Loose Lips

NO ORDINARY JOE
Location, location, location! For some people, that mantra refers only to buying a house, but for Tony Award winner Joe Mantegna, it was a major factor in taking on the title role in the Falcon Theater production of the award-winning play Trumbo. “The theater is six blocks away from my house,” notes the actor. “What could be better? And Garry Marshall [who runs the theater] lives two doors down from me. We both knew the right time would finally come for me to do something there.”

Of course, the script — which uses the real-life letters of the blacklisted screenwriter Dalton Trumbo — was an equally important factor in Mantegna’s decision: “When I read it, I thought it was really interesting. I knew something about his life, but this was the first time I became aware of the whole story. It’s very topical today — much like the film Good Night, and Good Luck — as we deal with issues of heightened security. But I think we have to be very vigilant not to fall back into the way things were in the 1950s.” Like many who have seen this play, Mantegna marvels at Trumbo’s letter-writing skills. “When was the last time you got an e-mail like that?” he asks rhetorically. “He was so eloquent. One doesn’t always get the opportunity to delve into this kind of material.”

Mantegna hasn’t spent much time in the theater lately, focusing on TV shows such as Joan of Arcadia and films such as the just-released Nine Lives (in which he plays the husband of the wonderful Kathy Baker) and the upcoming The Kid and I (based on the real-life story of an ill teenager whose dad arranges to make him a movie star). Most notable is the film Edmond, based on the 1982 play by Mantegna’s old pal David Mamet, in which he has a supporting role. “It was one of his plays that I never did,” says Mantegna, explaining why he took a small part. “I’d worked with the director, Stuart Gordon at the Organic Theater in Chicago; and I got to work with Bill Macy again, so it was a no-brainer. It’s not a piece for the faint of heart, so I’m not surprised that it didn’t instantly become a film, just like it took a while for Glengarry Glen Ross to make it to the screen.”

Would he reconsider revisiting his Tony-winning role of Ricky Roma in Glengarry? Or how about Mamet’s Speed-the-Plow, in which he starred on Broadway alongside Ron Silver and Madonna? “Bill Macy and I did a fundraiser reading of the first act of Speed-the-Plow not long ago, and it was great fun,” says Mantegna. “I think I enjoyed doing it more this time because, over the past 20 years, I’ve actually worked in Hollywood and so I understood more of what’s going on. As for Glengarry, Ricky is my all-time favorite character. But I kind of feel like Lee J. Cobb with Death of a Salesman; people will say ‘I saw Joe back in the day.’ Realistically, if I did the play again, I’d probably be Shelley Levene.”

FOR YOUR BENEFIT

Cabaret star Jamie deRoy will be feted by theater stars Chuck Cooper, Jenn Gambatese, and Julia Murney at the Theaterworks/USA Gala Benefit, to be held on October 24 at the Hudson Theater. That same night, Obie winner Lisa Kron will co-star in The Importance of Marrying Wells at the Perry Street Theater to benefit the New Orleans-based theater company Southern Rep. The following evening, October 25, Kathleen Turner and David Harbour will be at The Players Club to read rare works of Tennessee Williams at a gala Food for Thought benefit.

Talk about an all-star line-up: Loretta Devine, John Glover, Sam Harris, Mimi Hines, Melissa Manchester, Tonya Pinkins, Billy Porter, Alice Ripley, and Lillias White are just some of the stars set to participate in the annual S.T.A.G.E. Benefit in L.A. This year’s event, to be held on November 12 at the Luckman Fine Arts Complex, pays tribute to the music of Harold Arlen. All proceeds will benefit The Actors’ Fund of America.

Another much-anticipated annual benefit is Playwright Horizons’ Stories on 5 Stories. This year’s edition, slated for November 14, will feature the writing talents of eight witty scribes including Kirsten Childs, Craig Lucas, Theresa Rebeck, and Craig Wright, plus the acting skills of such stars as Reed Birney, Linda Emond, Heather Goldenhersh, Jessica Hecht, and John Benjamin Hickey.

HEAVEN ON EARTH
While some of us go shopping or watch television in our spare time, Dawn Lane has been choreographing. For the last 18 months, she’s been juggling her duties as program director for Community Access to the Arts (CATA), a Massachusetts-based organization that works with the disabled, with creating For Heaven’s Sake, a new dance piece featuring both professional dancers and CATA members. The piece will be performed October 28-30 at the Berkshire Theater Festival’s Unicorn Theater.

“I wanted to take the notion of death and dying and look at it with humor,” says Lane. “Death is something we all have in common, even though we’re so focused on our differences — especially with what’s going on world. I’m hoping that this evening will take people to a place that’s unexpected. It’s based in part on a personal experience; I’ve been working with a woman who has Huntington’s Disease, and this is my way of preparing myself for what’s going to happen with her.”

According to Lane, the fact that For Heaven’s Sake is debuting right before Halloween is a coincidence: “I wanted to do this as a site-specific piece at Stockbridge Cemetery, but it was too hard to cut through all the red tape. So, instead, the evening is going to feature a 10-minute video by John Whalan that we shot at the cemetery this summer. I am so thrilled that I’m getting to use the Unicorn; those venues are not open to us during high season. Then you add the possibility of horrible weekends during the winter, and doing it now made the most sense.”

THE CHANCE TO DANCE
The next few weeks provide myriad opportunities for dance lovers in New York. On October 24 at City Center, Liza Minnelli hosts That’s Entertainment! 20th Anniversary Jubilee, which benefits Career Transition for Dancers. For this special evening, Broadway veterans including Desmond Richardson, Nancy Lemenager, Sean Martin Hingston, and Mary Ann Lamb will share the stage with such equally great dancers as Richard Move, Paloma Herrera, José Manuel Carreno, and members of Cirque du Soleil.

Next month, Donald Byrd — the choreographer of the upcoming Broadway musical The Color Purple — will bring his modern dance troupe Spectrum to Dance Theater Workshop to perform The Sleeping Beauty Notebook, November 2-12. It’s his second piece to use the music of Tchaikovsky, following Byrd’s beloved Harlem Nutcracker.

Elsewhere, City Center offers up the American Ballet Theater (through November 5) and the always incredible Alvin Ailey Company (November 30-January 1), while BAM’s 2005 Next Wave Festival hosts Italy’s acclaimed Compagnia Aterbaletto (November 8-12) and Israel’s Batsheva Dance Company (November 15-27). For those seeking fare with a more Latin flair, the Joyce hosts Ballet Hispanico (November 29-December 11), and Comphania Portoguesa de Bailiado Contemparaneo comes to the Brooklyn Center for the Performing Arts (November 11).