REVIEW: Gary Gulman’s ‘Grandiloquent’ explores comedian’s ‘Misfit’ childhood
Photo: Grandiloquent stars Gary Gulman, who also wrote the monologue play. Photo courtesy of Michaelah Reynolds / Provided by Vivacity Media Group with permission.
NEW YORK — Gary Gulman is one of the funniest, most thoughtful comedians of his generation. He has crafted a particular style of comedy that leans on the dictionary and what one might call intelligent laughs, all delivered in a unique, pause-for-effect staccato. As a person, he’s a lover of books, which is quite evident when analyzing the subjects he skewers, and as a performer, he’s open with the public about his battles with mental health.
A few years ago, Gulman released an acclaimed memoir called Misfit about his educational upbringing in Peabody, Massachusetts, and his decision to move back home to his mother’s house when he was dealing with depression. The book’s subtitle, Growing Up Awkward in the ’80s, speaks to the focus of the narrative, a look back at his impressionable youth, a life with his mother, father, brothers and teachers in each grade of elementary and middle school.
Gulman has adapted some of the stories from Misfit for the stage, and the resulting one-person show is called Grandiloquent, now playing a limited run through Saturday, Feb. 8, at the Lucille Lortel Theatre in the West Village of New York City.
The show, running an intermissionless 90 minutes, is about the transformative impact of education and family on a young person’s life, and the framing device used for the evening is the power of reading and Gulman’s love of books (a love shared by this reviewer). He recounts stories of his childhood and the teachers who either nurtured or quashed his talents. Along the way, he offers portraits of his parents, who divorced when he was an infant, and his older brothers, who grew up too soon and too fast, but the character who comes most into focus is Gulman himself. He offers a self-analysis of his life, career, troubles and triumphs. There are discussions on therapy, his over-analysis of songs (the funniest part) and some hot takes he’s developed over the years, including one spot-on critique of the Greatest Generation.
The show delves deep into some serious subject matter, but it never strays from the laughs, which are plentiful and well-earned. Gulman’s style, for those who are unfamiliar with his comedy, is like nothing else on a stage (or in front of a brick wall). His vocabulary is advanced, yet accessible; his connections to various topics always produces a roller-coaster of semantics; he’s grandiloquent, as the name of the show suggests, but also self-aware of this grandiloquence.
The monologue, which on the night this reviewer saw it featured some improvisation and the occasional callout to the crowd, is set on a spartan stage framed by bookshelves — think Burgess Meredith’s character in The Twilight Zone’s “Time Enough at Last.” The books themselves all sport off-white anonymous covers, and there’s one shelf that is upturned, with books splashing across the stage. It’s a fitting background to the stories being told because Gulman often uses literary references, everything from a Sesame Street book to Immanuel Kant, to prove his point.
It’s so refreshing to have an hour and a half of adult comedy that is super-intelligent and about real issues. Gulman is offering up a view into his life, to both better understand his journey and to perhaps find similarities with the audience members assembled before him. Yet, this is not feel-good theater, but rather a Sherlock Holmes mystery, with the narrator searching for the decisions earlier in his existence that inform the realities of his life today.
Gulman is a funny, funny guy. As a storyteller he knows how to spin a yarn for maximum comedic effect, but the takeaway from his monologuing is something deeper than easy jokes and hearty chuckles. He’s an examiner of the human condition, a person who has clearly been influenced by the literary greats he’s absorbed his entire life, and he connects his grandiloquence with his chosen career — always dissecting, considering and analyzing with the intent of finding fulfillment.
Grandiloquent is one of the strongest showcases of storytelling on any stage in New York City.
By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com
Grandiloquent, written and performed by Gary Gulman, continues through Saturday, Feb. 8, at the Lucille Lortel Theatre in the West Village of New York City. Directed by Moritz von Stuelpnagel. Running time: 90 minutes without an intermission. Click here for more information and tickets.
