Review: Mark Chambers Impresses as Truman Capote in TRU at The Studio 620

"He's the most perfect writer of my generation, he writes the best sentences word for word, rhythm upon rhythm." --Norman Mailer on Truman Capote in his book, Advertisements for Myself

Mailer was right; Truman Capote created some of the most beautiful sentences imaginable. His works are among the most exquisitely written of the 20th Century: Breakfast at Tiffany's; The Glass Harp; The Muses are Heard; Other Voices, Other Rooms; and the unfinished Answered Prayers. Check out his last line from his most famous work, the "nonfiction novel" In Cold Blood: "Then, starting home, he walked toward the trees, and under them, leaving behind him the big sky, the whisper of wind voices in the wind-bent wheat." That's gorgeous writing, the perfect way to end that horrifying, haunting work. Capote was like a sculptor with words.

He enjoyed celebrity status like so few authors. But In Cold Blood seems to have drained him, pummeled him emotionally, and pill and alcohol abuse got the best of him. Capote became better known for his flamboyant personality than he was for his art. "I used to be famous for writing books," he said, "but now I'm just famous for being famous." Add to that the time in the mid-1970's where his rich society friends slammed the door on him and forever shunned him due to the publication of his story, "La Cote Basque 1965." It's December of 1975, and his life was spiraling out of control. This is the Truman Capote that we meet in TRU, the Jay Presson Allen one man show running until July 24th at the Studio 620 in St. Petersburg.

Various actors have tried to capture Capote, most notably the Oscar-Winning turn by Philip Seymour Hoffman in Capote, Toby Jones in Infamous, and Michael J. Burg in The Audrey Hepburn Story. And of course TRU is at the head of the list, a show that won Robert Morse the Tony Award in the early 1990's. [Capote even got to play himself (kind of) in his catty turn in Murder By Death, which led critic John Simon to call his performance "worse than amateurish."]

Because it's a one man show, TRU lives and breathes on the performance of its only (onstage) actor, and in this production, that actor certainly does not disappoint. Mark Chambers was born to play the homunculus Capote. At times he looks so much like him that you think the Breakfast at Tiffany's writer had been resurrected before your eyes. And he has the mannerisms, the vocal inflections, the soul of Capote down to a fine art.

I saw TRU twenty-five years ago, and I prefer the intimate surroundings with this production. Yes, Robert Morse inhabited the role beautifully two decades ago, but something was missing from seeing him in a larger venue. Here, we really get to feel Capote's loneliness, his sense of abandonment, and his bitchy verve up close and personal.

Chambers is just sensational with some wonderfully memorable moments. For instance, when he receives a poinsettia ("the Bob Goulet of botany") as a Christmas gift and sings "If Ever I Would Leave You" as he exits with it. There's also a moment where he relives the hanging death of the killers in In Cold Blood that is absolutely gut-wrenching. And his recollection of his Aunt Sook, from "A Christmas Memory," is joyous in its reverie; you feel his love to a more innocent time, like an elfin Charles Foster Kane fondly remembering his sled.

Good as the play is, it's Chambers' performance as the sole reason not to miss this show.

Lisa Tricomi's direction is strong, and Kenny Jensen's lighting and set design work well in the intimate Studio 620 surroundings. A white screen acts as a window and is effective for the most part. I had an issue with one directorial choice: During Truman's final recitation (a litany of scrumptiously scribed memories and verbal snapshots from his life), various images appear on the screen that pretty much echo Capote's words. I found this technically fine but unnecessary. Capote's writings are so lovely, and Chambers' performance so strong, that we don't need these extra visual tidbits. It feels like piling on.

There are also various problems with Allen's script (which mostly comes from Capote's words and writings). It feels like it's on a sort of dramatic treadmill; it structurally doesn't really go anywhere. It also contains anachronisms that make my head explode. At one point in the story, Capote beams about dancing at Studio 54. The problem with this? The show is set in 1975, and Studio 54 didn't open until 1977. Also, at one point, Capote alludes to the Jonestown massacre, which of course didn't occur until three years after TRU is set.

Capote may have died in 1984, but due to Mark Chambers' extraordinary work, he's alive and well and gabbing to audiences at the Studio 620. But he's only there until this Sunday, so don't miss him.

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