It’s so messed up how close I sat to Peter Sarsgaard and Maggie Gyllenhaal in “Uncle Vanya”

Yeah, I’m a chill, non-violent kid who wouldn’t actually do anything creepy to Peter Sarsgaard. But still— can’t believe Amanda & I scored front row tix to the Off-Broadway production of “Uncle Vanya” starring him & Maggie Gyllenhaal, considering the number of near-psychotic crush posts I’ve written, including:

• Totally gratuitous Peter Sarsgaard hot photo post, Part 1 of 3
  
• Totally gratuitous Peter Sarsgaard hot photo post, Part 2 of 3
  
• Totally gratuitous Peter Sarsgaard hot photo post, Part 3 of 3
  
• Want to know my favorite thing Peter Sarsgaard said in his Time Out New York interview?
  
• I thought I was ready for my Sarsgaard-related dreams to come true, but now I feel so anxious

Seriously you guys, when we walked into the theatre, we saw our seats & were like, “You have GOT to be kidding me.” Yeah, they were way off to the side (i.e. why we got the deal we did), but because the stage is on the exact same level as the audience, we were literally INCHES from the actors (Note “WTF” arrow in seating chart below).

No exaggeration, I had to prepare myself to get breathed on by my favorite most crushworthy actor of alltime & his lady, who I also harbor a decent girlcrush on. I told Amanda I was glad we got there early so I had time to compose myself.



The way the set was crafted, each section of audience saw the play very differently depending on their particular point of view. Me, I saw P-Sars lean against a pole a mere 4-6 inches from me, while another character screamed an emotional suicide speech up front. It was real intense & I had to look away, at my hands instead. The whole time in my head I’m going, “If you giggle, you will look like the hugest asshole. You need to chill out NOW.”

It was really, really hard, but I managed. Even when Peter Sarsgaard’s jacket brushed against my knee as he walked by.



After the show was a “Tuesday Talkback” where the actors came back out post-show for a Q & A session. After 2 1/2 hours of practice with this ridiculousness, I was totally fine being near them. They were out of costume & just bein’ real with us. They were all, “We’re just people too, you guys.”

Which is kind of true, but mostly not. Luckily I’ve got the ability to coach myself into calm, cool, collected, chillness whenever necessary (though not quite enough to pose the 35 questions I had during the Q & A).


Note: Tickets are sold out for the rest of this play’s run, but you can find out more about the Classic Stage Company here, and read an interview w/ Peter & Maggie regarding “Uncle Vanya” at the New York Times.)