Imagine you are in Barbra Streisand’s mansion in Malibu, California. Not in the mansion itself, but in its enormous, magical basement where Barbra has stored all the gifts, clothing, trinkets, jewelry and dolls she has collected over her 71 years.
But Streisand hasn’t just packed her stuff up in closets or trunks like an ordinary mensch. She has created a row of trendy “shoppes.” A dress shop for her costumes from films and shows. A gift shop for all the perfumes fans have given her. There even is a soft ice cream machine where she can descend to get desert.
The only thing missing is a handsome shopkeeper for her to dicker or flirt with. Enter Alex More, an unemployed gay actor looking for any job whatever.
Played by John Tartaglia, an Emmy-nominated actor best known for his work on “Sesame Street,” Alex is a sensitive lost soul who can’t quite believe he is entering this bizarre relationship with the aging diva.
Tartaglia is the sole actor on stage, but he plays five parts in total, Streisand herself, the cranky housekeeper, Alex’s gay boyfriend, and James Brolin, Streisand’s husband.
The play, “Buyers and Cellars,” was created by playwright Jonathan Tolins and the production at the George Street Playhouse runs until March 29. Under the sure direction of David Saint, the basement mall comes alive with jokes, references to Streisand’s career, and the purring of the ice cream machine.
Tartaglia is perfect for the part. He can change to a new character in a second so that conversations come alive as Alex and Streisand warily become friends and confidents. The repartee with the boyfriend Barry picks up on the myth that nearly all gay men adore the singer and that relationship becomes as important in the plot as the one with Streisand.
The set is a bare stage with a chair and a table but Tartaglia brings it alive with mime, sound effects, and his ability to switch from character to character instantaneously. Having announced at the play’s beginning that the basement is a complete fantasy and he just an actor, he makes us believe in the underground world.
Tartaglia makes good comic use of Alex’s homosexuality without overdoing it. The script contains continuous references to Streisand’s life and known eccentricities and Yiddish words are thrown in to give a sense of Streisand’s Brooklyn childhood.
Anyone tired of the stale jokes recycled in television comedies will enjoy the real with of Tolins’ script. Tartaglia delivers these lines back and forth among the four other characters with wonderful emphasis, pauses, and facial expressions. Not a minute went by without the audience laughing with approval.
Tartaglia’s ability to create an ensemble of memorable characters on the stage is well worth a trip to New Brunswick.
Through March 29 at George Street Playhouse, 9 Livingston Ave., New Brunswick. Tues. through Fri. 8 p.m., Sat. 2 and 8 p.m., Sun. 2 and 7 p.m. For tickets: http://www.georgestreetplayhouse.org/media/buyerandcellar.
–By Carl Calendar
