Well, that’s that. Almost as quickly as it started, it ended. But what a joyous ride we had. In keeping with the spirit of the valedictory blog posts, here are my thanks:
Thank you, Caitlin Moon, for seeing all that my play could be the first time you read it well over a year ago, and then working like a jackrabbit to make sure it was all there in the little time we had to find it. Thank you for the tenderness and the loving care with which you treated my play. Thank you for making it your own without making me feel that it wasn’t still mine. Thank you for your grace under pressure. Thank you for making me have a cocktail when all I wanted to do was to go home. Thank you for your true and valued friendship.
Thank you, Greg Graham, for taking a peek into my imagination and creating those fantastic dances. Thank you for understanding my play. Thank you for your enthusiasm and your leadership. Thank you, most especially, for masterfully taking my black marks on the page and breathing life into them.
Thank you, Kelley Sheehan and Chuck Novatka, for your keen eyes and sharp observations.
Thank you, April Ortiz, for channeling (however highly fictionalized) my grandmother. Thank you for giving Inez humor and dignity. Thank you for connecting so completely with that precious photograph. Thank you for always reminding me how much you love my play, both through your words and your performance.
Thank you, Benita Robledo, for wearing that outfit to your audition. Thank you for never complaining about all those dishes and forks and glasses you had to set and clear and set and clear throughout rehearsals and performances. Thank you knowing enough to grab center stage when it was yours to take. Thank you for finding the softness and the growing toughness in Rebecca.
Thank you, Vaneik Echeverria, for always making me laugh and for always surprising me about a character I thought I knew pretty well. Thank you for investing Francisco with swagger and pathos—two things that generally don’t go hand in hand but in your capable hands fit perfectly.
Thank you, Barrett Foa, for joining us late and taking about two seconds to catch up. Thank you for bringing such love and regret into the room every time you entered the stage. Thank you for tapping back into your “chorus boy” days so effortlessly (or so it seemed). Thank you for giving Jamie a lifetime of back story in just three scenes.
Thank you, Nathan Mendez, for your stunning, soulful and heartbreaking performance. Thank you for showing me the depths of Alejandro’s sadness and the joy in his smile. Thank you for making me cry, not at my words, but at your tender handling of them. Thank you for giving me the gift of Alejandro.
Thank you, Jason Kaminsky and Gabriel Gutierrez, for charging ahead and getting this done. Thank you for not being scared away by the mountains of work that stood before us at the start of the process.
Thank you, Sam, Nicki and Spencer for having fun and being utter professionals.
Thank you, Amanda Stephens, Aaron Spivey, Emily Pepper, Fitz Patton and Palmer Hefferton for making the play tangible and vibrant and for doing it all for less than my current credit card debt.
Thank you, Ariel Tepper-Madover, for the chance.
Thank you, Thom Clay and Sam Levy, for the support. Thank you for sitting me down and explaining to me why you wanted me to do this. Thank you letting us do it.
Thank you, Holly Ferguson, for the tickets, no matter how last minute the begging, pleading request came.
Thank you, Jennifer Taylor, for never getting too upset when my blog was late. Thank you, too, for letting me get you drunk on tequila.
Thank you, Jackie Leitzes, for teaching me that Jewish families and Puerto Rican families are not that far apart.
Thank you, Stephen Brown, for so graciously sharing your week with me. Thank you for the absolute work of beauty that is Future Me.
Thank you, Erica Jensen, for creating this family and looking fabulous while you did it.
Thank you, my HBO colleagues, for your incredible support.
Thank you, Bruce Grivetti, for reminding me how much you really don’t need me but that it’s fun just to have me around, nonetheless.
Thank you, Lopez Family, for making me, raising me, loving me, inspiring me and supporting me.
Thank you, Seth Glewen, for believing in me and being my biggest fan. Thank you for being much more than an agent.
And, finally, thank you, Brandon, for leaving the light on.
