Report Filed - "LOVE LETTERS and THE GREAT CENTRALIA ADVENTURE"

Yes, it's Thursday Mona and we arrived home in the wee hours this morning. But since we had to travel from Seattle to Houston to get back to the east coast, I had some time to type up "The Great Centralia Adventure" while spending hours and hours on the planes. Here's my report .... (Long form version)






Well to begin ...... your intrepid fellow agents set out on our assignment last Saturday and rendezvoused at 1800 hours at a charming international-flavored restaurant in downtown Centralia - reminiscent of many of our overseas missions. After the trenchcoats and dark glasses were removed and the secret passwords were exchanged, we had a lovely time catching-up with each other. Yes, Agent Robinson and the FORUM gang were discussed in length and depth.



Faithful Tonto, Tatia, Jimmy Mitchell & Russ Conway




and in our "blend-in with the common folk" disguises




After a lovely dinner and a few libations, we arrived at the theater to set up our stake-out. Yes, this was a BIG assignment requiring all 3 agents and Faithful Tonto as back-up.

We learned that the Fox Studios had built numerous beautiful art deco theaters in the 1930s during the depression, but many have now fallen into disarray. The one in Centralia has some beautiful architectural details inside, but is only in its early stages of renovations.




The "Love Letters" performance (our assignment) was a benefit fund-raiser to help with the restoration of this lovely theater to become an arts and entertainment center once again. As we understood, all proceeds of the evening went directly to the restoration project.





When we arrived at the theater, there was a line going around the block. How nice ... that in this period of economic woes, that they had such a great turnout.





We got in line and mingled with the crowd (thanks to our good disguises). The large trailers on the side must have been dressing rooms or for some other use for the production. Everyone, and I mean everyone, we met in Centralia and its sister town, Chehalis, was SO nice ... lovely, friendly people.





We entered the theater and in the lobby, we met up with Scott White - the head of the restoration project and co-producer of the event. We had all spoken with him when ordering our tickets, and he had been delightful and helpful and charming to us all. It was very nice finally meeting him in person.


I SPY FORUM Gang and Scott White




We then entered the theater proper, which was quite dark and not conducive to photo-taking. And they also made an announcement that no photos were to be taken during the performance, but Russ Conway, with his years of espionage experience, managed to take a few right at the end - probably technically OK, since it was after the performance - right??

Our seats were great - the 4 of us had opted for the better seating and Scott had given us seats together. And .... we had each received a phone call during the week, inviting everyone who had bought these seats to come to a reception at a private home after the performance. We were also told that the "actors" were being invited, also. They didn't sound like they actually thought the actors would definitely show up, but they let us know that they were being invited! Jimmy Mitchell and Tatia were pretty convinced this wasn't going to happen, BUT what do we know .... ??

Love Letters by A.R. Gurney ... "is a play about two people, born to wealth, who establish a lifelong correspondence with each other as children, then in college, through marriage (to others), war, careers, affairs, and death. It is those letters to each other that form the entirety of the play, as each reacts to various circumstances and events in the others life through their written correspondence."

The director Ted Weiant has been staging this play with well-known actors for many, many years, often as fund-raising benefits for different charities and for historic theater restorations, as this was. He's done the play with Carol Burnett, Leslie Nielson, Charlton Heston, Tom Selleck, Brian Denehy, Cliff Robertson, and many others.

This was a real community event and there were speeches by the head of the town's redevelopment group and from Scott White thanking the sponsors - it was nice to see the great pride they had in their town.

Then the lights went down - the stage was set with one table and two chairs - nothing else. Out walks Ms. Moreno and Mr. Culp - she looking very chic in a long simple dress, he looking elegant in his white hair and well-tailored suit. (Yes, for my female cohorts - he looked wonderful! At 78, that man is still something!) They walked to their chairs - sat down - opened their books, and began to make magic!





I have to say first off that I am a theater-goer - I adore the energy and charm and electricity of a live stage performance .... and we were served an evening of the finest caliber of entertainment. First of all we are talking about two pros - two extremely accomplished and talented actors who are masters of their craft - together - on stage in a wonderful play!! And what a performance they put on .... when they weren't reading one of their letters, they were reacting to hearing the other's letter. The play is funny, poignant, sad, heart-wrenching and heart-warming in turns. Some of the lines were droll, others hilarious - and Robert's and Rita's reactions, inflections, and pauses were touching and funny and bursting with subtleties. The play depends on perfect-timing and the give and take between the two actors - needless to say, they were superb and their timing was superb.

This play would have been entertaining with anyone in it, but to have Robert Culp and Rita Moreno dazzle us up there on stage - well, it was one of the most entertaining evenings of theater I have been to - and I have been very fortunate to see some great actors on stage in both New York and Washington.

O.K. intermission - the lights come up and Tatia starts to look around the audience. I don't see anyone I recognize who might have come to the play. So I sit back and start to read my program. When I looked up again, the woman sitting right in front of me had just turned her head, and I knew I knew her. And the reason I did, is because I had just posted something about her on the FORUM. I quickly nudged Mr. Conway, started waving to Mr. Mitchell, and start pointing to the seat in front of me - nodding my head in her direction. They thought I was having some sort of fit - though Russ should have known those secret hand and head signals, because he taught them to me in "Hand and Head Signals 101" in Spy School.

