CHARLIE ROSE

"I believe that there is a place in the spectrum of television for really good conversation, if it is informed, spirited, soulful." Charlie Rose

CHARLIE ROSE the journalist, and the program used to be one of the few staples of my television viewing. That was back in the good old days when his daily shows aired at ll:35 p.m., which was the time all the late night talk shows began on the West Coast.

When PBS moved the show to 12:35 a.m., I began watching less and less until I hardly ever catch a show now days. The time slot was just too late for this working girl.

Skip the advice about taping. Uh, yeah right! I'd forget to remove the tapes and it would tape over shows before I had a chance to view them. Anyway, I had a bit of insominia last week and caught the conversation between Charlie and Kevin Spacey. He had Mr. Spacey on for almost the entire hour. Mr. Spacey is currently starring in a production of Shakespeare's Richard II directed by none other than Trevor Nunn. For those of you who don't know who Trevor Nunn is, he is currently touted as the premier director of all things Shakespeare.

What I didn't know was that Mr. Spacey was recently named Artistic (Creative) Director of the OLD VIC theatre in London. The production of Richard II is, of course, being done at the Old Vic. Wow! Not bad for a Yank. Good for Kevin Spacey!!!

As ususal Charlie conducted an interesting conversation covering many topics. Since I love all things theatre, am a slightly interested Kevin Spacey fan, and adore intelligent conversation, I decided to tune in despite the late hour.

Mr. Spacey appears to be having a blast in his latest endeavor. He hopes to build a long lasting program at the Old Vic and leave something of value behind. It sounds like he has a great idea to mix classical theater productions with more contemporary and cutting edge stuff. Whether he will be successful or not remains to be seen, but I applaud the courage to pursue something in an acting career besides money. What an interesting challenge for one who has had such a successful career in both theater (U.S.) and film. I can't help but admire him.

Maybe I'll make it to London during Mr. Spacey's tenure there and see a production! Of course, the guy I live with wants to do something "tropical" next vacation...so we'll see! ; -) The program did inspire me to try and catch Charlie's program more often or at least tape it occassionally. He really is a great interviewer.