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Soyer and Stessin Try Out New Roles By MOLLY SKARDON
You wouldn't call them "triple threats" (like those legends of the theatrical world who sing, dance, and act—and who might well have attended Juilliard). But cello faculty member David Soyer and piano faculty member Herbert Stessin certainly showed talent for something beyond their usual calling when both were summoned from the audience of Dame Edna: Back With a Vengeance (on separate occasions), to don motorcycle gear and read lines from a "play."The following is a reasonably accurate report of their encounters with the Australian grande dame, based on their running commentaries:
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| Piano faculty member Herbert Stessin (right) in costume, with Dame Edna Everage (also known as Barry Humphries), following Stessin's appearance in Dame Edna: Back With a Vengeance on Sunday, April 3, at the Music Box Theater on Broadway. Cello faculty member David Soyer was also one of the audience members chosen to perform, when he attended the show earlier this season. Although both Stessin and Soyer were highly acclaimed in their Broadway debuts, reportedly neither plans to quit his day job. |
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Herbert Stessin: I went with friends to a benefit performance by Dame Edna. It was funny. She was picking on people in the audience, making remarks, and I thought they must have been "plants," but my friend said no. She was right—because then Dame Edna picked me. I went up onstage and read lines from a script.David Soyer: He played my part!HS: I had to put on some kind of motorcycle getup, with a hat and jacket.DS: He wore my costume!HS: It didn't fit … The best part was being escorted up the steps to the stage by two beautiful women, who were dancers in the show.DS: You had to climb steps. I hated that part. I was escorted as well, but even so …HS: I messed up all my lines, and I kept apologizing to Dame Edna.DS: The lines were inane. I haven't the faintest idea what the play was about. Quite absurd. It was a mother and a son. I guess I was supposed to be a blackguard or renegade son of some sort.HS: Dame Edna was so nice. She kept saying to me, "Good work, good work."DS: She told me, "No scene-stealing." He—or she—actually stepped on my lines, and I complained.HS: People were saying hello at the end, almost as if I were a celebrity and they wanted to ask for my autograph.DS: She's very funny. Some of the ad-libs were great. She had a conversation with a young woman who said she had a navel ring, and Dame Edna said, "Oh, that's wonderful, darling. It would be very handy if you had to be towed home some night."HS: Every time there was applause for the people in the play, I would get this wild, ecstatic ovation. I felt like Martha Argerich.DS: You know, I wasn't nervous at all. I liked it.Molly Skardon is administrative assistant to the faculty.
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