His insistence that he’s a man, to be thus recognized, introduces Blake Walton’s autobiographical drama, Leading Men. It goes full circle from his problematic relationship to his father through his relationship to his son and round to a true understanding at last of his father. They forge the last link with mutual acceptance.
Despite his emphasis on fathering, Walton paints an admiring picture of his mother. She raised him and three siblings under tough conditions but became a prominent educator. Walton credits her with encouraging his self-expression. It’s certainly on display throughout Leading Men.
Walton’s performance is unencumbered by props or projections, so often employed in presentations like his. He creates the scenes of his drama by his telling it in well-chosen words and gesture.
