Every once in awhile I love to spice up a Sunday with a little matinee action, so yesterday I headed off to the Biltmore to see Mauritius, a new play by Theresa Rebeck, which opened last week, about a valuable stamp collection that is left to two half-sisters to fight over after their mother dies. It was a bit of a stretch for a play, but with the help of all-star director Doug Hughes, there was enough action to keep me interested.

Well, I'll be honest, probably most of what was keeping me interested was Bobby Cannavale! I've never seen him act on stage before and it opened a whole other world for me! He's so cute in that firemen fantasy kind of way that I almost wasn't expecting to be blown away by his live theater skills -- but he was amazing! He plays a charming, fast-talking, stamp-pusher named Dennis whose heart is in the right place. He brings so much life and warmth to the stage that I wanted him to be in every scene (and he almost was, as Dennis, Bobby said in an interview, was written for him). This is his Broadway debut but he was also in Hurlyburly with Ethan Hawke at Playwrights Horizons and Fucking A at the Public. Hopefully he will sign on for more Broadway in the future!

Although I've been gushing about Bobby, the whole cast, which included Alison Pill, F. Murray Abraham, Dylan Baker and Katie Finneran, was really great, and I learned a thing or two about philatelics, which would be useful if I were ever to stumble upon a stamp collection.

Here's a funny picture of Bobby I found at this year's Lucille Lortel Awards. Check out his Big Poppa T-shirt! Ridiculous!