I think the problem that Mr Gerard is getting at is that Mr Leguizamo self-aggrandizes by making things in his past seem, perhaps, much tougher in some instances than they actually were. I imagine that at the time it was a great coup for young Mr Leguizamo to get his show, developed partly in class with mr Handman, MAMBO MOUTH played from November 1990-February 1991 in the 74 seat sub-plot. At some point in February it moved to the Main Stage, and ran til the end of April 1991.
Comedy or not, Mr Leguizamo's perhaps ill chosen words did indicate that Mr Handman/APT thought so little of his show that they shoved it into a hallway. That might be a 'joke', but its a joke at the expense of the truth. APT had two spaces. This small, developmental work, was given a platform in APT's developmental performance space.
For a young writer/actor this was a great thing. The contemporary reviews of MAMBO MOUTH liked much, but were fairly universal in saying that the segments making up the show were not as carefully thought out and written as the perhaps should have been - but Mr Leguizamo's huge personality covered over the seams - and was very entertaining.
It would have been fine for Mr Leguizamo to poke fun at the 'hallway', if he had said something supportive about Handman/APT first.
The bigger mystery is, on a show crushed for time which couldn't let the author of the Best Play speak - why was Mr Leguizamo allowed to ramble on and on? |
