Giacomo Selloni reports on a special evening at the legendary Players club in New York City.
For just the ninth time in its illustrious 123 year history, the Players club has awarded its prestigious Edwin Booth Lifetime Achievement Award, on this occasion to Kevin Spacey. In a January 10 benefit dinner held at the famous club on Gramercy Park to support the Players Foundation for Theatre Education, Mr. Spacey joined the ranks of Edward Albee, Angela Lansbury, Jose Ferrer, Helen Hayes, Jack Lemmon, Christopher Plummer, Marian Seldes and Jason Robards, who all received the award for “promoting the arts and its ability to enrich lives.â€
Mr. Spacey, who is in midst of his 7th year as artistic director of the Old Vic Theatre Company in London, presented the Booth Award to Jason Robards in 1999. He was presented his award by friend and co-star in the films “The Ref†and “Recount,†Dennis Leary. Also in attendance were Tony Bennett and wife Susan, Phil Ramone (who produced the music for “Beyond The Sea), Richard Thomas, Miss USA 2010 – Rima Fakih and Stephen Baldwin, one of Spacey’s co-stars in his Oscar winning performance in “The Usual Suspects.â€
In his remarks to the sold out house, Stephen Baldwin called Kevin Spacey, “Legendary in his effort in keeping it about the work.†He praised him for being “a tremendous example of someone who keeps it about the art.†Mr. Baldwin then gave way to a musical interlude by Player Steve Ross who was followed to the stage by Mr. Leary to present the award.
“That’s when my hatred grew,†said Dennis Leary describing the first week of rehearsals on “The Ref†to the audience as he listed Kevin Spacey’s talents. “Kinda funnier than me…, he can really sing…, but when he started to do his impressions of Jack Lemmon and William Hurt – they were really f’ing funny, that’s when my hatred for Kevin coalesced into a true, legendary hatred.†Rarely have so many statements of hatred been uttered with such love in the voice of the speaker.
With his closing words; “Kevin is someone who has set his mind on the path of bringing the theater back to life with his own, bare, talented handsâ€, Leary called Spacey to the stage; “Kev, come get another award.â€
In his acceptance speech, Kevin Spacey was humble, funny and gracious. “It is always a bit strange to receive an honor for one’s lifetime of work. At this particular point in my life, when I’m not even halfway through, it is both remarkable and incredibly worrying.†He thanked everyone for their kind words; “except, Dennis Leary.†He paid tribute to the Players itself, to educational programs and to the sense of family that acting provides. “I believe that far from being a luxury item, arts and culture are a necessity in our lives. Culture provides the magic of our experiences. Countries may go to war, but culture brings us together.â€
January 10th was a night that brought many people together at the Players to pay tribute to a remarkable talent and deserving recipient.
“That’s when my hatred grew,†said Dennis Leary describing the first week of rehearsals on “The Ref†to the audience as he listed Kevin Spacey’s talents. “Kinda funnier than me…, he can really sing…, but when he started to do his impressions of Jack Lemmon and William Hurt – they were really f’ing funny, that’s when my hatred for Kevin coalesced into a true, legendary hatred.†Rarely have so many statements of hatred been uttered with such love in the voice of the speaker.
With his closing words; “Kevin is someone who has set his mind on the path of bringing the theater back to life with his own, bare, talented handsâ€, Leary called Spacey to the stage; “Kev, come get another award.â€
In his acceptance speech, Kevin Spacey was humble, funny and gracious. “It is always a bit strange to receive an honor for one’s lifetime of work. At this particular point in my life, when I’m not even halfway through, it is both remarkable and incredibly worrying.†He thanked everyone for their kind words; “except, Dennis Leary.†He paid tribute to the Players itself, to educational programs and to the sense of family that acting provides. “I believe that far from being a luxury item, arts and culture are a necessity in our lives. Culture provides the magic of our experiences. Countries may go to war, but culture brings us together.â€
January 10th was a night that brought many people together at the Players to pay tribute to a remarkable talent and deserving recipient.
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