Spalding Gray: Stories Left to Tell

Spalding Gray, one of the most revered and irreverent storytellers of our time, became an indelible image: sitting along at a desk on a bare stage, delivering hilarious and moving monologues. But what made Gray’s performances so memorable and timeless was the universal way his words — the fears, neuroses and joys they expressed — resonate so deeply with audiences. His work lives on in the funny, poignant, and ultimately life-affirming Spalding Gray: Stories Left to Tell.
Stories Left to Tell is co-created by Kathleen Russo, Gray’s widow, and Lucy Sexton, who have assembled both renowned and never-before-seen work to span the artist’s extraordinary life and career. The piece unfolds chronologically, from recollections of childhood swimming trips with his mother (who also committed suicide) and tales of awkward adolescent sexual encounters, to the joy Gray took in being a father himself. In addition to diary extracts and other unpublished writing, Stories Left to Tell includes excerpts from Sex and Death to Age 14, Terrors of Pleasure, Swimming to Cambodia, Impossible Vacation, Gray’s Anatomy, Monster in a Box, It’s a Slippery Slope, Morning Noon and Night, and Life Interrupted.

An ensemble cast of five perform the work, including Frank Wood, Hazelle Goodman, Kathleen Chalfant, and Darnell Williams.

Additional guest actors include Roger Howarth (June 26, replacing Williams) and Elaine Stritch (June 26).