Anthony and Kate (and daughter Eleanor) are heading out to LA tomorrow.
They both performed with The Curfew for the last time Saturday night.
I am not sure when I met Anthony, but I do know when I first had a conversation with him. He had come to see a show that Kate was in. It was an improv group that I coached called Esto. And Anthony came out to the bar afterwards with the group and so did I. I think it was just before they started dating (or maybe they had just gone out a few times). Either way they seemed to be still involved in the mutual wooing process that goes on.
That must have been late spring, early summer 2003.
A little more then 6 years later I would join Reuben Williams and get to perform with both of them on a semi-regular basis (Kate was busy being pregnant for some of this time, and then they both got busy taking turn spending Saturday nights with Eleanor so there were stretches where only one or other would be there to perform). It was a blast getting to play with both of them.
Anthony as AD of the UCB Theatre was someone I learned had a pretty nice open door policy. I took advantage of that and would stop by to talk to him about issues, complaints, worries, or clarifications and he always found time to listen. He was a smart, confident, aggressive artistic director.
As a performer he never seemed happier then when playing simple minded characters. Whether he was selling tickets to a live sex goat show, or not realizing his boss was a mafia don, or was a punk throwing a party in a kids swimming pool with his 80 year old buddy - those were the roles he would laugh the most about afterwards.
Kate was a sweet, funny friend who through some odd coincidence knew my fiancee before I ever met either of them. They worked together at The Body Shop in Massachusetts. Bet those two didn’t expect to spend time together underneath a supermarket watching people pretend to be pirates.
On stage Kate would seem to love playing crass, rude guys and the audience loved her for it. I remember one scene where she played a librarian who got a show stopping ovation after she walked off the stage. I mentioned to Kate how funny that character was and how much the audience loved it. Kate said “that never happens to me”. Which wasn’t true. But I do think most of the time Kate didn’t notice how much the audience loved watching her characters.
Anthony and Kate are great people and great performers.
But they are leaving the East Coast so now I will try to forget about them forever.
