Jason Alexander's First Love Was Shakespeare, Not Comedy

LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, YOU KNOW MY NEXT GUEST AS GEORGE COSTANZA
ON "SEINFELD."
HE NOW STARS IN THE UPCOMING SHOW "HIT THE ROAD" ON THE
AUDIENCE NETWORK.
PLEASE WELCOME JASON ALEXANDER!
( CHEERS AND APPLAUSE ) ( BAND PLAYING )
>> Stephen: HELLO.
HELLO.
CAN I SAY SOMETHING RIGHT OFF THE TOP?
>> Stephen: UH-HUH.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR OPENING TONIGHT.
THAT WAS BEAUTIFUL AND NECESSARY.
( CHEERS AND APPLAUSE ) >> Stephen: YOU DON'T KNOW
WHAT TO SAY ON A SHOW LIKE THIS TO SOMETHING LIKE THAT, BUT
THANK YOU.
>> I WAS THINKING ABOUT IT ALL DAY.
I HAVE BEEN ON SOCIAL MEDIA ALL DAY AND EVERYBODY IS TALKING
ABOUT HOW YOU CAN'T STOP A MAD MAN, YEAH, YOU CAN'T, BUT YOU
CAN STOP THEM FROM GETTING THESE WEAPONS AND WE'RE NOT DOING
ENOUGH.
( CHEERS AND APPLAUSE ) >> Stephen: HOPEFULLY.
YOU HAVE TO HAVE SOME HOPE FOR THAT.
>> THANK YOU.
>> Stephen: IT'S NIECE TO SEE YOU AGAIN.
I SAW YOU ONCE BEFORE.
>> WE HAD A LOVELY DINNERING TO AND I SAT NEXT TO YOUR WIFE AND
I THINK SHE WAS MOVED.
>> Stephen: I BET SHE WAS.
DID YOU SEE WHO THAT WAS?!
EVERYONE KNOWS YOU AS GEORGE COSTANZA BUT I THINK OF YOU AS A
SINGER -- ( LAUGHTER )
I'M NOT JOKING.
ON THIS STAGE WHEN DAVE WAS THE HOST OF "THE LATE SHOW," YOU DID
MAN OF LA MAN CHA.
( SINGING ) ( WITHER OVER THEY BLOW ♪
♪ ONWASHED TO GLORY I GO ♪ ( CHEERS AND APPLAUSE )
>> Stephen: YES.
HOW HAVE I NOT BEEN CAST IN THAT ROLE OF THE THIN, STRING
BEAN OLD MAN -- >> Stephen: OR WINDMILL.
EXACTLY.
>> Stephen: YOU AND I HAVE ONE THING IN COMMON.
I HAVE A LITTLE BIT OF EXPERIENCE WITH STEVE SONDHEIM.
>> SURE YOU DO.
>> Stephen: YOU WERE IN THE ORIGINAL CAST OF MERRILY WE ROLL
ALONG.
>> YES.
>> Stephen: I KNOW 2010 STEPHEN SONDHEIM.
WHAT WAS THE 1981 STEPHEN SONDHEIM LIKE?
>> LOVELY, BRILLIANT, AMAZING.
>> Stephen: SURE.
A DIFFICULT SHOW.
THERE'S A WONDERFUL DOCUMENTARY LONNIE PRICE MADE ABOUT SOME OF
OUR TIME TOGETHER.
BUT IT WAS ONE OF THOSE SHOWS WHERE I WAS 20 YEARS OLDICS
SONDHEIM, PAL HAL PRINCE AND WOR WITH THE GUYS.
IT WAS A MASS CATTLE CALL AND I WAS RIGHT FOR THAT ROLE AND IT
WORKED OUT.
BUT THEY STRUGGLED.
I WAS NOT PART OF THE STRUGGLE.
I HAD A CHARACTER THAT WAS VERY CLEAR IN A SHOW THAT WAS OFTEN
UNCLEAR.
SO I WAS COAST ALONG BEAUTY BEAUTIFULLY, HAVING THE TIME OF
MY LIFE AND EVERY DAY THEY WOULD REWRITE MASSIVE PARTS OF THE
SHOW AND PUT THEM IN BUT NEVER ME, I WAS FINE.
