Life can be very interesting and in some cases, very funny to look back at. Take, if you will, Steve Solomon, who shares hilarious stories about his wacky family and the crazy characters that he meets on the road whose sole purpose is to drive him into therapy in his hit comedy, MY MOTHER'S ITALIAN, MY FATHER'S JEWISH & I'M IN THERAPY!, at The Little Shubert Theatre (422 West 42nd Street, between 9th and 10th Aves). This show has received critical acclaim to sold out audiences from New York to Phoenix. .Written by star Steve Solomon and directed by John Bowab (LEGENDS, THE UNSINKABLE MOLLY BROWN), Variety said "Steve is Alan King, Billy Crystal, a smidgen of Don Rickles and George Carlin all thrown in." The Florida Sun Sentinel wrote " Steve had the crowd roaring for over 90 minutes." Having headlined throughout the United States and Europe for over twenty years, Steve's stories relate to the wacky side of the human condition, combining comic voices, sound effects and astoundingvcharacters - bringing alive a myriad of people from all walks of life. The show has toured in over 50 cities around the United States, Canada and Bermuda, playing to sold out audiences and return engagements.
So I saw the show and went backstage to sit down with Steve about all the craziness and he delivered with an engaging interview interspersed with some of his amazing voices.
TJ: You're a funny man. I mean it, you're very funny!! I think I have seen you on a cruise ship.
SOLOMON: Very possible. I did all the cruise lines. I wrote this play on the cruise ships that management sent me on. I distract very easily. They'll tell me I need you to do this, this and this. The next thing they know, I am at the keyboard and they say, "What are you doing?" to which I reply, "What am I supposed to be doing?" I am off on a tangent or I start writing something else. They forced me to go out to sea for ten months because I couldn't get distracted. It forces you to focus and so I performed for ten months on cruise ships.
TJ: Did you go out of Boston to Bermuda? That's where I think I saw you. I am originally from Massachusetts.
SOLOMON: We did two Bermuda runs out of Boston. Actually we just did the show in Massachusetts out in Pittsfield and then we did four days in Springfield.
TJ: How old were you when you starting doing impressions?
SOLOMON: Twelve. This is exactly what happened, Tim. I will tell you now. When I was twelve years old I realized I could do voices and get money for it. I was delivering Chinese food in Brooklyn. I would go over to the apartment houses and ring the buzzer and hear "Who is it?" And I would say "Chinese delivery." They'd never open the door. So, as a child, I would go over and they would say "Who is it?" I would say something like "Ho Ni To wah HiNon Ki.". Then they would say "Just a minute!" They'd open the door and I got in that way. Then they'd stare at me and I'd say the guy just left.
Or I would do my grandfather when my mother would call. She'd call the house; I would pick up the phone and say, "Hello…" And my mother would say, "Poppa? What are you doing there?" And I would say, "Oh, well I just stopped by." And my mother would then say, "What are you doing there? I don't understand. I just left grandma…" And my father would be there yelling,"It's Stevie, it's just Stevie!!" I love to do sounds and voices. 
TJ: It's amazing because when I was hearing the voices from the audience, I was thinking that the voices were someone else. It couldn't be you.
SOLOMON: It was me! All me.
TJ: When did you decide that you wanted to do an act like this and take it on the road?
SOLOMON: When I realized that I had to develop something that had more universal appeal than what I was doing. I was working down in South Florida in my first series of venues and within eighteen months, I became the most sought after stand-up comic in South Florida. But my average age market was 75. They loved me…I could speak Italian, I could speak Yiddish…I could do everything they related to! But I couldn't live my life in South Florida. The comedy club business stunk unless you could get up there and go, (in a street accent)" How ya doin? Whazamatta? How ya been?" and start cursing like crazy. That just wasn't my bag.
So what happened was Abby Koffler began to manage me. She was an arts buyer and presenter in South Florida. The biggest one in South Florida. I worked for her and she realized I had something that everybody else didn't have. She decided that she was going to manage me and she had more contacts than anyone in the business. We realized that we had to get something that had an appeal…. (His cell rang in the middle of this…"Hi. I can't talk right now. I'm in the middle of an interview. OK. Otherwise I Love You. Enjoy yourself. Bye.") I don't know who that was.