Yes, sitting in front of me was Samantha Faulkner, the very lovely lady Robert has been photographed with for the past several years. Well, I had the choice of just sitting there and staring at the back of her pretty head - or - I could say something. And since Tatia has this "no more missed opportunities" philosophy of life, I leaned forward and politely asked if she was Samantha Faulkner. I am so glad I did because she was absolutely charming - I mean really charming, charming ...

Of course, she was surprised that we knew who she was - and of course, she asked how we knew who she was. After turning bright red (to match my jacket) I smiled and explained who our little group was, and she was delighted. We all introduced ourselves and she asked where we had all traveled from .... After our introductions, we chatted for quite awhile. She had just arrived, but Bob had come in last night. I then mentioned that I knew that she was active in the Starkey Hearing Foundation and she lit up and talked about going on missions to Africa and India to fit kids and adults with hearing aids - and being with them after they were able to hear for the first time. She described what a wonderful experience that was and what a wonderful organization it is, and she remains active with them.

And "just in case" Rita and Robert were planning to show up at the reception, Tatia had brought along copies of that TRACKDOWN photo of them from 1959.

TRACKDOWN The Samaritan (1959)




But, I had left them in the car ... so our Mr. Conway got up and went all the way back to the car to get them (it was a long intermission) and arrived back in plenty of time - with photos in hand. I gave one to Samantha and asked her to please give it to Bob. She loved it - and ladies ... she is definitely one of us, a member of the sisterhood in good standing - because when she looked at it and saw Hoby, she smiled and said "oh he is so cute!!" Yup, he's in good hands with Ms. Faulkner. And then she said something about giving it to him ourselves, and that they were going to be at the reception later, etc. etc. ... O.K. then!! And right on cue, the lights went down ...

Bob and Rita come out again as Andrew Makepeace Ladd III and Melissa Gardner. At this stage of the play, they are older, but not much wiser ... the only change made is that Ms. Moreno had now added a necklace and earrings and Bob had on a new tie ....

More magic ..... as the story unfolds to a different level - as the characters have aged, matured, and met life's challenges for the better or worse - as their ever-changing relationship over the years continues through their exchange of letters. Yes, to note - there was one small shoulder roll - with Russ Conway pointing it out by nudging me, and one sleeve cuffs adjustment, with Tatia elbowing Russ Conway for that one (trying to highlight all the important moments here, folks. )

And then the play was over, the magic spun out, bows taken, and a very enthusiastic audience rose to their feet in huge applause.





It really was a wonderful, wonderful performance!!!!

Centralia is small town with lots of community spirit, certainly suffering the effects of our economic times. There were lots of small homes on tree-lined streets. We were given the address of the private residence for the reception - and were surprised to find a nice sized home with a big porch and beautiful landscaping. Turns out it is owned by a group of guys with great artistic taste - the house was filled with wonderful antiques, chandeliers, 2 pianos, inlaid tables, great huge cool modern kitchen and a gorgeous patio out back with a fireplace and two ponds with trickling fountains, and more great landscaping. Our hosts could not have been more gracious and the house was full of people. They had a lovely buffet of goodies set-up and a flowing "Cranberry Cosmos" fountain. The Cosmos were really good, and the second one even better .... and our hosts kept coming around refilling our glasses .... so that could explain why my memory is a bit foggy on the rest of the evening.

It was after 11 PM now, and then they were there. Bob arrived with Samantha and Rita Moreno and her husband, Dr. Gordon. Turns out he was the gentleman sitting next to Samantha in the row in front of us.

Samantha came in, sees us, and says, "There's Tatia and Faithful Tonto" - well, she used our cover names (told you I really liked her). She had told Bob about the photo, so I went up and said hello to him and introduced myself - told him I was the one who had given him the Fan Award at SPYFEST, mentioned the FORUM, etc. .... I really don't remember what came out of my mouth - no, no I only had had JUST a few sips of my Cosmo by then .... it must have been "The Culp Effect" (we really should re-do that Wikipedia entry - defining it's true nature!! )

He looked great ... I gave him a copy of the photo which he seemed to enjoy very much, and I did manage to tell him how much I totally enjoyed the performance tonight. AND as I learned in either one of Russ Conway's classes (or maybe it was the Brownies) to always be prepared, I also had my Cushman I SPY book with me. Yes, Tatia had brought along one great big purse. Marc had thanked me in the forward, so I opened it to that page, pointed it out, and asked him if he could please sign it. He graciously did, from both Robert and "Kelly." It turns out he and Rita had not eaten dinner yet, so they were going to sit down to get something to eat - by now the house was very crowded and they were engulfed by people.

