Tasty Leftovers

Leftover Stories to Tell is a tribute to the late, depressed, anxious, dyslexic and brilliant Spalding Gray. Daily writing was his most effective therapy, and it was through his writing that he came to know himself most fully.
When he died, by jumping off the Staten Island Ferry into New York Harbor, in 2004, he had been suffering for three years from the effects of a car accident in Ireland in 2001.
He left a young family behind. His wife, Kathie Russo, worked with Lucy Sexton, a performance artist based at PS 122, to craft this series of readings from known and unpublished pieces, including a recording he left for her before his death. They were read by the above cast, joined by guest readers each night of the performance. I was lucky enough to catch Aidan Quinn and Steve Buscemi reading for Friday night's show.
The familiar parts were wonderful reminders of how he could make us laugh. The pieces from his journals and diaries were riveting. Small nuggets of raw truth about a life full of both psychic pain and pure joy.
He would have turned 65 on June 5.