Oh, Gorshin!


Reviewed 3/10/04

Frank Gorshin is a multi-talented performer; a strong comedian, a singer, a dancer, and a gifted mimic. He'll be forever linked, through no fault of his own, to one recurring role on a popular and kitschy children's live-action cartoon of the late 60s, but there's a lot more depth to this actor than any clever riddle will ever reveal. When he slips into the skin of the most famous straight man of Vaudeville, he does more than mimic or imitate, he divines a George Burns that is not only rife with recognizable mannerisms and trademark movements, but is full of the kind of life most recreations miss. In Rupert Holmes' one-man valentine Say Goodnight Gracie, we spend the evening with a funny man who created a legendary comedy team and accepted being the sideman to celebrate the woman he loved. The setup is a little forced, but by the time the memories begin flowing and the comedy takes over, Gorshin is able to capture the audience's hearts.

George Burns is playing a command performance for the Big Guy in his attempt to enter heaven and return once more to the side of his artistic and life partner, Gracie Allen. God asks him to recount life with Gracie, and Gorshin proceeds to regale us with a hundred years of Burns' memories. This may not sound like the premise for an entertaining, intermissionless hour and a half, but Gorshin is a strong entertainer who can weave a tale and use Holmes' vivid dialogue to make the audience feel not only like they're sharing a theatre with Burns, but are there for each vaudeville sketch, radio broadcast, and television bit he shares. Director John Tillinger moves the play through time and spaces onstage that are carefully crafted by John Lee Beatty, keeping the pacing lively and the movement engaging. The proceedings are enhanced by Howard Werner and Peter Nigrini's subtle and wisely used multimedia video element located behind the gilded onstage proscenium.