Actor Chris Crawford is starring in playwright Jonathan Tolins' "Buyer & Cellar" opening Friday at Actors' Playhouse at the Miracle Theater. The show runs through Aug. 7.
Winner of the 2013 Drama Desk Award, the funny one-man tour-de-force is an outrageous comedy about the oddest of odd jobs. "Buyer & Cellar" is about an underemployed Los Angeles actor named Alex More who goes to work in Barbra Streisand’s Mailbu basement.
Crawford plays a half-dozen roles including Alex More, his boyfriend, Barry, James Brolin, Streisand’s House manager and ultimately Barbra herself.
miamiartzine.com: Playwright Jonathan Tolins took inspiration for "Buyer & Cellar" from Streisand’s 2010 book, "My Passion for Design," which showcases the recording star’s Malibu dream house, including the bizarre street of shops in the basement of a barn on her estate. Sounds wild for a script? Tell me your take on it.
Chris Crawford: I think the book is fascinating. It took me forever to get my hands on a copy. And as I looked through it, it made my connection to the play come alive. I joked with Dave (artistic director David Arisco) by saying, "NOW I'm ready to do this play." I thought I was ready, but I actually had no idea. (Barbra) has a napping room! She is such a fascinating character and you learn so much from every page of the book. The photo captions are particularly enlightening.
MAZ: It must be a bitch to do a one-man show. Just you. And everyone probably asks: 'How'd you learn all those lines?' Tell me about being on stage alone and having to carry a show all by yourself.
CC: It's extremely intimidating when you're first facing it. It's a challenge, though, that every actor hopes for. And then when you're staring at the script for the first time you're say to yourself, "What did I get myself in to?" But, gradually it becomes a part of you. I'm really lucky with this script because so much of the play is a one-on-one conversation with the audience. So, even though I'm alone on stage, I'm not truly alone because I'm getting to talk directly to them.
MAZ: Have you done a one hander before?
CC: I did a play that was something similar, but not on this scale. It was called "Howie the Rookie" by Mark O' Rowe, where one-man does the entire first act and one-man does the entire second act. I did the second act and was on stage alone for about 50 minutes. Carrying a 95-minute show is a completely different ball game.
MAZ: Are you a fan of Barbra Streisand's? If so, how does it play into how you developed your character?
CC: It's very interesting because I'm a lot like my character, Alex, in that regard. The character says that he wasn't THAT into Barbra when he started his job in the basement. I'm the same. I've always appreciated and admired her talent and what she's accomplished during her life and career. But now, having read her book and worked on this piece, I have a whole new understanding and respect for her. She's brilliant. And even though this play takes some light punches, mostly at her level of celebrity, you get to see a lot of the heart behind her work.
MAZ: What do you think is the one thing you want audiences to take away from "Buyer & Cellar" when they leave the theater?
CC: It's such a funny, sweet piece of theater. And what each audience member takes away will, most likely, be a bit different based on where they are in their lives. That being said, I hope that what resonates is the fact that sometimes we find ourselves getting what we always thought we wanted, but it doesn't come in the ways that we hoped or expected it would. And that's okay. And sometimes what we thought we wanted turns out to be only part of our story.
"Buyer and Cellar" runs through Aug. 7 at the Actors’ Playhouse at the Miracle Theater, 280 Miracle Mile, Coral Gables, Florida 33134. Showtimes are Wednesday through Saturday at 8 p.m., Sunday at 3 p.m. A special weekday matinee is scheduled on Wednesday, July 20 at 2 p.m.
Tickets for weeknights and matinees are $45, and on Friday and Saturday evenings $53. The theater offers a 10 percent senior discount rate the day of performance and $15 student rush tickets 15 minutes prior to curtain with identification.
Discounts are based on availability and exclude Saturday and Sunday. To purchase tickets, call 305-444-9293 or visit: www.actorsplayhouse.org
