JPGR Reviews as of 10 2009

Theater Review: johnpaulgeorgeringo
By Erin Faigh
Published October 6, 2009
Dave Jay's johnpaulgeorgeringo is a real treasure for dedicated Beatles fans. For a little over an hour, Jay
succeeds in entertaining the audience seated in the tiny 13th Street Repertory Company theater by himself,
with spot-on Beatles impressions, fun musical performances and a ridiculously extensive knowledge of the Fab
Four.
The homey theater across from 13th Street residence hall gives off a comfortable, welcoming vibe. The show
begins with the lights down and a soundtrack of frantically screaming girls, turning the time back to Feb. 9,
1964: the Beatles' very first appearance on "The Ed Sullivan Show." Jay arrives in their debut outfit, with the
famous black trousers, leather shoes, turtleneck and, of course, the legendary haircut.
After his performance of "I Want to Hold Your Hand," he sits down on a stool and pours a cup of tea.
Immediately, John Lennon is reborn right in front of your eyes. Jay's unbelievably precise and convincing
impersonations — down to their distinct Liverpool accents, postures, and hand and body movements — bring
the Beatles to life on stage. As he introduces them one by one, he also tells the story behind a song each of them
wrote. Then he performs each song, inviting the audience to sing along.
Interjecting humor, Jay performs some great songs, such as "In My Life," "Hello, Goodbye," "Revolution,"
"Drive My Car," "Here Comes the Sun," "Norwegian Wood," "Octopus's Garden" and "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da."
Afterward, he prompts the audience to ask "The Beatles" questions. Here, he really proves himself as a talented
and quick-minded performer, instantaneously taking on the facade of the Beatle to whom the question is asked.
Jay shows his audacity during this Q-and-A: He fields any inquiry, each time quickly providing a plausible
answer or at least conjuring a humorous cover. Watching Jay transform between Beatles and converse among
them — speaking as John, then switching instantly to Paul to add a side-comment, then changing back to John
for a witty response — is theatrical bedazzlement at its best.
Without question, johnpaulgeorgeringo is a show for the devoted Beatles fans, but it might fall flat for those
who lack extensive knowledge of the band's history and music (or, for that matter, their love affairs, rumors
and distinct personalities). And you can't sing along if you don't know the words! But if you're looking for a
delightful taste of the monumental band, a fun musical show and a staggering improvisational performance,
check out johnpaulgeorgeringo this weekend, with a special "John Lennon's Birthday" show on Friday.
johnpaulgeorgeringo is playing this Friday and Saturday at the 13th Street Repertory Company (50 W. 13th
St.). Tickets ($20; $15 students) can be purchased at www.theatermania.com or by calling 212.352.3101.
johnpaulgeorgeringo - an intimate experience with the fab four
Reviewed by Jason Jacobs
August 9, 2008
If you could spend an hour in a room with the Beatles, what would you want to ask them? Dave Jay's
improvised performance piece, subtitled "an intimate experience with the fab four" offers Fringe-goers a
chance to experience this fantasy. Letting the audience lead the performance, Jay uses his voice, facial
expressions and imagination and conjures each of the Beatles to respond to our questions. The experience
is as fun as a ride on a yellow submarine.
Jay is a generous performer who respects his inspiration but is also willing to poke affectionate fun at their
personalities. From what I could see he is ready to respond to any question that comes his way, and if he
seemed a little nervous at the beginning of his opening night show, once the Q-and-A started flowing he
found his stride.
