A second thought on talks

 As I mentioned the other day, I like talks. One of the subspecies of talks that I love is the one-actor play.

Richard Thomas brought Thomas Paine to life for me back the ‘80s. Hal Holbrook did the same for Mark Twain.

Patricia Hampl said the Fitzgerald Theater in St. Paul, Minn., puts on dramatic readings to highlight characters from history. The scripts are taken from letters and other writings. I’d enjoy that kind of talk.

I’ve mentioned this before, but the person I’d most like to see on stage is Richard Wright. I would love to see an actor portray him well. I’d love to spend an hour just listening to Wright talk.

• Note: For an earlier note on this topic, see “The one-actor play,” Dec. 17, 2022.