when I spilled a beer in "Tape." It's fun to see the gods you worship humanized before you, and see they do what you do. As an aspiring actor I was enthralled. He ended up pulling an audience member on stage.

The reenactments of the stories were fun, providing some pathos, and the feeling that you're listening to an uncle that can't do without an anecdote. The nature of the show allowed Val to break the fourth wall, and play with the audience, which was fun and intimate. And as the third act drew near, the show takes a somber turn, and was the biggest draw for me.

As Twain talks about god, the 3d mapping treats us to a Tree of Life-esque montage of stars, as Twain says god is too big for blasphemy, he is above it, or too small, and beneath it. Twain comes to the end of his life, where tragedy struck three-pence, with his daughter, wife, and youngest daughter all dying within a year. Twain died the next. He also never wrote following the Christmas eve passing of his youngest, who drowned in the bathtub of an epileptic seizure, Val's teenaged brother dying of the same cause in the pool (my brother and mother both battled epilepsy). All that's left to comfort Twain are the words, the humor. But he can't write anymore. Real humor is tragedy.

Needless to say Val was spectacular. Unrecognizable as Twain. He's still a theater actor, acting with his whole body. The shuffled walk, the gestures, the fine nuances in his face, as he puckered his lips as a tick, licked his lips like an older man. Not the finest hint of the man beneath. Accent never faltered. I was inspired and blown away to see the person I think is one of the greatest living actors do it, and from that close, and be that good. It was something I'll never forget.

Applause sounded. The show was over. I started the standing O. No way was he not going to get one. The crowd loved the show. Val stayed on to have his makeup removed and take questions. To see him transform back was truly remarkable. The questions were stuff that had mostly been answered before. I wanted to ask him the difference in preparation and feeling of stage vs film acting, but got looked over. A man said Twain was more of an atheist than Val's interpretation suggested. Not a stretch. Val countered that Twain was always searching for something. And Val didn't pull punches from religion in the show, but just the fact that god had sent him back was maybe too much for the fellow.

Makeup being removed.

But now it was time to meet him. I jumped into an elevator with about 30 other people and went up. We waited in line as Val got cleaned up. My hands were shaking. I chatted with a couple ahead of me. People were surprised by how much they liked the show. Val came in. He brushed by me. There he was. Him again. It was surreal. He's my height. I imagine meeting Tom Cruise is underwhelming with the height and all. He looked great. Reports of the 80 pound weight loss were true. He looked in a daze, tired, but cheery. A lot like I am post show. Coming out of character, trying to find yourself, exhausted.

I learned there was no professional photographer, as there had been at the LA show. What we had was all there was to take a picture. A phone in my case. I thanked the world's deities I hadn't killed the battery. The couple before me heard my plight, and offered to take pics with their camera for me as well. They have since sent them to me. Very kind gesture that I appreciated infinitely.

I finally made it to the front. I'd spent a week thinking about what I would say, what I settled on wasn't exactly revelatory, but appropriate I thought. I shook his hand (hands aren't as big as mine, weird the things you remember) and said hi. I gave him my photo for him to sign. To David I said. I told him that he was my hero, and that I'd become an actor because of him, and that watching him act was truly inspiring, and I'd hoped to do the next show I did as good as he was, and how amazing it was to see him act in real life, on stage, like I have. He said wow and thank you, and we posed for some pictures. There was a line, so that was all I got. As I walked away, I glanced back and caught a look from him, just the mischievous grin he wears, as we made eye contact, and I continued on. A brief, and as I describe it to someone else I realize not that amazing, but to me a dream come true. The whole affair, the night, the show, was something I'll never forget.

My next goal; to act with Val Kilmer. I want to be in that Mark Twain movie. I'll act for free. I'd act on stage with him. I'd pay to be an acting student. That'd be something....

Val says he'll be touring for the next 3 years, as that's how long it'll take to raise the money to finance the film. Here's to hoping I'll get to see it again. And if you get the chance so should you