Arthur Ashe Stadium in Queens, New York, has long been the home of historic tennis matches, the back and forth of fierce competitors.
But audiences had a different courtside experience Thursday when Kevin Spacey brought his one-man show “Clarence Darrow” to Center Court — the first play ever performed in the U.S. Open’s biggest venue, for a limited two-night run.
Darrow, the pioneering American lawyer who argued key cases in the early 20th-century progressive era, was a master of the service game — service to the working man, to the oppressed and to reason itself despite the assault of well-heeled bullies and the prevailing prejudices of his time.
He was also not above chasing down hard-to-return shots — or to the occasional show-offy overhead smash.
And Spacey exploits the unconventional performance space, playing Darrow’s legal triumphs for applause and withstanding the distractions of passing airplanes (an intrusion familiar to U.S. Open players) cellphone-wielding audience members eager to capture the moment and an in-and-out sound system better suited to picking up the ptonk of felt-covered rubber balls than the human voice. The space remains more stadium than theater despite Spacey’s best efforts.
Of course, Spacey is no stranger to Darrow. He played the attorney in a 1991 PBS movie and again in a 2009 London production of “Inherit the Wind” about the infamous Scopes monkey trial. Then the actor wrapped his run as head of the U.K.’s Old Vic Theatre in 2015 with this production, a revival of David R. Rintels’ 1975 one-man play which had been a vehicle for Henry Fonda.
But though he matches Fonda in charisma and star quality, Spacey has a worldly edge that’s far from Fonda’s folksier persona. And he gamely ventures into the audience to maintain their attention through Rintels’ somewhat dated greatest hits collection of Darrow’s legal exploits. (The brief asides about Darrow’s personal life, like his failed first marriage and his “free love” dalliances during his more successful second marriage, could easily be gaveled out of the script on grounds of irrelevance.)
But it’s easy to see what appeals to Spacey about Darrow, an ahead-of-his-time figure whose passions and causes can seem as relevant as they did a century ago. “The policy of America seems to be building bigger and better prisons,” he says at one point, “and not bigger and better men.”
Delivering lines like that is the closest any actor is likely to get to an uncontested ace at center court.
All 13 Tony Awards Musical Performances, From 'Hello, Dolly!' to 'Dear Evan Hansen' (Videos)
Kevin Spacey Kicks Off (With the Rockettes) --
Who knew Frank Underwood could sing? The host croons his way through homages to some of the season's biggest hits, from "Evan Hansen" to "Sunset Boulevard."
"Come From Away" --
The Canada-set 9/11 musical earned a Tony for director Christopher Ashley -- and impressed with its opening number, "Welcome to the Rock."
"Miss Saigon" --
Eva Noblezada was still just a teenager when she was cast to lead the revival of Claude-Michel Schönberg and Alain Boublil's 1989 re-telling of "Madame Butterfly." And she wows in this medley.
"Falsettos" --
Christian Borle, Andrew Rannells and Stephanie J. Block led a medley from the already-shuttered revival of this '80s musical about a boy whose dad divorces his mom to partner up with another guy.
"Dear Evan Hansen" --
It's a bit surprising that the night's big winner performed so early in the show -- but the solo "Waving Through a Window" is a great showcase for the remarkable Ben Platt.
"Groundhog Day" --
"Matilda" composer Tim Minchin wrote a catchy score for the adaptation of the 1993 big-screen comedy, and Andy Karl charms as the cynical weatherman first played by Bill Murray.
"Hello, Dolly!" --
Sadly, Bette Midler opted not to perform -- ceding the spotlight to co-star David Hyde Pierce, who performed a number that had been cut from the original 1964 production: the charming "Penny in My Pocket."
"New York, New York" --
Last year's Tony winners for lead musical actors, Leslie Odom Jr. ("Hamilton") and Cynthia Erivo ("The Color Purple"), joined the Rockettes in a celebration of Broadway's hometown.
"War Paint" --
Co-nominees Patti LuPone and Christine Ebersole sing "Face to Face" from this musical about the rivalry between Helena Rubinstein and Elizabeth Arden, two mid-20th-century entrepreneurs and beauty icons.
"Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812" --
Tony nominee Josh Groban leads the cast of this elaborately staged musical based on Tolstoy's "War and Peace" -- even into the laps of audience members at Radio City Music Hall. And they nearly bring down the dacha.
"Bandstand" --
Former second lady Jill Biden introduced this swinging number from a musical about WWII veterans who join together to form a band. It's easy to see why the show won the award for choreography.
In Memoriam --
Justin Guarini led a quintet of Broadway stars to sing Boys II Men's "It's So Hard to Say Goodbye" as images of late theater greats rushed past, including Debbie Reynolds, Carrie Fisher, Mary Tyler Moore and Gene Wilder.
Closing Number --
Kevin Spacey picks up the mic to belt out Bobby Darin's "The Curtain Falls" beside Patti LuPone to end the show on a (literal) high note.
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Who knew Kevin Spacey would do so much singing?
Kevin Spacey Kicks Off (With the Rockettes) --
Who knew Frank Underwood could sing? The host croons his way through homages to some of the season's biggest hits, from "Evan Hansen" to "Sunset Boulevard."