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David Sedaris on why you should dress like a corpse
I went to a play the other night and thought, wait, is this a Broadway theater or a Home Depot? An honest mistake, as my fellow audience members were dressed to harvest crops and drain septic tanks.
Was there a sign on the door demanding that people at least wear shirts, or was it just a coincidence that no one was bare-chested? I mean, cargo shorts and flip-flops, to the theater!
I know we’re living in a different age: “Who are you to tell me how to dress for a night out?” But if this wasn’t a special occasion, what was? Making an effort shows respect to the performers, and to your fellow audience members.
I attended a murder trial in Arizona once where the mother of the accused took the stand in cut-off shorts and a “Ghostbusters” T-shirt. And again, you really couldn’t find anything better in your closet?
In the past if I was going somewhere special, I’d put on a tie, but my ideas of evening wear have changed over the years.
“Those look … ahem … comfortable,” people tell me, wincing at the culottes I pair with knee socks in cold weather. And I’m like, “You do know that you can just say nothing, right?” When did that become any kind of a compliment?
The mark of an adult used to be that you could be mildly uncomfortable for vast stretches of time. You’d put on a suit and a real pair of shoes and somehow manage to work for eight hours. Then, maybe, you’d change into something even more restricting and go out to dinner.
Now we need to be comfortable all the time, and for every occasion.
Except, oddly, when we’re dead!
Go to an open-casket funeral and the corpse is pretty much always the best-dressed person in the room. Often it’ll be the first time the person has ever worn a suit, or the first time in ages. Beautiful dresses, hair done just so.
If I ran a Broadway theater, that’s what I would demand of the audience: Dress like you’re about to be buried, or reduced to ashes in a kiln.
And, of course, turn off your phones.
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Story produced by Amy Wall. Editor: Emanuele Secci.
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New documentary explores the private life of “Superman” icon Christopher Reeve
Long before comic book characters dominated movie screens, actor Christopher Reeve made the world believes in superheroes with the 1978 classic “Superman.”
Reeve died in 2004, nearly a decade after an accident re-shaped his life. “Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story” is using interviews with family and friends and never-before-seen home videos to explore his real-life heroism.
Reeve started his career on the stage, studying at the prestigious Juilliard School and living with comedian Robin Williams. The pair had a friendship that was “more like a brotherhood,” said Reeve’s son Matthew. Reeve was in awe of Williams’ energy and versatility, Matthew Reeve said, but audiences quickly clued into Reeve’s own star power when he took on the role of the Man of Steel.
To his children, though, he “was just dad,” Matthew Reeve said. The documentary explores how Matthew Reeve and his sister Alexandra Reeve Givens grew up watching their dad take the stage as Superman. “Super/Man” also reveals their heartbreak over their parents’ breakup and the joy they found when Reeve re-married. He tied the knot with Dana Reeve in 1992, and the pair welcomed another child, William Reeve, later that year.
“Dana was sunshine,” Alexandra Reeve Givens recalled. “She just brought joy with her wherever she was and could find it even in the darkest moments.”
Those dark moments came suddenly, when in 1995, a near-fatal horseback riding accident left Reeve paralyzed from the neck down. The documentary allows viewers to see, for the first time, what went on out of the public’s view. Reeve can be heard talking about how he “ruined (his) life and everybody else’s,” but in a touching moment, old friend Robin Williams is seen visiting him in the hospital.
“Robin showed him ‘Hey, you’re still you,'” Alexandra Reeve Givens said. “‘You still have this foundation of friendship and people around you, who adore you. And you’re going to find those fun moments in life again.'”
That support from friends and family re-ignited Reeve’s legacy of activism. He made appearances at the Democratic National Convention and the 68th Academy Awards in 1996, about a year after the accident. Matthew Reeve said watching his father address his industry peers at the Oscars was “one of (his) most proud moments.”
“It was just a production for him to get out of bed every morning, let alone get across the country and go out in public for the first time,” Matthew Reeve said. “It was a big deal. It was a big deal to him, but it was also a big deal to the entire disability community. We stayed up in London till like three in the morning to watch that live. It’s a fond memory.”
Reeve also went on to launch what would become the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation, which is dedicated to advancing research into spiral cord injury and help individuals and families impacted by paralysis. It was his dad’s mission to find a cure, Matthew Reeve said, while his stepmother wanted to focus on improving the lives of paralyzed people and their families. The foundation and Reeve’s platform helped bring unprecedented attention and funding to spinal cord injury research.
Reeve even kept acting and realized his lifelong dream of directing with the 1997 HBO movie “In the Gloaming.” Reeve died in 2004 from heart failure at 52.
“There is a huge amount of great actors and actresses out there, where their filmography might be amazing and what they achieve on a cultural level might be amazing, but have they actually achieved anything really as a human that moves the needle for our society?” said filmmaker Ian Bonhote, who made the documentary with Peter Ettedgui. “And Chris has done both things.”
“Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story” will open in theaters on Friday, Oct. 11.
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