Kevin Kline answers an audience member
From the Post…
December 17, 2007 — IT was Wednesday night. It was Geezer gate. It was Kevin Kline and Jennifer Garner’s “Cyrano de Bergerac.” Rich ard Rodgers Theatre. The respectful audience, as befits this celebrated revival, remained properly hushed. Not a candy wrapper crinkled, not a sneezer wheezed. But in Row Q sat a little bald old man. His heart was obviously in the right place, but his eardrums weren’t. Poor guy couldn’t hear a “wherefore art thou” from a “whithersoever goest thee,” and from the stage those “prithees” all knocked together with their “mayhaps.”
Finally, mustering up nerve, the gent actually cupped his hands and shouted through the packed house, “Speak up louder!” Kevin Kline never faltered. In character, right in the middle of his scene, he adlibbed, “Methinks I hear ghosts in the theater.” The audience broke up. They applauded. And the play moved right along. But from then on, the speech level didst indeed kick up a notch.
All true but what he really said was “Talk louder puhhhllleassseeee!” Hilarious. Kevin did hear and respond to it, but completely in character. After he said “I think there are ghosts in this theater, but that’s what happens when you go to the theater, you never know what is going to happen!” The audience was very respectful in Kevin’s handling of the situation. We were all backstage asking each other, “What just happened? Did you hear that?” After Kevin found his way back to his own text, the audience applauded. He did indeed speak louder, and the energy did pick up. The man who yelled at Kevin must have been 110 years old. In the orchestra and he couldn’t hear! After the show, Kevin started the auction, and said, “you have all been a terrific audience, with the exception of one!” The audience roared with laughter. Kevin was still gracious about it. What people don’t know about kevin is that he loves a challenge, and he is so poised and aware of what is going on around him that he is ready to react all the time. I mean…he’s Kevin Kline people!
