Playwright Jeremy O. Harris shares a story about Adele attending one of his plays — and how she allegedly left before it even started.
Over the weekend, the Tony Award nominee posted a 14-tweet Twitter thread in which he detailed the night Adele came to see a performance of his off-Broadway play, “Daddy,” back in 2019 — from the moment he was informed of the exciting news that the Grammy winner was interested in attending to the moment he learned that she had apparently left 10 minutes before curtain.
Harris, 32, brought up the story on Saturday, the day after the release of Adele’s now-charttopping single, “Easy On Me.”
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“STORYTIME: I need y’all to know as we continue to stream #EasyOnMe that the week of Adele and JLaw’s infamous gay clurb [sic] Hen weekend I got a call from my agent to tell me that Adele needed 6 tickets THAT NIGHT to see a performance of my play ‘Daddy’: a melodrama,” Harris began, kicking off the lengthy Twitter thread, which featured a funny GIF alongside each tweet.
“As an avowed Adele Stan I knew a lot about her…her time at Brit School, her love of silly British comedies, etc. WHAT I DID NOT KNOW WAS THAT SHE WAS A FAN OF OFF-BROADWAY QUEER THEATRE!!!” he continued. “I told my agent to OBVI and TO CALL the theatre to ask how many free seats we had.”
However, as Harris then noted, his play was “sold out” that night, adding that Adele had “needed six seats” for the show. He said he told “them they need[ed] to figure something out.” And fortunately, they did.
“Everyone who has worked on a play in nyc knows is that no play is actually ever ‘sold out’ till curtain,” Harris wrote. “And just like i thought they had been holding house seats for a friend of someone who wasn’t even going to come. We got her the tix.”
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Harris said he and the play’s director, Danya Taymor, began to “freak out,” noting that back then they were “still green theatremakers who’ve had some brushes with the kind of dream celeb shout outs in support of the work that can be life changing.” He added, “But ADELE IS ADELE and this was huge.”
Harris shared that he and Taymor weren’t sure what to tell the cast, but star Hari Nef found out and texted him asking if Adele was coming, joking that Nef and fellow “Daddy” star Alan Cumming “in equal measure always knew the tea before it was ever spilled.”
“We said, ‘yes’. Then it was leaked. And every actor got backstage 4hrs before curtain,” Harris recalled, adding in another tweet that he and Taymor were backstage with the cast too as he claimed that “Adele’s security had to come and check the entire theatre for the best entrances and exits.”
Continuing on in his thread, Harris said everyone began “freaking out” 30 minutes before the show started as they learned Adele had arrived. Harris recalled that he and Taymor were given updates about Adele from the usher, including the unfortunate news that Adele had allegedly left.
“Danya and I decide to play it cool,” he tweeted. “Receiving lil snippets of info from a v sweet usher: ‘She just walked in’ ‘She’s sitting in the middle she seems happy’ ‘Her security just got her a bottle of water’ ‘She realizes she doesn’t have a program.’ ‘Wait…she’s…she’s leaving!’”
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“That’s right… She left. 10 minutes before the show started!!!” Harris wrote.
According to Harris, Adele had an issue with the on-stage swimming pool. “Danya and I ran out to see what had happened,” he recalled. “The usher was apoplectic: ‘she she asked what that smell was…and I said the pool it’s real…and she said I’m not feeling well but k. Then she asked how long it was…’”
Harris continued, “So I should say that when I wrote ‘Daddy’ i wanted to be true to 19tj [sic] century melodramas as much as possible…including the run time. It was 2h45 w 2 intermissions. I could see why someone hungover and interested to see a play might not be down but … she missed all the fun.”
The hangover insinuation, it seems, comes from the fact Adele was spotted out partying with Jennifer Lawrence at a NYC gay bar that same weekend.
“I emailed her ppl to see if she wanted to come the next day but she was leaving for Europe!” he added, recalling, “We were all shook. I sat down in one of her 6 seats and watched the show and laughed then cried as always.”
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Harris went on to share that he’s “vowed” to get Adele to attend to one of his plays as well as to “become her friend.”
Harris ended his thread by asking his followers to help him get Adele to see his tweets — and “remember” that she allegedly left his show — so he can invite her to see his production, “Slave Play,” in addition to “Daddy.”
“So RT, like and comment. Tag Adele and tell her she owes me!!! Adele you wanna see a play or don’t you???” he wrote.
Harris — who co-wrote the Twitter thread-turned-film “Zola” — concluded, “Also I’m better at adapting twitter thread storytimes than writing them but I hope it was cute even if I’ll never be @_zolarmoon. ALSO STREAM @ZolaMovie.”
Reporter Door has reached out to Adele’s reps for comment, but has yet to hear back.
Check out the full Twitter thread, below.
STORYTIME:
I need y’all to know as we continue to stream #EasyOnMe that the week of Adele and JLaw’s infamous gay clurb Hen weekend I got a call from my agent to tell me that Adele needed 6 tickets THAT NIGHT to see a performance of my play “Daddy”: a melodrama. pic.twitter.com/XAs43R9grq
— Variety Screenwriter To Watch Jeremy O. Harris (@jeremyoharris) October 16, 2021
@jeremyoharris
As an avowed Adele Stan I knew a lot about her…her time at Brit School, her love of silly British comedies, etc.
