i thank you, sir: that's all. (King Lear IV.vi)

or, how the fool made my year




this is sylvester mccoy. no, not ian mckellen. the guy sitting on his lap. sylvester mccoy, the man responsible for making my dream come true.

burns sent out a group email on april 27, 2007 alerting us to the RSC's upcoming production of king lear, starring ian mckellen. it sold out here in LA immediately. i've been stalking tickets on ebay and craigslist, but they're going for up to $900. my boss worked all her connections and came up short. she'd seen it already and was so impressed by the actor playing the fool that she had me track him down and ask him to come in for a meeting today.

i gave sylvester my cel phone number on the off chance that someone in the cast ended up with an extra. i'd told him that no matter what, i was going to be outside the theater tonight trying to get in, planning to have cash on me in case someone was selling.

by 6:45 pm (showtime's 7:30pm) i knew my chances of sylvester coming through were over, and my chances of getting a seat at all were dwindling. and then...6:58pm. my phone rings.

"kara? sylvester. i hope you're outside the theater because there's a ticket for you at the box office under my name."

i'm not sure if i shreiked or started crying first, or both. but i ran out of the office, all lights on, all doors unlocked, and sped away to the show.

thank you sylvester, you made my year.

(sidenote - cne was not exaggerating when describing what ian mckellen has to offer his gentlemen friends. 'every inch a king'? indeed.