The biographical one-man show is kind of a weird genre of theatre. One guy onstage is Lincoln or Twain or Clarence Darrow or some such. Under the best circumstances, it's an interesting look into the life of a historical figure.
Early this month, JFK--An American Profile comes to inhabit the space at In Tandem's Tenth Street Theatre. An actor playing JFK delivers a two-act monologue in character in the intimate space of the studio theatre there.
This is a rather tremendous challenge for any actor. So credit goes tho the gentleman in question for that and that alone. People can kind of picture what Twain or Lincoln sounded like, but even Darrow, who has been recorded on film hasn't the kind of iconic presence that and distinctive voice given to our 35th president. A miss of any kind is as good as a mile when trying to capture the specific identity of that particular gentleman.
The monologue goes through a number of historical highlights in the life of the man over the course of the two acts, but the fascinating thing here is that it ends with a "live news conference" where people in the audience can ask questions of JFK. Opening up the illusion to that kind of audience participation shows admirable confidence not only in the performer's knowledge of the life of one of the 20th century's most analyzed men, but also in the actor's ability to dive right into the heart of sheer chance and whatever questions the audience is going to bring with them into the theatre.
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Sounds like an interesting trip to the theatre.
JFK--An American Profile runs September 5th, 6th and 8th at the Tenth Street Theatre. For ticket reservations, visit Brown Paper Tickets.com.
For more information on the show, visit its website.
