Morning, Noon and Night

Rating:
Summary: Where has Spalding Gray gone?
Review: Domesticity may make him happy, but it sure doesn't do much for his monologuing. This, alone among all his monologues, is flat, rather boring. There's something to be said for transgression, at least as a topic for art.

Rating:
Summary: Peace of mind through displaced anxiety
Review: This is the most recent of Spalding Gray's monologues and as much as I love his work if he ends his autobiographical pieces here I would be happy, there's a feeling of closure and joy to this work.
If you've read (or seen or listened to) much of his work and have warmed to Mr Gray this will delight you and make you feel very happy for the man - he's finally laid many demons to rest.
After the anxieties of Monster in a Box and Gray's Anatomy this finds Gray much more relaxed and surprisingly content. Having to form a family due to a surprise conception with a lover (see It's a Slippery Slope) Gray has had forced upon him one of his major fears, children of his own.
But the converse of "you better be careful what you wish for..." seems to be true for Gray. It tells the story of one day in his relatively new family's life, also flashing back to the birth of his second son during a torrential storm, and finally Gray is too busy to obsess about - well about anything he wants to obssess about - he can now see the world afresh through his baby son Theo's eyes.
Also, the conversations with his nine-year-old son are hysterical and portray a bonded, wonderfully balanced relationship.
A tale of leap-frogging the mid-life crisis and finding contentment where there was once fear. A true delight - but only read it after you've read more of his previous work - it'll be worth the wait.

Rating:
Summary: Lawnmower Man
Review: What a Gemini! From tortured NYC artist to peppy suburban papa riding bicycles and buying ice cream. What's next -- Republican golfer? Raving homeless man with shopping cart? I can't even guess. As a parent, I laughed out loud at dinner table scenes, etc., but was bothered by the fact that although he's madly in love with his kids (which is good; most parents are), he barely mentions Kathie, his partner. And what happened to Renee (is that her name? ) -- the woman he was married to when he got Kathie pregnant? I'd love to hear her side of the story!