Actor Michael Urie originated the role of Alex More in Buyer & Cellar, which played first at Rattlestick Playwrights Theater and where he won a variety of awards after its debut. The production now arrives in Chicago, playing for about a month and running 100 minutes with no intermission. This gives Urie very little time to rest in a one-man show that is full of frenetic energy.
Playing off the 2010 Viking book My Passion for Design, which Barbra Streisand penned and photographed, playwright Jonathan Tolins creates a fictional tale about a shopkeeper working in a mall beneath Streisand's Malibu, California, home.
Urie begins the show with a disclaimer spoken directly to the audience while winking about what will come. It is a hard row to go with a one-joke story that diehard fans of the legend may have a problem with, wanting to know the real story of what Babs is like when she lets her hair down. This may never happen if she only releases photo books, not biographies, so if one can get past the untrue story then it's a good time at the Playhouse.
There's a lot of tongue-in-cheek humor while jabbing at Streisand's lengthy movie career, including Prince of Tides and Yentl. Nothing is sacred as the writer goes after her nose, nails and wardrobe. So far, Streisand has not attended Buyer & Cellarand such an appearance might be extremely awkward.
Director Stephen Brackett keeps the set sparse and the dialogue tight.
Wearing comfortable clothes and a stellar smile, the Ugly Betty star carries the show on his little shoulders, and it works because he's so engaging. Someone like Neil Patrick Harris could also play Alex, but he's a little tied up with Hedwig these days.
Buyer sells to a niche market, as it contains tons of jokes aimed at gays and people who worship this Funny Lady. Will people buy what this show is selling? I hope so, as Urie switches characters like butta onstage and deserves the critical acclaim that his endeavor received in New York. Let's see the show go on tour to even more places worldwide and arrive right at the diva's doorstep. Wouldn't we all love to at least window-shop at her mall? If so, then buy a ticket to this entertaining show today.