T: Is for brilliance in the theatre

There is nothing like a live performance. Seeing brilliance illuminated on stage is breath taking. Gift #11 is the gift of theatre.

#9: The Seagull: Kristin Scott Thomas's performance is a Tony Award wining performance. She is my prediction for the 2009 Best Actress in a play. She has already won the Oliver in London. The Royal Court Theatre production at the Walter Kerr Theatre is... exquisite. This all-too-limited run leaves Dec. 21. If you're near Manhattan between now and then, beg, borrow, or steal tickets. In this production it is the actresses, which eclipse the men’s performances and lead us down a vivid path of psychological study. Under the direction of Ian Rickson, nothing is rushed so the emotions that lead up to the second act are thoroughly set-up. Kristen Scott Thomas, as the actress Arkadina, gives this self-involved diva the selfishness that demands applause. Pacing like a cheetah she is ready to rip apart anyone who doesn’t cater to her narcism. In Thomas’s performance we see the anger, the guilt and the actress afraid to lose her place at the top, no matter what it costs.