Yes it is true the top grossing actor for the 90s wants to start a stage career but not just anywhere, he wants to start on the West End stage. Reports from websites such as aceshowbiz.com say that Cruise was inspired by his wifes run in 'All my Sons' on Broadway in 2008. He believes that the West End would be the best place for him to start a stage career and in most circumstances a huge film star like Cruise would fill me with excitement but there are a couple of things in this situation that could scupper his plans. I am going to do the negatives first, which are minimal but still I think they need to be said.
Inexperience. The last time that Cruise trod the boards was when he began getting into drama in High School, true according to sources the play he performed in was widely accepted as a critical and artistic success, that was 29 years ago now. Thats a third of his life that is dedicated to the form that is screen acting, something that is a true art form that takes time to hone but so does stage acting and he hasn't done it in so long it just makes me worry his inexperience will shine through.
Focus. Cruise, as LibraryGirl was quick to point out, can be incredibly unfocused when his fans start screaming, sighing and generally fauning over him. Pick absolutely any time he has appeared anywhere and the women scream and sigh and he laps it up like a cat who has got the cream. He'll go to talk and they will scream more so he just laughs and smiles, sending them into more of a tizzy. Some would say it is self serving and arrogant of him to encourage this behaviour and then you would have to question whether it would make him break character on the stage. When I saw Guys and Dolls with Ewan Macgregor a huge sigh of affection went up from many of the female fans in the theatre but he just worked through it without acknowledging it. Would Cruise be able to do the same? Or would his ego take over?
Positives.
Ability. Now I think it is unfair to say that Tom Cruise cannot act, he is definately a great Matinee idol who can provoke great emotion and portray certain characters well. His work in Rain Man leaps to mind as a great example of good acting that required some very subtle emotive scenes as well as those that are very intense. Even his work in Jerry Maguire shows his range of skills. The biggest issue for me is that he will need to project these emotions physically and vocally across a large auditorium which may prove a very large challenge for him.
Dedication. Tom Cruise is known for his dedication to his work and very hard work ethic. I believe that even though he has zero experience on the professional stage if you told him he had six weeks to rehearse a play and then put it on he would work day and night. The man obviously loves his job and has a need to make his work good, he doesn't give it half the effort it is always 100% with him. Cruise is also not averse to taking risks, he performs some of his own stunts in films he stars in, his cameo in Tropic Thunder stole the film and sent himself up and this move onto the stage is just as big a risk for him.
Box Office Appeal. Imagine not just a big name in film like Spacey, or Goldblum or even Branagh but perhaps the biggest name (bar Will Smith) of the past 20 years appearing on the West End stage. My eyes just light up with pound signs. It would pretty much sell out instantly in my opinion as fans will descend on London to see their hero up close and dare I say a lot of people will go for the potential car crash that Cruise may provide. In a world and society where the almighty pound rules we must accept that what sells is in and what doesn't is out and Tom Cruise will easily sell 400 seats a night in this writers opinion.
So would I like to see Tom Cruise up and close? Yes I would, I really enjoyed his work in Interview with a Vampire, Rain Man and Jerry Maguire. I think it would be interesting to see whether he could do it too. My only hope is that IF this dream of his comes to some sort of fruition it is either under the Bridge programme at the Old Vic or in conjunction with the Donmar Warehouse who both seem able to get the best work from these film actors. Some people out there will probably be upset that yet another American actor will take another potential acting job from an English performer but this in my opinion could be good, and once Cruise does it we may find more of Hollywoods actors stretching their performing muscles and learning how much working in the theatres can improve their onscreen acting. It could usher in a whole new era of actors on stage and stage actors on screen... it could but it probably wouldn't.
The only question now is who is going to pony up the money for this project? Which producer is going to have the right price for both Cruise and Equity? I cannot wait to see.
Xtofer
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