Another odd coupling
By KAREN SHADE, 03/08/2009
Sara Cruncleton and Heather Sams play Matt Damon and Ben Affleck in "Matt and Ben," a Theatre Pops production. MICHAEL WYKE/Tulsa World
Friendship tested in 'Matt and Ben'
In the play "Matt and Ben," two young Beantown actors find a mixed blessing in the most unlikely place — the script for "Good Will Hunting" dropped from the ceiling of Ben Affleck's apartment.
The script for "Matt and Ben" came to director Randall Whalen almost as mysteriously.
"About six or eight months ago," he said, "I'm walking through a Big Lots, and they had this big stack of books over in the corner. There were recipe books, history books and arts and crafts books."
Then he picked up "Matt and Ben" from the stack — a play. In all the times Whalen has browsed the pile of discounted titles, he's never found a play among them.
"Well that's kind of odd," he told himself. He hasn't found a play in there since.
More strangely, Whalen already had been interested in the story of Matt Damon, Affleck and the script that earned them Oscars for best original screenplay in 1997.
The play finds Matt and Ben in Ben's apartment circa 1995 as they hack out a screenplay adaptation of "Catcher in Rye." The demanding Matt and more laid-back Ben suddenly get caught in a conundrum when the script, literally, comes to them (wrapped in brown paper, no less) from nowhere. What follows is the comedy and pain that comes when a friendship is tested.
But don't look for a character study of the two now-successful film actors. "Matt and Ben" has been described as "scathing" in past reviews, but the play is more forthcoming about friendship. The "Good Will Hunting" script dropping from the sky is just the beginning.
Ben Affleck (left) and Matt Damon react to winning the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay for "Good Will Hunting" in 1998. SUSAN STERNER/Associated Press file
"The rest of the play is 'What do we do with this?' 'Do we deserve this?' 'How do we get rid of it?' 'Do we want to get rid of it?' The script is just a starting point for the whole piece," Whalen said.
The play was written by Brenda Withers and Mindy Kaling, two Dartmouth graduates, who actually played both roles when they presented it at the 2002 New York City Fringe Festival, where it received an award for overall excellence. Theatre Pops and Whalen stick to that plan. Whalen has cast Nightingale Theater's Sara Cruncleton as Matt and Heather Sams as Ben.
"They're great actresses, and I've admired their work for a long time. It was fun to get a chance to work with them," the director said. "They're best friends, and they play best friends. It works out well."