Reviewed by Amalisha HuEck
A passionate, super personal and extremely vulnerable story written and performed by Larry Davidson, is all the way accompanied by incredible artistic drawings done by Justin and Marylou of 3-cubed studios based on the artwork of 60s psychedelia icon Robert Crumb (R. Crumb). The drawings give visual touching moments in all the scenes and are a great asset during the narration of his story, without which this performance would not be the same.
On top of everything, we have Heather Dowling as a director and developer of the story and Jessica Lynn Johnson/Soaring Solo Studios as a producer. The powerhouse of talent and opportunities soar Larry’s performance into the great heights.
It’s hard and at the same time great to be a dad, especially a divorced one. In one moment, you are dad and in the next one – you are done being a dad. If you are overprotective on top of everything, you worry too much. As his daughter Laurie is getting married at the Sacred place in Joshua Tree National Park, Larry has been asked to give an important speech on her most special day, on which he questions his ability to complete the task. The parents’ job is to protect their children, to give them words of wisdom, so they would not make the same mistakes as they did themselves. Needing help, he goes to a Spiritual Ceremony where he meets Mother Ayahuasca who became his muse. The problem is that the ceremony is the day before the wedding.
When Larry was getting married, he was supposed to do it very young, when no one talked much about what happened next. By everything being organized, the newlyweds didn’t know what to do. In those days he was pressured to do it, and now he is supposed to find the words of wisdom to pass to his beloved daughter at her wedding. The shame of being vulnerable and releasing it, Larry’s purging became a part of the ceremony.
It was touching to see a father who goes through the emotional journey of writing a speech for his daughter’s wedding; sharing his vulnerable moments with the seriousness of the situation and covering it with hilarious moments of love and protection he has for his daughter. The special moment happened at the end of the performance, when the lights came up and Larry saw his entire family occupying the first row in the middle section, he became highly emotional. This autobiographical solo show is well written and performed. It was wonderfully done; we felt his struggle, concerns, protection, and good wishes for his daughter’s future.
The show was performed at Zephyr Theatre, 7456 Melrose Ave. in West Hollywood on Thursday, June 05 at 8:30 pm, Sunday, June 22 at 5:30 pm and Saturday, June 28 at 2:15 pm. The last performance, which I attended, was pretty much sold out.