The Force Is With Him

At warp(ed) speed, Charles Ross, the star of One-Man Star Wars Trilogy, single-handedly and furiously accomplishes the cinematic feat of enacting George Lucas’s three famous films in a single hour.

Well, he does take a few thousand shortcuts — but keeping up with him is half the fun. The other half is simply watching Ross channel so many characters so quickly that you have to believe he’s been trained as a Jedi actor. Surely, The Force (or The Method, or Something) gives him the electric fluidity to jump from Luke Skywalker to Darth Vader to Jabba the Hutt to many other roles within mere seconds. Moreover, he makes each character instantly recognizable — not just by what they say but by how they say it. His performance is a vocal and physical marvel.

As a demonstration of Ross’s writing and acting skills, this is an amazing piece of work. It’s the theatrical equivalent of an elaborate juggling act, as he himself admits in a curtain speech. Committing himself to this piece is, indeed, risky. If the films are fresh in your mind, you’ll have a blast. But If you’re not a major Star Wars fan, be forewarned that you are going to be lost in space — and spacing out — for long stretches of the performance.

What makes the show especially hilarious are Ross’s occasional tossed-off comments about the films’ characters, actors, and plot turns, not to mention his tendency to remark on his own performance. As if giving us three Star Wars movies in one hour wasn’t enough of a challenge, he’ll soon be introducing his One Man Lord of the Rings Trilogy!

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Let’s Hear It for the Boy

Playwright Dan O’Brien has a voice. It’s unsteady, it’s unruly — but it’s also damned vibrant. His play The Dear Boy is part of the third season of Second Stage Theatre Uptown. The mission of that company is to help develop the next generation of American playwrights. Occasionally they get lucky and the playwright and play arrive in the full bloom of maturity. Most, however, are promising projects that have their share of problems — like this one.

A drama about sexual abuse and repression, The Dear Boy suffers from some serious credibility issues. But, unlike several of our colleagues, we truly admire O’Brien’s passionate prose. Besides, this production has an exceptional cast. Frankly, we will see any play starring Daniel Gerroll, who is never less than stellar. Here, the actor is more than ably supported by Dan McCabe, T. Scott Cunningham, and Susan Pourfar.

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Check Out This Chekhov

Having last seen Anton Chekhov’s Ivanov in a major production at Lincoln Center starring Kevin Kline and Jayne Atkinson, we were very much of the belief that this historically important work makes for a pretty deadly evening of theater. Now along comes Ivanov as presented by the National Asian-American Theater Company at the Mint Theater, and our minds have been changed.

Under the insightful direction of the Mint’s artistic director, Jonathan Bank, a talented all-Asian-American cast gives us a somewhat more modern version of the play. Ivanov has dramatic tension and a surprising amount of humor, but most of all this production underscores the humanity of the characters. Joel de la Fuente, in the rather irritating title role, captures Ivanov’s wracking depression with compassion. Deepti Gupta plays his dying wife Anna with a poignant soulfulness, and C.S. Lee gives a standout performance as the kind and well-meaning but weak Lebedev. With this show on the fifth floor and the Mint’s critically acclaimed production of The Skin Game on the third, 311 West 43rd Street is the place to be these days.

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[To contact the Siegels directly, e-mail them at siegels@theatermania.com.]