Of the Fab Four, his voice, body, and quirky imagination seem most vividly to sit with George Harrison,
who observes the past from a spiritual if sometimes cranky distance. He describes how the smells and
sounds of India influenced his music and contemplates the ontological importance of an onstage teapot,
but it still ruffles his feathers that Paul kept much of his contributions off the records. Ringo comes across
as fun and heartfelt, and gets the many laughs of the evening. (Question: What did you have that Pete
Best didn't? Ringo: A job.) Of all the group, Jay's evocation of Paul McCartney feels the least specific. The
bouncy head and high voice didn't help me picture McCartney in the room. Still, I loved it when Paul
postulated an earnest response as to whether he believes that we all live in a yellow submarine. And when
speaking about today's popular music, Paul made a self-centered but sincere argument that he invented
hip-hop! Jay looks the most like John Lennon, who takes himself seriously and talks to us with intense
focus. When asked about his sex life with Yoko, John wasn't suffering fools. But later in the evening,
reflecting on losing his life and not being able to watch his sons grow up, Jay/John expressed a tender,
regretful acceptance of his loss that went far beyond parlor tricks.
Occasionally, Jay breaks from the talkback format to sing his own songs. (He doesn't have rights to
perform Beatles songs, but justifies it well when one of the band shrewdly quips, "We don't own our music
anymore.") Jay's tunes are sweet, and seem like they may be inspired by the Beatles; but it's very tough
for any song to get its fair due with all the focus on, arguably, some of the best popular music ever
written.
This piece relies in large part on its audience to provide a steady stream of interesting questions, and the
opening night audience did just that. Director and co-creator Brad Calcaterra has helped Jay be ready for
anything and to find a distinct vocal and rhythmic energy for each man. Stylist Maria Cullalti provides the
iconic Beatle haircut that transfers across all the guys—I'd just request a little trim across the bangs. One
performance issue still needs to be addressed: who is he when he's NOT speaking for one of the Beatles?
Jay doesn't speak in his own voice, but in between the questions, there's a drop in energy and it feels like
no one's in charge. During these breaks, small but frequent, the momentum halts and the press
conference structure starts to wear thin. Clearly, each show and audience will bring its own rhythm, but it
seems as if the concept works best when Jay gives more time to provide expansive answers, and the
occasional moments where the Beatles start talking (or quipping) with each other are great fun. If you're
a Beatles fan and go to this intimate rock-and-roll event armed with some provocative questions, you may
experience your own magical mystery tour.
Co-created by: Dave Jay and Bradley Calcaterra
Directed by Brad Calcaterra
Presented by Totally J'Blammee'd Music
johnpaulgeorgeringo (FringeNYC)
by Rob Lester
EDGE Contributor
Friday August 15, 2008
The Fringe Festival is presenting the guys whose trendy-long hair was itself fringe on the forehead. Once
thought daring and scruffy (who knew grunge and punk were coming to make it seem mild?), those
Beatles had a huge impact on music and society, still felt today. But you knew that.
What you might also know are some/many of the facts and stories unspooled at johnpaulgeorgeringo. As
an avowed fan from childhood, who’s read and watched (and listened), I did. But since the questions
come from the audience at each performance, what you hear will be largely different. Most of the show is
simply Q and A. So, hope for interesting questions and ask some yourself. So here’s the question -- it’s
about questions. If you had a chance to ask the Beatles a question from the perspective of 2008, and
reflecting back on any time, what WOULD you ask? Don’t worry that two of the four have died. We have
them all present, with John and George as if "visiting" from the other side, but just as down-to-earth as
the living Beatles Ringo and Paul at their current ages (or perhaps ageless, but with the full knowledge of
life up to the present).
This is a one-man show. That one man, skillfully playing all the Beatles (each audience member decides
which one to address) is Dave Jay. An instantly likeable, attractive guy with a great smile and charming
manner, Dave Jay simply changes voice and personality to be the Beatle of the moment, as easily as
you’d change TV channels with a remote. He also sings a few (non-Beatles) songs, accompanying himself
on guitar, with a low-key, ingratiating manner.
One assumes certain questions (or variations of them) are expected and answers planned (What did that
first rush of fame feel like? What broke up the Beatles? Can you tell us about the groupies and drugs?
