Please congratulate me! I am finally eligible to be a part of David Letterman's "Brush with Greatness" segment.
On March 10th I met actor Kyle MacLachlan at the beautiful Capitol Theatre in downtown Yakima. Kyle was back in his hometown to perform with the Yakima Symphony Orchestra and Chorus. It was a wonderful evening. The YSO and YSO Chorus were in their usual fine form and Kyle was fantastic. He read some of the speeches from Shakespeare's "Henry V" (or as I like to call him "Hank 5") to the Oscar nominated score of William Walton. The combination of beautifully written and spoken words and a thrilling score gave me a few spine tingling moments.
I appreciated Kyle's interpretation. It reminded me of the style of Kenneth Brangah's Shakespearian adaptations. Branagh really turned me onto Shakespeare in a new way. His version of "Henry V" is brilliant. http://www.bardolatry.com/kbhv89.htm. I admit that I've never seen the Laurence Olivier version but will do so one day in a "Contrast and Compare" afternoon. http://www.murphsplace.com/olivier/henry5.html.
Back to Kyle MacLachlan. I just have to add that he was a true gentleman; generous with his time and not in the least pretentious. I almost hesitate to write that as I sometimes think it's odd when a celebrity is praised for having admirable character qualities, as if we expect them to be horrible human beings and are, therefore, pleasantly surprised when they are not! Well, I would expect no less than good manners and pleasantness from a native Pacific Northwesterner!
I also wanted to mention how great it is to work with Conductor Brooke Creswell. Yakima is very blessed to have Brooke. He is so talented and creative and is always trying something new and innovative with the YSO.
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