by Berengaria
It began with a small notice on The Bill Sadler board. The man, himself, was planning to return to his roots by starring in a new play in NYC. It was called "A Few Stout Individuals" and was about
the last year of Ulysses S. Grant's life. Bill was to play the part of "Mark Twain".
As you can imagine, this started quite a buzz on his site. Fans from all over the country wanted to go. Most had too many commitments to actually go to NYC for this. But a few die-hard Bill fans
started talking and dreaming and before you could say "Sheriff Valenti", we found ourselves agreeing to share a room. So, from California, Ohio, Florida, and North Carolina we came to NYC.
We had a great time exploring the city with our native-New Yorker Roswell fan/tour guide, Mary. Finally, the day arrived to see Bill's show. It began with Bill coming right to the foot of the stage
and seeming to talk right to the audience. With his longer hair and mustache, he certainly looked the part. It is a very good show. The dialog is smart, funny and thought-provoking. It would be a
wonderful play to see even if Bill weren't in it (and its twice as good because he is!).
When the audience took their bows, they all got a very appreciative round of applause. When Bill took his bow, the Sadler fans gave it a little something extra! He seemed to laugh and give his bow a
little flourish. I think he was pleased to have us there. After the show, we waited in the lobby. After he had time to change out of his costume and make-up, Bill came out.
|
|
|
He signed autographs and chatted. My friend had made me a small, heart shaped pillow with a picture of Sheriff Valenti on it. He gave a big grin when he saw it and said "That's great!" and that is what he signed on it for me. He stayed and chatted with fans until it was down to just about 8 of us "Bill board" members.
Then he asked "What are you going to do now?" We said that we had been thinking of going somewhere for dessert but didn't know where we could go. He said "There's a good diner just up the street. C'mon, I'll walk with you." So there we were walking, and gabbing, and dodging cabs as we rushed to cross the streets of NY.
When we were outside we said "Would you like to come in with us?" And Bill laughed and said he had to go make a phone call. He said he would come back if he could, and if he didn't come back... We
said "We know, you love us anyway!" and he laughed and said "Right!".
Well, we went in and ordered and in about 5 minutes Bill was back. He sat down and ordered a coke and fries. He has lost weight since his Roswell days and is looking very good. So after he had eaten
a few fries, he shared the rest with us. We talked a lot about the play, and Grant's autobiography, we talked about how Bill would like to stay New York-based.
He is enjoying being in a play again so much but he did say that he has auditioned for a few movies and that a screenwriter has told him that he would like to have Bill direct his film (but it's not
a done deal).
He asked if we knew what the rest of the Roswell cast is doing now. We told him about the Fox "Roswell" auction and how much everything is going for. He was amazed and asked if it was going to
Garrett's charity. We told him Fox says a "significant portion" is.
He praised Jason Behr's work. Bill said he was always on time, lines memorized and always gave his performance 100%. I don't remember what else we may have talked of. I do remember no one at the
diner asked for an autograph or took a single picture. Guess no one wanted to break the spell of a "Magical evening".
To do this 4-day weekend, I drove 16 hours and took 4 planes. Crazy?!!! Sure. Worth it?!!! You betcha.