What regrets do you have?) Certain known anecdotes could be worked into related questions easily
enough, and there is a scriptwriter credit to this improvised show, and the credit goes to the performer
and its director, Brad Calcaterra. The show is listed as being 55 minutes long and that timing was exact on opening night, when I attended.
Well, you probably have to come in with genuine interest in the Beatles to make this worth the visit, and hope for some entertaining and probing
questions and answers that have some "wow-I-never-knew-that" potential. Too often on opening night, the queries were softball ones and the answers
involved known trivia that wasn’t fascinating, all delivered in very causal, chatty ways without fiery or tender emotion. Some, of course, involved
conjecture based on the clearly well informed performer’s expertise to extrapolate -- what does John Lennon think of a certain recent rock act for
example.
My audience played along and didn’t try to trip him up or grab the spotlight, a danger in audience participation shows. Almost everyone who raised a
hand was called on, with no favoritism. I can’t say whether or not there might be a few plants to get the ball rolling in case of a shy house. (It’s a small
space at the Jazz Gallery, with several rows of seats, the first ones very close to the performer.) If you were setting things up, would you do that for
insurance? I even asked a question myself, hoping for a little more singing and maybe improvised lyrics. I asked about the dummy lyrics (temporary
nonsense words) known to have been set to their melodies as they were writing the songs and get the rhythms and structure in their heads so they’d
scan. I remembered reading about the dummy lyrics to "Yesterday" being about having "Scrambled Eggs" (rhyming with a reference to a woman’s legs)
and mentioned that. He dutifully spoke some of that dummy lyric, but when asked to sing a known Beatles melody with the original dummy lyrics, he
said "I don’t remember them."
He grabbed a few attempts at humor with quick answers: "Ringo, you replaced original drummer Pete Best. What did you have that he didn’t have?" ("A
job!!")... Big laugh. "John what was sex with Yoko like?" ("I suppose it depends who you ask.") Some serious moments were not dodged, and he even
took up the regrets question, with John talking about missing his sons but being able to watch them from Heaven. Pause. Then, in Ringo’s voice,
sarcastically, "Thanks for bringing down the room, John." In fact, some of the most entertaining moments came when he interrupts himself to create a
discussion or argument among the Beatles, switching voices with quick speed. But when all was asked and answered, it’s maybe too relaxed, as he sips
tea and chitchats. Rather than depend so largely on the luck of the draw with audiences, perhaps some questions should be set with interesting scripted
answers before turning things over to the actual audience. Or something besides the Q and A format for a little while? A little goes a long way, even in a
one-hour show. Then again, maybe you’ll get an audience with very different, juicy, fascinating questions that inspire some juicier, and more fascinating
answers, or it may be a hard day’s night.
www.Fringenyc.org Closing performance 8/14 but some shows will be brought back for special performances. See www.davejay.com for more
information and his other gigs.
Rob Lester is a freelance writer living in lovely N.Y.C., also contributing weekly to www.TalkinBroadway.com (Sound Advice, etc.), Cabaret Scenes
Magazine, www.CabaretExchange.com and is a judge for the Nightlife Awards and next year’s Bistro Awards. He welcomes feedback at
onthejobrob@gmail.com johnpaulgeorgeringo - an intimate experience with the fab four
**** (four stars) It takes a fair amount of charisma to carry a one-man show; to do so while
impersonating four iconic rock stars is an especially tall order. In johnpaulgeorgeringo, Dave
Jay does just that, seamlessly morphing into all four Beatles and reproducing their most memorable
mannerisms. The show is driven by audience questions, which range from the superficial (“Tell us
about those haircuts”) to the provocative (“John, tell us about the day you died”), allowing the
performer to dig into a wide range of monologues. Jay has clearly prepared for virtually any question,
and he is also engaging when he occasionally performs a Beatles tune. johnpaulgeorgeringo
is thoroughly entertaining and a must-see for Beatles fans.
—Laura Gamble, Marketing Intern