On Sunday, I shot the tech rehearsal for Dead Letters. It is to be put on at Loew's Jersey Theatre. It is a huge old theatre in Jersey City. It is clear that it was once an extravagant, beautiful theatre that has fallen into unfortunate disrepair. I had never walked through an empty theatre of such size. It was a very
humbling experience. You can't help but feel very small. It was like sitting in a corpse.
Everything is ornately detailed and gilded like a temple dedicated to the gods of theater. It reminded me of when Margo speaks of theater in
All About Eve and she says, "All the religions in the world
rolled into one, and we're gods and goddesses." It is horribly sad to think of it in its dilapidated state. That world of Margo Channing is gone and this is what is left. With paint peeling off the walls, holes in the flooring and staples holding the curtain together, this theater is holding on with everything it has. I don't know if it would be better to restore the place or let her go with dignity.