PERCEPTIONS by Steve Feitl
By: Steve Feitl
So I spent my Saturday night with an Academy Award-winning actress.
Since that’s not the normal lead statement in a local newspaper column, I’ll repeat it. I was at "Cirque du Soleil Varekai" at Randall’s Island in New York on Saturday evening and who should sit down next to me, but a rather well-known movie star.
Actually she was seated next to my girlfriend, Jessica, but it just makes it easier for the story’s sake to say she sat next to us. I’m not going to reveal this celebrity’s identity, because a) this isn’t Page 6 of a tabloid, and b) it’s really not essential to my column, because this isn’t a story about the actress.
It’s a story about nearly every one else in the audience.
You see, the VIP and her entourage arrived right before the start of the show. Now far and away, she is the most famous person I’ve ever been in the proximity of, so Jess and I acknowledged her identity to each other, laughed and then turned our attention to the show.
If you’ve never seen a Cirque du Soleil production, you really owe it to yourself to catch one. With a name loosely translated to "Circus of the Sun," the Quebec-based performance company presents a dramatic combination of stunts, performance and spectacle.
And while the first half was stirring, the real show began during intermission.
Word spread quickly of the celebrity’s presence in the fourth row, dead-center of the theater in the round. Suddenly, all eyes had fixed directly on the actress.
Other people in our row walked out of their way to exit on our side, simply so they could brush past the heroine.
It took all of two minutes for the first person to approach her in hopes of a photograph.
The rest of the audience, well, they were simply enamored. Guests in the first three rows were standing with their backs to the stage, smiling and staring at the feature film starlet. Theater-goers behind us had spread out to either side to get a better view. And audience members as far as three sections to our left and right had their heads cocked directly at the famous woman.
It was clear the audience was fascinated with her presence. I was fascinated with the audience’s fascination.
What did they expect her to do? Did they think she was going to stand up and break into a monologue from one of her blockbuster movies? Were they expecting her to dance a jig? Perhaps she could have brought her Oscar and posed for publicity shots.
No, she wasn’t going to do anything of the sort. She was going to sit there and watch the second half of the show, applaud the amazing acts and get up and leave when it was all over. That’s it. Yes, she’s rich. Yes, she’s famous. But on Saturday night, she was there for the same reason as every other person in that theater to see a show.
As we sat there and marveled at the voyeurism on display, Jess noted that many in the audience would have been overwhelmed with the opportunity to sit next to one of the most sought-after actresses in Hollywood today. Meanwhile, we sat there and said nothing to her. In our eyes, there was no reason.
She was there as a spectator a fellow spectator at that. If there was an occasion where I would’ve said something to any other theater neighbor, I would not have hesitated to do so with the celebrity. But I certainly was not going out of my way to do so.
Case in point, about halfway through intermission, Jess put her head down and I scratched the back of her neck. The Hollywood star looked over and apparently thought it was cute. She smiled and let out an "Aww." I acknowledged her reaction, we smiled and exchanged pleasantries. They were the type of "Hi, how are you?" greetings that you typically don’t even answer. They were simply courtesy statements.
And that was it. That was the extent of our interaction with the "talk of the audience." Not everyone was as reserved.
One lady stretched herself across the other three members of the actress’ party to determine her identity which never seemed to be in doubt with anyone else.
"Excuse me, but I have to know. Are you really (insert celebrity name)?"
"Yes, I am."
"Oh my God! I don’t believe it. You have to meet my boyfriend. He’s a huge fan."
At that point the "huge fan" bashfully waved from the aisle. I would have loved to have known if he was just shy from meeting the stunning leading lady, or if he was simply embarrassed by his girlfriend’s lack of tact.
After our brief conversation with the actress, we noticed a change in the audience’s attention. The rest of her group had left their seats for the bathrooms, snack bar or souvenir stand, so the only people in the row were the notable thespian, my girlfriend and myself all seated together. Even though our conversation had probably clocked in at less than 10 seconds, the inference in the audience’s eyes was clear: we had become members of the celebrity’s party.
So while the people in front of us whispered back and forth about us, undoubtedly trying to figure out our relation to the actress, the three of us all sat there, politely smiling back at the unwavering eyes.
For once, I understood what it must be like to be famous. While it was uncomfortable, don’t expect me to suddenly carry a torch for celebrity privacy. After all, it’s the price of fame. I’m sure the cost of the ticket (assuming she didn’t receive comps) had less of an impact on her wallet than it did mine. It’s true that the average person probably doesn’t appreciate the ability to have a quiet meal in a restaurant without being disturbed by autograph hounds. That’s a celebrity problem. But let’s be fair. The movie star doesn’t have to worry about making a monthly mortgage and car payment. That’s an everyday person problem. And that’s the trade off.
And to her credit, this particular star took all the attention in stride. She was polite and gracious with everyone that spoke to her. And she didn’t try to hide herself behind a hat and sunglasses. She knew she would be recognized and she dealt with it. I applaud her for that.
What I couldn’t understand was how the audience couldn’t get over her mere presence. We love to put people on pedestals. She is very talented at what she does, and it clearly is a talent that is worth a lot of money to herself and the movie studios that hire her. But acting is just her job. Just like chefs uses their talents to cook or computer programmers use their talents to write software. These are all just examples of people using their talents as their profession. Would you ask an award-winning public accountant for a picture?
And it was this circus atmosphere that outdid any spectacle the performers could produce on the stage. But once the show kicked back into gear, most people (amazingly not all) returned their focus to the performance. And as the flying gymnasts returned from their atmospheric heights, the show reached its conclusion. While the audience gave the performers a well-deserved standing ovation, the actress took the opportunity to exit ahead of the crowd.
When the house lights came back on, people immediately turned back around to catch another glimpse of the actress. To their dismay, she was gone and the brush with greatness was over. But the storytelling had clearly just begun. Cell phones came out and the audience members immediately started dialing friends and families to share their joy. Others undoubtedly went home and wrote e-mails to loved ones, acquaintances or Internet chat buddies. I’m sure all phone calls and messages revolved around the Hollywood star.
As for me, I came home and wrote about the audience. They were the true story.
Steve Feitl is the managing editor of The Lawrence Ledger. He can be reached at [email protected].

