Anna Berger had been a working actor on Broadway, television and in films for 60 years. She has turned the act of stealing a scene into an art in episodes of Law and Order, Everybody Loves Raymond and The Sopranos and in movies like The Taking of Pelham, One, Two, Three; Ghost World and Crimes and Misdemeanors, where, as Aunt May, she single-handedly turned a great Woody Allen film into one of his best.
But before she even got to Hollywood, she spent over 30 years on the Broadway stages and in tours with legends like Mae West and John Garfield as well as in the earliest days of live television.
Three years ago she embarked upon turning her memories into a one-woman show called Absolutely Anna. Shorty after it was finished, I met Anna when I recorded her performing it for the Jewish Braille Institute.
Since then she has been traveling the country, with her husband Bob as technical director, delighting and mesmerizing audiences with stories of growing up on the Lower East Side, seeing her first boyfriend (Walter Matthau!) off to war and transcending her less than actorly looks with a love of performing and turning it into a life long career filled with larger than life characters and moving experiences.
On February 10, 2008 she sat down with me in her home in New York City. The result is a 7 part interview that will be presented exclusively here at The Boutros Boutos Follies.
-Peter Rinaldi
Monday, February 11, 2008
Anna Berger (Part 1: Absolutely Anna)
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4 comments:
Wow! She is delightful. I am inspired and so enjoyed listening to her story. I'm going to pass the link onto my friends. When will you be posting part 2?
great interview. i want to see the show! or at least hear the tape. can't wait for part 2
This is great! you guys got to do more things like this. That way I would be more incline to admit in public "The Boutros Boutros Follies" as one of my guilty pleasures.
Shout out to BB Ghali!
This is really great -what an experience, being able to hear her incredible stories! Looking forward to the rest!
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