Ms. Moreno was talking with some people, so I just stood behind them and held up the photo for her. She hollered in delight when she saw it and yelled "TRACKDOWN!!" I told her it was from 1959 - "The Samaritan" and that it was for her. She thanked me with a huge smile on her face, and went off to eat and be engulfed by more people.

It was way too crowded for photos - but we managed this one to confirm the completion of our assignment.

Russ Conway passing Agent Robinson the microdot on the back of his left shoulder
- with cover provided by Tatia and Jimmy Mitchell.





Assignment accomplished successfully - Cranberry Cosmos all around to celebrate!!

"The I SPY contingent" went out to the coolness of the patio, but came in to see Russ having a few more words with Robert. It was after midnight by then, and Bob and Samantha were getting ready to leave. Samantha came by and shook hands with us and so did Bob as they were leaving ... very, very nice. Yes, yes - it's important "To ALWAYS say goodbye!!

We stayed awhile longer and met Keion Marshall, the other co-producer of the performance. He specifically wanted to have some time to talk to the "I SPY group." He was the gentleman who posted that note on the FORUM. Keion was a delight and we so enjoyed talking to him. We asked how he had put Robert and Rita together, and he said that he had listened to her Archives interview and Bob's name was mentioned in regards to Trackdown - and it just sort of clicked in his mind. He's hoping that they might do the play again somewhere. He mentioned the FORUM and Tatia's posting about the different ways to get yourself to Centralia - (the posting with photos of Kelly & Scotty traveling by camel, rickshaw, pink jeep, etc., etc.) And it was then that we realized he didn't know I was Tatia, since I was going by my "cover" name. He was happy to find out I was one and the same. See what leading a double-life will get you ...

Anyway, having a chance to meet Scott White and Keion was just great - they both worked so hard to create a spectacular evening for the rest of us to enjoy. Thank you again, Scott and Keion!!

O.K. the last part of my report is titled "Bed & Breakfast with Bob" ...

Got your attention with that, huh??

Jimmy Mitchell and Faithful Tonto and I were all staying at the brand new Holiday Inn Express in Chehalis - the next town over from Centralia. Scott White had been very helpful with motel and restaurant recommendations. The new Holiday Inn Express was one of the supporters of the play. As I was dozing off that night I thought, I wonder where Bob and Rita Moreno are staying - not in those trailers outside the theater, I hope ....

Well, the next morning Faithful Tonto and I met Jimmy for breakfast. The wonderful, brand new Holiday Inn Express throws in a free Breakfast Buffet, too. We were all talking and chatting away about the great evening last night and some "other" Bob things, when Jimmy Mitchell says, "Be careful what you say, he's right behind you." Yeah right, Jimmy - Tatia's not falling for that! So I give him the "I'm not playing made you look Look" ... and he gives me the "Uh-huh Look" right back. So I turn around and there is Bob putting his things down at a table halfway across the room, and going into the Breakfast Buffet. Now he was not too hard to miss as there were only the 3 of us in the room, and I think maybe another couple, and two kids - one rolling on the floor.

Now we assiduously try not to stare at him, and I gather he assiduously tries not to notice that we are in the room. Because, if he had, I guess we would have invited him to join us, which somehow I don't think would have been his first choice for a quiet breakfast. But there was no eye-contact, so we just slid our chairs around a bit to be able to glance over now and again and watch him munch his breakfast. There was a large screen TV right behind him, so I hope we weren't too obvious.

To add to this surreal scene, all of a sudden I start to hear "I SPY" music .... it took me a second to realize what was going on. I have "I SPY" as the ringtone on my cellphone, thanks to Faithful Tonto programming it in for me. And there was Tonto sitting right next to me calling me on his phone. Somehow I MUST have been distracted by SOMETHING in the room, not to have noticed him doing this. Men!! No, Bob didn't hear it ... he was getting his breakfast.

So being on our best behavior, we let him enjoy his breakfast in peace ... but when I had decided that he had had sufficient nutrition to see him through the morning, we did go over to say hello. We told him again how much we enjoyed last night - and I mentioned that Peter Kaminsky had contacted the FORUM about Bill's Mark Twain Humor Award. I asked if he was planning to be there, and he said he hadn't been contacted. (I wrote to Mr. Kaminsky later and he wrote back that he wasn't exactly sure yet who was coming.) I do hope they invite Bob, what a shame if he wasn't there.

So "Bed & Breakfast with Bob" actually translates into - we stayed at the same motel and had breakfast in the same place -- does that count?? I guess "Breakfast with Bob" could be our own unique version of "Dinner With Andre."

If there had been more time, I would have loved to ask him about something that was in the theater program ... it said: "At present he's deeply into a "tent-pole" film to be shot in China this year. He wrote the original screenplay and is producing." I wonder if this is his "Red Moons Of China" project that is mentioned on his website, and if this is connected to the "Terry & the Pirates" project he was trying to get off the ground earlier. Unfortunately we didn't get to ask him.

It was a wonderful week-end .... and it was wonderful to share it all with Jimmy Mitchell and Russ Conway (and of course, Faithful Tonto too - who definitely puts up with a lot!!)


As always,

Tatia



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