first the house of blue with hits star ben stiller, the playwright john guare and the director david cromer. >> these are people living in queens in 1965 who feel they need to be recognized by the world to mean something and they're not. it's about that desperation, i think. that's one of the things. >> you need help. it's throughout -- you walk from the train station, it was raining, so it was muddy. there was a tree with blue leaves, am i right? i walked into the tree and the leaves blew away. sshh. it was birds. >> charlie: and we continue by going to see arcadia with actors billy crudup and raul esparza. >> they can't help but keep coming because the play is so heavily constructed there's enough to go around for months. >> what? >> me. no, no. >> oh. nothing against it. >> yes, you have. you should let yourself go. you might have written a better book. >> like going around the -- and one of them always said -- >> well yes. >> i'm fine -- like some furniture. >> charlie: a night on broadway with ben stiller, john guare, david cromer, billy crudup and raul esparza when we continue.

is coming on tonight. >> ben stiller?s. it should be funny. we will see. >> his hair will be sticking up. >> do you think? >> i don't know. >> let's give him a ,,,,,,,,

. >>> and actor ben stiller talk matt lauer about taking his act to the great white way. >>> now keep it on this channel for continuing local news, weather, sports and more. i'm lynn berry. thanks for watching "early today," just your first stop of the day today on your nbc station. have a good one.

[ beeping ] our next newscast is tomorrow mornin >>> it is time for david letterman and ben stiller is coming

the book you wrote with ben stiller, feel this book, which is largely kind of a parody of self-help books, also had nuggets like this: is that--it also kind of drives your career, doesn't it? you're not doing the predictable. well, see, here's the thing, though. thank you for saying that i'm not doing something predictable, because i take it as a compliment, but true radicals probably see me as the biggest, like, sellout. like, "oh, my god, that's why she's on the show, because she's the most palatable radical." do you know what i'm saying? sure. and, really, what is so radical about me? because i'm fat, you know what i mean, like, and i'm trying to be in tv? like, you know what i mean? like, or i have corduroys and sneakers on when i went to the emmys, you know what i mean? like that makes me a radical. and true radicals and true activists and true people that are out there in the trenches probably see me as, like, "that is so infuriating "that you're holding her up as some kind of left-of-center mouthpiece," you know? but i think that it is incumbent upon people in the public eye to try

. >> just ahead, ben stiller stops by studio 1a. hello, ben.ews and weather. >>> good morning to you. it is 8:26. i'm laura garcia-cannon. president obama touches down in the bay area today, his first stop will be facebook headquarters for a town hall event. we're live in palo alto with how the president plans to leverage social media today. good morning. >> reporter: good morning. right now about six hours away until the president is expected here at facebook headquarters in time for a 1:45 town hall meeting. that will be streamed live on facebook. it's going to be an historic aol vent, the first time a sitting president uses the internet to host such an event. the the president evented more than 19 million facebook friends to watch online. the town hall will focus on the economy but will take questions that were posted on his facebook wall. that is at 1:45 today. laura? >> we'll have scott mcgrew in there as well. >> l 26.we we'll take a look at the morning commute right after this. [ female announcer ] why settle for plain bread when you can

mean, i was thinking about it recently because i have seen people in plays -- friends of mine, ben stiller play, robin williams in a play, al, i have seen his play, i have thought of it, i don't know what at this point and it's a commitment of time and so on and so on -- yeah, i'm looking for stuff, maybe. if it's right. >> charlie: did you inherit any of your father's artistic -- painting instincts? >> no, i was never interested in art, really -- not that much. that was his thing since he was five. i wish i was more -- when you look back, i tell my kids now you should be more interested. they don't care about my stuff, they do, they don't, they act, i want to take them to a movie at the festival, so it's harder to -- and i say i wish i had done certain things with my parents. i regret it now. i'm trying to make you aware of that. so -- you know. think twice before you say "i don't want to do it, i want to be with my friends," so on and so forth. >> charlie: what's their interest in acting? >> one of my kids is interested. not necessarily in acting. in music and so on. but the other guy is