Piece Comment

Review of A Tribute to Spalding Gray


This review is colored by the fact that I am a Spalding Gray fan. That said, I found this to be an effecting, enlightening, entertaining half-hour that gave me insight into Gray's fragile state of mind in the last couple years of his life. To hear his final monologue recorded in Seattle - a work in progress about his debilitating accident in Ireland - was a treat. Even though he was clearly on a slippery slope toward his demise, he was able, again, to blend warm humor and human feeling into the detail of his personal challenge. Certainly in retrospect, the interviews Kalish captured with Gray in his last year give us a broad hint that he was not long for this world. One of the other guests interviewed said it right - there WAS something about Spalding that connected with people that made him unique. I highly recommend this piece.