WHAT I DID NOT KNOW WAS THAT SHE WAS A FAN OF OFF-BROADWAY QUEER THEATRE!!!
I told my agent to OBVI and TO CALL the theatre to ask how many free seats we had. pic.twitter.com/H01tyHa4CQ
— Variety Screenwriter To Watch Jeremy O. Harris (@jeremyoharris) October 16, 2021
@jeremyoharris
That’s when we got news that would’ve been amazing on any other night.
WE WERE SOLD OUT!!!!
Which is weird bc I just said ADELE NEEDED SIX SEATS TONIGHT SOOOOOO…CONFUSED WHAT SOLD OUT MEANS IN THAT RESPECT.
I tell them they need to figure something out bc what??? pic.twitter.com/sKb5mSDu9o
— Variety Screenwriter To Watch Jeremy O. Harris (@jeremyoharris) October 16, 2021
@jeremyoharris
Ten minutes later they call back…
Everyone who has worked on a play in nyc knows is that no play is actually ever “sold out” till curtain.
And just like i thought they had been holding house seats for a friend of someone who wasn’t even going to come.
We got her the tix. pic.twitter.com/slK0QX6sxk
— Variety Screenwriter To Watch Jeremy O. Harris (@jeremyoharris) October 16, 2021
@jeremyoharris
Meanwhile Danya and I freak out. At this point we are still green theatremakers who’ve had some brushes with the kind of dream celeb shout outs in support of the work that can be life changing, but ADELE IS ADELE and this was huge.
Our biggest question was do we tell the cast? pic.twitter.com/vDx5J1Eu4l
— Variety Screenwriter To Watch Jeremy O. Harris (@jeremyoharris) October 16, 2021
@jeremyoharris
Before We could decide… @harinef texted and said “WAIT IS ADELE COMING TONIGHT?”
on this show @harinef & @Alancumming in equal measure always knew the tea before it was ever spilled.
We said, “yes”. Then it was leaked. And every actor got backstage 4hrs before curtain. pic.twitter.com/lHDq5kQJOc
— Variety Screenwriter To Watch Jeremy O. Harris (@jeremyoharris) October 16, 2021
@jeremyoharris
To be fair so did Danya and I but rust was also because Adele’s security had to come and check the entire theatre for the best entrances and exits.
This is when I found out about @SignatureTheatr’s celeb exit/entrance. A major find. pic.twitter.com/sJScTwVoaN
— Variety Screenwriter To Watch Jeremy O. Harris (@jeremyoharris) October 16, 2021
@jeremyoharris
30 minutes before the show begins everyone starts freaking out bc word comes up via a walkie that Adele had landed at the theatre !!! pic.twitter.com/5XuCSfHONK
— Variety Screenwriter To Watch Jeremy O. Harris (@jeremyoharris) October 16, 2021
@jeremyoharris
Danya and I decide to play it cool. Receiving lil snippets of info from a v sweet usher:
“She just walked in”
“She’s sitting in the middle she seems happy”
“Her security just got her a bottle of water”
“She realizes she doesn’t have a program.”
“Wait…she’s…she’s leaving!” pic.twitter.com/czcKCnCltt— Variety Screenwriter To Watch Jeremy O. Harris (@jeremyoharris) October 16, 2021
@jeremyoharris
That’s right…
She left. 10 minutes before the show started!!!
Danya and I ran out to see what had happened
The usher was apoplectic: “she she asked what that smell was…and I said the pool it’s real…and she said I’m not feeling well but k. Then she asked how long it was…” pic.twitter.com/zRKibgFnqS
— Variety Screenwriter To Watch Jeremy O. Harris (@jeremyoharris) October 16, 2021
@jeremyoharris
So I should say that when I wrote “Daddy” i wanted to be true to 19tj century melodramas as much as possible…including the run time.
It was 2h45 w 2 intermissions.
I could see why someone hungover and interested to see a play might not be down but …she missed all the fun. pic.twitter.com/u2b7z1gmWW
— Variety Screenwriter To Watch Jeremy O. Harris (@jeremyoharris) October 16, 2021
@jeremyoharris
I emailed her ppl to see if she wanted to come the next day but she was leaving for Europe!
We were all shook.
I sat down in one of her 6 seats and watched the show and laughed then cried as always.
I also vowed I would get ADELE to a play of mine. And become her friend. pic.twitter.com/wXUSmy1uOP
— Variety Screenwriter To Watch Jeremy O. Harris (@jeremyoharris) October 16, 2021
@jeremyoharris
So this is where YALL COME IN. I need to get @Adele to notice this and remember this so I can give her an invite to @SlavePlayBway and also “Daddy” at the Almeida. So RT, like and comment. Tag Adele and tell her she owes me!!!
Adele you wanna see a play or don’t you??? pic.twitter.com/1vFtMfvdRx
— Variety Screenwriter To Watch Jeremy O. Harris (@jeremyoharris) October 16, 2021
@jeremyoharris
Also I’m better at adapting twitter thread storytimes than writing them but I hope it was cute even if I’ll never be @_zolarmoon.
ALSO STREAM @ZolaMovie
— Variety Screenwriter To Watch Jeremy O. Harris (@jeremyoharris) October 16, 2021
@jeremyoharris