MANish BOY: Ralph Harris' one-man show

by Brian McKim & Traci Skene on October 8th, 2009

We went to the Stella Adler Studio last night after wangling our way onto the guest list. (We’re practicing our FULL DISCLOSURE in anticipation of the new FTC rules that require bloggers to disclose any free services or goods. Violators will be charged with fraud and may be subject to a $11,000 fine. Does anyone feel a breeze? A chilly one? Anyone?)

Anyway, it was the same intimate theater where we watched FOS Jim “Klaus” Myers’ one-man show, “Mookie Barker Goes Hollywood” a few years back. It’s a great little space and it’s always packed… or it seems that way. Or we just choose to attend popular, well-produced shows.

It is always interesting to see someone take his/her standup act and expand it, tweak it, cut it, let it out, to become a one-man show, a showcase for one’s acting talent. Harris’s act seems particularly suited to this kind of treatment. His live comedy club sets were anchored by lengthy, nuanced portrayals of family members– dad, mom, granddad, uncle– and it is no stretch to imagine that Ralph felt somewhat confined by the club format. And that blowing it out and adding in some production and some music and all that stuff that theater folks excel at would make for a wildly entertaining evening and would also enable Harris to dazzle a roomful of patrons with his skills.

In a short club set, his portrayal of his Uncle Earl is tight, subtle, loud and hysterical. (He even did it to great effect on Last Comic Standing.) But in its lengthier, theatrical version, it’s startling… and heartbreaking. Same goes for Granddad. And all the other characters are pretty startling as well. Not just for the chameleon factor– it’s clichéd, we know, but Harris “becomes” the characters– but for the way in which he blend humor and pathos and tells a story.

And, after last night’s performance, it was announced that the show has been extended for three more weeks. If you’re in town on a Wednesday night, check it out.

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