Beckett update, and Goodbye Majel

Well, here is my second post. I think I probably am doing this wrong, but I have never seen blog frequency requirements listed anywhere, so maybe not. I see that a number of people post frequently, and others do not. I am surprised that I have fallen under the "others do not" category, as I always seem to have so much to say. Anyway, here goes- Beckett was an incredible success. While the crowds were intimate, they got bigger each evening, as word of mouth spread. We had some wonderful comments and reaction to the performances and the direction; I am so proud of everyone involved; there was such growth from each talent; as a director you take great pride in seeing that. Of course, the level of talent to begin with was such that not much direction was needed. Just tweaks. But it was incredible, and I can safely say that I have never been more proud to be associated with a production in my life. And the feedback about my performance was heartwarming, but I was not satisfied. I never really am. Now, to change the subject. I was saddened to hear of the passing of Majel Roddenberry. She was an integral part of Star trek in each incarnation, playing Number One in the original pilot with Jeffery Hunter to Nurse Chapel in the TOS and the first films to Troi in TNG. She was always the computer voice, and appears as the computer voice in the new film, which arrives in May. One of my most treasured memories is of meeting her in New York City in 1976. That was the Star Trek Convention where I played Spock, and have gone into that story countless times, so I won't again here now, other than to focus on Majel. As we stood in the Library of the Presidential Suite at the long gone Commodore Hotel and basked and hobnobbed with Gene Roddenberry, Nichelle Nichols, George Takei, James Doohan, DeForest Kelly, Issac Asimov and others, I took a step back and just watched. I took refuge next to a beautiful, large wooden desk. A very attractive woman sat on the desk, legs crossed, taking it all in as well. She was stunning, with piercing eyes and black hair. I smiled at her; she smiled back. We were basically alone. No one fawned over her. As I looked at her, she seemed strangely familiar. Now at that point, I was not a Star Trek fan, but had just done two months of hard core Trek research, watching the reruns on WPIX at 6pm each night, and reading all that I could. And then, it hit me. It was Nurse Chapel- I knew her as a blond on the series, and at this point had not yet seen the pilot episode and did not put The Menagerie episode into perspective. So I asked her- "Are you Majel Barrett?" and she said "Yes I am. Thank you for noticing" And I mentioned the blond thing, and we made small talk about Chapel and Spock, and she told me how much she had enjoyed the performance (we had not known that the cast was watching US play THEM- and a good thing, too). I thanked her and asked for her autograph- she pulled out a note pad from the desk and signed her name. And then she gave me a kiss on the cheek and a big hug, told me she always had a thing for pointed ears, hopped down off the desk and vanished into the crowd. That whole experience was so special and surreal then; the passage of time makes it even more so, especially since both Roddenberrys, DeForest Kelly and James Doohan are gone. So I say goodbye, Majel. Thank you for you kindness and for years of entertaining me, and thank you for our special moments together. Until next time, I remain everybody's favorite Peter.