Did she really say that yesterday on television? Did you see his picture on the front page? Are they still together or did she cheat on him again? The lives of celebrities are entertaining to those of us who have not achieved fame or status. It is almost unbelievable what happens to professional movie stars in their daily lives, and how normal these same people can seem when showing fear and emotion if they allow you to look behind the scenes.
The show "Celebrity Autobiography," presented by the Lyric Stage Company of Boston on April 2, provided an insight into the autobiographies of eighteen celebrities of completely different genres. The original concept for this show, in which actors read out of various well?loved and well?hated celebrities' autobiographies, was created by Eugene Pack and DayleReyfel and has been performed with a number of variations by different theater groups all over the country. This means that every show is unique and does not only include different actors, but also different autobiographies. The producers succeeded in combining pieces of these autobiographies to make funny conversations, emotional fights and entertaining descriptions of the lives of the famous.
The star guest of the one?night show in Boston was award?winning Broadway star Cady Huffman. She was joined by five of the Boston Lyric Stage favorites: Maureen Keiller, Robert Saoud, Timothy John Smith, Maryann Zschau and SpiroVeloudos.
Without any scenery or costumes but with great performance and imagination, the audience was introduced to the secret thoughts of celebrities. Timothy John Smith opened the show with a reading out of "Me" by Ricky Martin and revealed that the singer calls himself Kiki in private instead of Ricky. Other confessions were made by Cady Huffman who read "The Poems of Suzanne Somers." Somers describes her peculiarly entertaining definition of love, and also reveals that she would rather cancel an appointment than leave the house if her hair is not perfect.
It was impressive how well pieces of different autobiographies seamlessly ran together, creating a sense of dialogue between the celebrities as their different stories were told. Highlights of the show were the sex talks of Burt Reynolds and Loni Anderson, as well as the Cleopatra Affair, which covers the interwoven relationships and intrigues among Elizabeth Taylor, Debbie Reynolds and Eddie Fisher.
The Boston Lyric Company also made fun of the temperamental ups and downs and the airs and graces of other celebrities like Broadway stars Carol Channing and Ginger Rogers. The spectrum of celebrities ranged from classy Elizabeth Taylor to Little House on the Prairie actress Melissa Gilbert to David Hasselhoff and even to contemporary celebrities such as Snooki and the Jonas Brothers. This variety assured a good balance of humor and made the show accessible to audience members of different age ranges, even if the focus was on older Broadway stars. In general, the show is an entertaining and very well?made production. The number of laughs, however, depends on the knowledge of individual audience members and how informed they are about each celebrity.
The date of the next performance is not set yet, but the company's next repertoire should at least include one show. Traveling to Boston is worth it to discover the great theater of the Boston Lyric Company, even if it the tickets are usually between $25 and $30. Viewers who are already well?versed in celebrity gossip, however, will enjoy the show the most.
