RIP John Mahoney

Martin Crane, to most folks, I guess.

I was lucky enough to see the PBS 'cast of House of Blue Leaves, in which he played Artie Shaughnessy.  A few years later I got to play Ronnie, Artie's muy-F'd-up son.

A year or two later, I got an offer to direct the play Orphans. 

"Let me read it first."  I had directed one other production and hadn't really enjoyed it all that much. 

I started reading it without looking at all that stuff in the first few pages about the history of the play (work-shopped here, premiered there, etc.).  As I'm reading it, I start "hearing" the character of Harold as Mahoney.  Not really thinking much about it, or the fact that nothing similar is happening with the other two characters.  I make up my mind to take the gig a few pages in, finish reading it, and then flip back to the beginning, to find out Mahoney had originated the role.

It was freaky.

Then, the guy I cast as Harold told me about going to pick up tix for a show, having it be sold out, and ending with tix to HOBL, starring Mahoney.