ONE DAY I REMEMBER SITTING IN THE THEATER AND THERE WAS A LOT
OF STRESS.
THEY WERE ALL KIDS AND COULDN'T HAVE BEEN KINDER AND THEY TOOK
CARE OF US BUT THERE WAS A LOT OF STRESS.
SONDHEIM CAME OUT ON STAGE AND HE WAS LOOKING AROUND LIKE HE
WAS UPSET AND HE LOOKS INTO THE HOUSE OF THE THEATER AND I SAID,
OH, SOMEBODY'S IN TROUBLE, SOMETHING'S UP, AND HE LOOKS IN
THE AREA WHERE I'M SITTING AND STARTS HEADING DOWN.
I WENT, OH, IT MUST BE SOMEBODY NEAR ME.
WHO COULD IT BE?
AND HE COMES UP TO ME AND REALLY UPSET, GOES, NEVER MESS AROUND
WITH MY SCORE!
AND TURNS ON HIS HEEL AND OFF HE GOES.
I'M LIKE A PUPPY FOLLOWING MY MOTHER GOING, I DON'T KNOW WHAT
I DID!
I DON'T KNOW WHAT I DID!
DON'T WALK AWAY!
DON'T WALK AWAY!
WITHOUT EVEN KNOWING IT, I HAD GOTTEN SO COMFORTABLE THAT HE
WROTE A LINE OF MUSIC THAT WENT,.
♪ THERE'S NOT A TUNE YOU CAN HUM ♪
AND I GOT COCKY AND SAID,.
♪ THERE IS NOT A TUNE YOU CAN HU-UM ♪
I APOLOGIZED PROFUSELY AND HE WAS AS SWEET AS IT COULD BE AND
WE COLLABORATED EVER SINCE.
BUT THE GOD OF THEATER ALMOST ENDED MY LIFE THAT DAY.
( LAUGHTER ) >> Stephen: YOU ALSO HAVE A
NEW SHOW CALLED "HIT THE ROAD " COMING OUT OPEN AUDIENCE
NETWORK.
FOR A FEW PEOPLE IN THE AUDIENCE WHO MAY NOT KNOW WHAT THE
AUDIENCE NETWORK IS -- >> LIKE MYSELF.
>> Stephen: WHAT IS AUDIENCE NETWORK AND WHAT IS "HIT THE
ROAD"?
>> THE AUDIENCE NETWORK IS THE CHANNEL OF DIRECT TV.
IF YOUR TELEVISION COMES TO YOU VIA DIRECT TV, YOU HAVE THE
AUDIENCE CHANNEL.
I WAS NOT FULLY AWARE OF THEM.
THEY'RE DOING A LOT OF ORIGINAL PROGRAMMING.
"MR. MERCEDES" WAS A BIG ONE FOR THEM THIS SUMMER.
"HIT THE ROAD" IS THE PARTRIDGE FAMILY ON ACID.
>> Stephen: I'D WATCH THAT.
INDEED.
IT'S A FAMILY BAND WITH A MOTHER, FATHER, FOUR KIDS, ONE
ADOPTED AFRICAN-AMERICAN KID, TRYING TO BE ONE OF AMERICA'S
WHOLESOME BANDS.
>> Stephen: FOUR KIDS, ONE AFRICAN-AMERICAN.
>> YES.
>> Stephen: SO IT'S ALSO "THIS IS US" ON ACID.
>> IT IS, INDEED.
>> Stephen: I WOULD LIKE TO SEE "SEINFELD" ON ACID.
>> I UNDERSTAND YOU DID RECENTLY, SO, YOU KNOW, WHO
KNOWS.
( LAUGHTER ) NO!
( PIANO RIFF ) COME ON!
>> Stephen: WELL, YOU HAVE A SHOW HERE IN NEW YORK.
>> YEAH.
>> Stephen: "THE PORTUGUESE KID," IT OPENS OCTOBER 24 AT THE
MANHATTAN THEATER CLUB.
THE SHOW IS "HIT THE ROAD" ON THE AUDIENCE NETWORK, THE MAN IS
JASON ALEXANDER, EVERYBODY.
WE'LL BE RIGHT BACK WITH TA-NEHISI COATES!
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Jason Alexander's First Love Was Shakespeare, Not Comedy

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