Frontmezzjunkies reports: Jesse Tyler Ferguson in Tru
By Ross
There is something particularly exciting and enticing about this; the shortest of limited runs in an off-Broadway space that only holds ninety-nine people. And it doesn’t hurt that this spring that enticement is centered around Jesse Tyler Ferguson, who will embody Truman Capote in the first New York revival of Jay Presson Allen’s epic Tru. Directed by Rob Ashford, the production seems poised to captivate New York as only Truman Capote could; briefly, brilliantly, and on his own terms. And only for 34 performances at the famed House of the Redeemer. It’s exactly how Capote would have liked it.
Set in December 1975, the solo play finds Capote sitting all alone in his apartment, exiled from the glittering social circle he once adored and forced to confront the fallout brought upon by his own words. Drawn entirely from Capote’s writing, the play and the production promise humour, regret, and the sharp edges of a man who both cultivated and detonated his own mythology. Armed with martinis and memories, the production seems ready to confront the loneliness behind the persona he so carefully composed. And we couldn’t be more ready for that.
Ferguson, who dazzled in Broadway’s production of Take Me Out, has long proven himself adept at balancing wit with vulnerability. Last summer, in Shakespeare in the Park’s Twelfth Night, Ferguson was a vital part of that hilariously strong shimmer, finding both comedy and ache beneath a production that “glitters like the stars in Central Park.” That same ability to reveal the human core inside heightened theatricality feels essential for Capote, a figure who often performed himself as much as he lived. In a role first made famous on Broadway by Robert Morse, who won a Tony Award for the performance, Ferguson steps into formidable company, guided by Ashford, whose eye for precision and emotional clarity should serve a one-man portrait well.
The setting alone feels worth the effort of securing a ticket. Performed in the landmarked House of the Redeemer, once the home of a Vanderbilt descendant and now preserved as a Gilded Age retreat, the production situates Capote’s reckoning within the kind of old New York grandeur he once inhabited and ultimately disrupted. The environmental staging in the mansion’s intimate library suggests an experience less like watching a play and more like being invited into a private confession. For devoted theatre goers (like myself), that intimate dimension is both rare and increasingly precious.
With performances running March 6 through April 12, this strictly limited engagement is certain to be one of the most sought-after tickets of the spring. As someone who has followed Ferguson’s stage work with admiration, I am hopeful I will find my way into that small room to witness this encounter up close (although I’m not holding my breath). Capote, for all his brilliance and bravado, was most compelling when the façade cracked, and in the hands of an actor who understands both sparkle and fracture, Tru has the potential to be something literally quite special.
