Hold on to Me Darling Off-Broadway

Adam Driver has been my favorite actor ever since I saw Kylo Ren remove his helmet in The Force Awakens and it has long been a dream of mine to see him perform on stage.  When I heard that he would be in a play called Hold on to Me Darling by Kenneth Lonergan (he wrote Manchester by the Sea which is a favorite of mine) at the Lucille Lortel Theatre for a limited engagement this fall, I really wanted to go but I didn't do anything about it and every show sold out very quickly.  I was disappointed to be missing out so I kept randomly checking the website and, when I saw that some isolated single tickets had been released for a few shows, I found a date that would work for me and bought one.  I was able to get a flight and a hotel for a good price (the stars definitely aligned for this trip) so I left for New York last Friday and I had the best time!  I saw a matinee of the play on Saturday and I was on the fourth row!  I let out an audible sigh when Driver first appeared on stage (I was struck by how much he dwarfed the other actors on stage with him) and the three cute ladies sitting by me thought that was hilarious!  Driver plays Clarence "Strings" McCrane,  a country music star who is in the middle of an existential crisis brought on by the sudden death of his disapproving mother.  In an attempt to finally make her proud of him he decides to move back to his hometown in Tennessee, open a feed store with his estranged brother Duke (CJ Wilson), get married to his current fling Nancy (Heather Burns), and hopefully start a family.  His plans go awry when his notoriety disrupts life in his small hometown, when he is sued for dropping out of his current movie production and his upcoming world tour, when Nancy decides she would rather be married to a global superstar than the owner of a feed store, when he becomes reacquainted with his distant cousin Essie (Adelaide Clemons), and when someone (Frank Wood) from his past suddenly appears.  I really enjoyed the story because it is both funny and very moving with an interesting take on the price of fame and how it distorts one's view of one's self.  Driver is amazing in a role that requires sexy charisma one moment (he really delivers here!) and petulant narcissism the next with an emotional reckoning at the end that blew me, and my audience, away.  I also loved seeing him play the guitar (and get undressed *ahem*).  The rest of the cast is also outstanding (but it was sometimes hard for me to take my eyes off Driver because he has such a compelling stage presence) and I loved the rotating set, which consists of a funeral parlor, various hotel rooms, assorted living rooms, and a feed store, because it makes great use of the small stage.  I am still on a high from seeing this show and I am so glad that I was able to go!

Note:  Driver doesn't come to the stage door for matinees so I wasn't able to interact with him.  It was amazing just to see him perform so I wasn't too disappointed and, honestly, it was probably for the best because I'm sure I would have hyperventilated!