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Regional Reviews: New Jersey Mildly Entertaining Buyer & Cellar Also see Bob's reviews of Ken Ludwig's Baskerville - A Sherlock Holmes Mystery and The Hunchback of Notre Dame
Or so we are told by fictional actor Alex More (played by John Tartaglia) right at the start. That unemployed actor has been hired to maintain the shops and the various goods therein. Fresh from being fired from a job at Disneyland, and unaware whom his employer is to be, Alex arrives at the house in his broken down Volkswagen, and he is instructed as to what will be expected of him by Streisand's house manager Sharon. One of his duties is to attend to Streisand on her forays to the basement, and even to enact the role of a store clerk. Alex does the latter so charmingly that a sort of friendship develops between them, and he ends up helping her rehearse her role for a planned re-make of the movie version of Gypsy. Alex gets so wrapped up in attending to Streisand that it leads to a break-up with his lover Barry. Because he is a paid acolyte, a disillusioned Alex comes to painfully learn than he is not regarded as a friend or equal by his employer. In relating the story, Alex plays, suggesting rather than impersonating, Barbra (mostly); her husband, actor James Brolin; his lover Barry; and housekeeper Sharon. Author Tolins has built his Streisand around the public perception of her persona and media stories (gossip?) about her. The most interesting stories to me involved her relationship with Arthur Laurents as he prepared her for the role of Rose in Gypsy. I have no idea whether these "stories" actually circulated about them or are based on each one's legendarily difficult personas. Much about the fictional relationship between "Babs" and Alex fails to ring true (the dynamic Streisand playing teasing games in the basement hours on end with her gay shop keeper). And, as to stories about the demanding La Streisand, been there, done that. Stories such as those lampooning her movie The Mirror Has Two Faces as well as one-liners about her have no resonance for me. More interesting are Alex's reveries about his lover Barry. Barry's impassioned paean to 1950s Brooklyn, its people and values was the highlight of the evening for this Brooklyn boy who grew up there in that era. John Tartaglia is a delightful Alex More. Bright eyed, larger than life and aiming to please, Tartaglia is excellent company throughout. While he displays much pleasure in entertaining us, he never goes wearingly over the top. Credit for this must be shared with director David Saint. The original set design by Andrew Boyce gets the job done. Buyer & Cellar is well written and performed, lightweight, easygoing stuff. If it sounds like the kind of show that you enjoy, you will assuredly be entertained. Buyer & Cellar continues performances (Evenings: Tuesday- Saturday 8 pm/ Sunday (3/22) 7 pm/ Matinees: Thursday, Saturday, Sunday 2 pm) through March 29, 2015, at the George Street Playhouse, 9 Livingston Avenue, New Brunswick, N.J. 08901; Box Office: 732-246-7717; Online: www.GSPonline.org. Buyer & Cellar by Jonathan Tolins; directed by David Saint
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