Falling Off Broadway: Never Put Your Own Life Story Into The Show!

You know, I really hate having to review David Black's autobiographical solo play Falling Off Broadway. Contrary to what some people may think goes on in the mind of a theatre critic, it's really an unpleasant task to write about a show when you can't for the life of you think of anything positive to say. Especially when it's a little Off-Off Broadway play where what seems to be a very sweet, pleasant man is trying to share some of the knowledge he's accumulated during his many years in this business we call show. But they're nice enough to invite me to these plays and give me free tickets (I can even bring a guest!) on the condition that I write an honest review, so here goes.

I'll be respectfully brief.

David Black's theatrical career, the bulk of which took place in the 1960's, is a throwback to the days when many Broadway shows were produced by individuals, as opposed to nowadays when you sometimes find more names billed above the title than below. A single person's taste in plays, judgment in hiring the right artists for the piece and ability to manage the business end were far more critical to a show's success at that time than they are today. And as you can see from this interesting column on Black written by Peter Filichia, there seems to be enough raw material in David Black's story to make for a fun little show.

But the odd thing about Falling Off Broadway is that Black barely gives you any sort of information or insight about his career. I supplied the link to Filichia's article because it tells you more of the man in one quick read than the 65 minute play even hints at. For goodness sake, if somebody's going to take the trouble to write a play about himself and star in it, I would think he would at least have some kind of need to express an opinion once in a while.

Instead we get a rundown of his childhood (domineering dad, nonsupporting mom), failed opera career (loved him in Italy but not at the Met) and unsuccessful marriage (who knows). His therapist suggests he tries producing Broadway plays (?????) and after a little moderate success and a lot of financial failure he tries his own kind of therapy and starts painting. Turns out he's pretty good at that (examples of his work are projected throughout the play and are on display in the lobby) and the critical reception to his work has been exceptional.

There is the potential for an entertaining evening here. We find out that Black didn't read the first play he was going to produce until after he raised the money. He then returned the money to his investors. Shortly afterward he made headlines by outbidding David Merrick for the Broadway rights to a West End play that was to have starred Sir Laurence Olivier. It bombed. Interesting stuff, but the details included in this play could probably all be uncovered with a few good Googles. And Black's formal and stilted narrative sounds more like something to be read than something to be spoken.

Speaking of speaking, Black is a soft-spoken fellow with a sing-songy rhythm like he's reading a children's book to an audience of toddlers. The amplification is so loud and artificial that it pretty much creates a barrier between audience and performer.

Perhaps with the help of a decent playwright to flesh out the text and some work in developing Mr. Black's vocal variety, Falling Off Broadway could be shaped into something fun. But in the meantime audiences might be better advised to just keep a lookout for galleries showing his art work.

photo by Carol Rosegg

For more from Michael Dale visit dry2olives.com