Theatergoers of a certain age will remember walking past The Little Theatre (now the Helen Hayes) when Albert Innaurato's comedy GEMINI was running and seeing Kenn Duncan's black and white photographs outside. The one that received the most attention was that of the bare-chested Reed Birney who was featured in that long-running comedy. Birney also received even more attention when the television ads for that production were aired. The TV commercials not only popularized a phrase that became a buzz word throughout the tri-state area: ‘Herschel, take human bites!"; but gave Birney a few seconds of air time that were unmistakable.
That was in 1977. Today, Reed Birney is still very much in the minds of serious playgoers. He is presently starring in David West Read's gripping drama, THE DREAM OF THE BURNING BOY, at The Roundabout's Black Box Space, The Roundabout Underground. Thirty four years have flown by since GEMINI, and Birney is still commanding the audience's attention. He may no longer be doing beefcake photos, but he has certainly honed his acting skills and is giving a compelling performance as an English teacher who has an encounter with one of his students just prior to the boy's untimely death. It's a performance that Erik Haagensen of BACKSTAGE justifiably calls "redoubtable" and the New York Times' Christopher Isherwood says, "Among this fine actor's many skills is his ability to find delicate shadings in similar states of feeling."
Speaking by telephone on a recent afternoon, Birney reflected on the success of GEMINI and the pleasure of being in DREAM OF A BURNING BOY, as well as a host of other projects that have made him one of the most consistently employed actors in New York. He's relaxed and articulate and seems to enjoy the recollections of an extremely rewarding career.
Recollecting GEMINI, Birney mentions "I still meet people who saw that show but when I mention it to the kids in my current play, they never have heard of it. What a phenomenon that show was! Lots of actors tell me they've played my part in one place or another. It's a popular play for colleges because it has so many good parts for young people. There are also great monologues in it that students are always doing in acting classes. There was a revival of the show that Second Stage did 22 years later, as well as two musical adaptations that have been tried. I saw a backers audition for one that changed all kinds of stuff. Herschel, for instance, became obsessed with rock and roll instead of the subways and that gave him the opportunity for some songs. They opened it up where the family went to an Italian restaurant for the birthday dinner instead of eating in the backyard-you know, all kinds of random ideas." Birney quickly adds that there was another musical version of the play in Philadelphia that Albert Innaurato was involved with. "That one was much truer to the original material but the play was so musical as it was that it didn't really need songs."
How does Birney account for the longevity of GEMINI's original run? "At the time, the TV commercial turned everything around for us. It was the first play that used television advertising and it happened to be an amazing commercial with all those quotes. I think PIPPIN was the first one to use television commercials, but that was a musical and we were the first play to use television effectively." After a moment's reflection, the actor adds, "It really was a phenomenon and touched so many people in a profound way. And a fantastic production. In 1977, it was crazy-racy, nobody had seen anything quite so out there but also truly hilarious. It felt kind of dangerous. But it also had such a huge heart. It really was a terrific feel-good play." Birney looks back on seeing the revival at the Second Stage and comments, "I thought it was a pretty good production of the play but everything that seemed so outrageous in our production seemed quaint. It was amazing to see how sweet and dated GEMINI had become in those 22 years. That may be the reason it hasn't had much of an after-life."
