Solo take on Streisand tale is spot-on

BUYER & CELLAR
Performed by Michael Urie
Written by Jonathan Tolins
Directed by Stephen Brackett
Barrow Street Theatre
27 Barrow Street
(212-868-4444), www.buyerandcellar.com

By Scott Harrah

As I was pondering the show and the various characters portrayed and mentioned in Jonathan Tolins’ Buyer & Cellar, what I found most remarkable about this solo work is Michael Urie (of “Ugly Betty” fame). Not only does he portray the struggling L.A. actor Alex More, but also his famous employer, Barbra Streisand.

Ms. Streisand has been mined for laughs before, but no one has ever satirized and simultaneously celebrated “Babs” quite like playwright Jonathan Tolins and Mr. Urie in Buyer & Cellar, which just re-opened in a new space, Barrow Street Theatre, after winning raves and a Drama Desk award at Rattlestick Theatre.

Renowned for her gorgeous voice and legendary Broadway and Hollywood roles, La Streisand wrote and took photos for a self-indulgent coffee-table book in 2010, My Passion for Design, chronicling how she had an underground shopping mall built beneath her Malibu estate, complete with stores for antiques, dolls, costumes, frozen yogurt and tchotchkes galore. The only customer at the mall is Babs herself, and this unbelievable real-life fact forms the basis for this hysterical show.

Mr. Urie’s Alex More has just been let go from a job at Disneyland and lands a gig working in Barbra’s basement mall.  Of course, the story is complete fiction, and mostly an excuse for the engaging actor to keep us entertained for 95 minutes with laugh-out-loud jokes about everything from the megastar’s perfectly manicured fingernails to her coming to terms with her feelings about growing up as an “ugly duckling” in Brooklyn.

The first half of the show is spot-on, particularly a scene in which Ms. Streisand haggles with her employee over an item she already owns.  One doesn’t even need to be a Babs fan to find Mr. Urie’s descriptions of plot details of the star’s less-than-stellar films (like The Mirror Has Two Faces) amusing.

However, as expected, the humor (a barrage of Barbra tales and gay and Jewish witticisms) wears thin towards the end of the show, and a subplot about Alex’s boyfriend often seems like filler.

Buyer & Cellar is, first and foremost, an excuse to marvel at the effervescent stage presence and theatrical gifts of Michael Urie.  Stephen Brackett’s direction is mostly focused and well-paced, even when Mr. Tolins’ script seems to wander.  Mr. Urie is so riveting as a performer that one easily overlooks the small holes in the story.

TOUR DE FARCE: Michael Urie is brilliant portraying a struggling actor, a megastar & more in ‘Buyer & Cellar.’ Photo: © Sandra Couder

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published June 24, 2013
Reviewed at press preview on June 23, 2013