Ever since the movies started talking, the theater world has complained about Hollywood poaching the stage’s stars. But clearly, Naked Angels has bucked the trend. No matter how successful some Angels become elsewhere, they seem to come back to their 99-seat theater-working for free, even cleaning the toilet. “When I cross that threshold, it’s like going home,” says Morrow.
Named after a book about the Beat Generation, Naked Angels was born in 1986 in a scuzzy bar where a half-dozen unknown writers and actors (including Stevens and Morrow) met to complain about their lousy roles-when they got any. As an antidote, they read classic plays and began to write and produce their own works on a shoestring. That’s the key to why Angels keep moonlighting with the company-their plays are serious, with the kind of juicy parts that movies or TV rarely offer. “It’s one thing to be working and paying bills without waiting tables and another thing to get roles that challenge you,” says Nancy Travis, who appeared in “3 Men and a Baby” and “Internal Affairs” in between Naked Angels gigs.
Now, after dozens of stark, brooding productions, nearly everyone wants a place in the Naked Angels firmament. Matthew Broderick and Sarah Jessica Parker are on the short list to become members; agents and directors like Martin Scorsese pop up in the audience. “It’s odd to have this kind of attention,” says Ron Rifkin, who quit acting for years until the Angels’ commitment to risky projects coaxed him back. “As the group started, the dream wasn’t to get attention. The dream was to get work.”
But fame has its price, even when the actors work for nothing. Although they’ve posed for a Gap ad and lured hotshots like John Kennedy Jr. onto their board, some members think the spotlight blinds the company’s vision. it gets harder to stage experimental or political work if members worry about hits, not art. “I’m not comfortable with the hype. It vulgarizes things,” says playwright Jon Robin Baitz (box), whose play “The Substance of Fire” began at Naked Angels. Money is a problem, too. With so many celebrities, donors assume the group doesn’t need help, even though most Angels are unknown. “We’re one of the hot theaters, but we’re broke,” says Angel Merrill Holtzman. But they’re rich where it counts-artistic integrity.
