Laughter is the best ‘Therapy’
At the The Palace Theatre in Greensburg 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Sept. 20.
Steve Solomon, creator and star of “My Mother’s Italian, My Father’s Jewish & I’m in Therapy” at The Palace Theatre in Greensburg 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Sept. 20
Steve Solomon's "My Mother's Italian, My Father's Jewish and I'm in Therapy" at Byham Theater, Pittsburgh Jan 17 and 18. A laugh-filled fest of everybody you know all brought to life on stage by the comic magic of Steve Solomon. Tickets: trustarts.org or 412-456-6666. Presented by Pittsburgh Cultural Trust.
Steve Solomon brings 30 characters to the stage in “My Mother’s Italian, My Father’s Jewish & I’m in Therapy” at The Palace Theatre Sept. 20.
Steve Solomon, creator and star of “My Mother’s Italian, My Father’s Jewish & I’m in Therapy” performs in this file shot. Solomon will bring his humor to The Palace Theatre in Greensburg 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Sept. 20
Details:
Steve Solomon’s “My Mother’s Italian, My Father’s Jewish & I’m In Therapy”
When: 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Sept. 20
Where: The Palace Theatre, Otterman Street, Greensburg
Admission: $25-$40
Tickets: 724-836-8000
If you ask Steve Solomon why he’s in therapy, he will jokingly tell you it stems from his incarceration as a child.
Solomon is the creator and star of “My Mother’s Italian, My Father’s Jewish & I’m In Therapy,” on stage at The Palace Theatre in Greensburg for two shows at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Sept. 20.
Although “Therapy” is a one-man show, Solomon himself portrays an abundance of characters from the multi-ethnic Brooklyn neighborhood where he grew up.
“In Sheepshead Bay everyone is, we’ll say, different,” joked Solomon. “My parents were nuts. My uncle Paulie was a lunatic and my sister was crazy.”
Solomon immediately slides into character, a heavy Brooklyn accent, and a story about his sister
“My sister smokes four packs of cigarettes a day. She’s been smoking since she was 3. She’s a legend in the smoking business. To date she’s set fire to two mattresses, lost three husbands, been diagnosed with acute asthma and her cat has feline emphysema. I looked at her and asked ‘why do you do it?'” Solomon said.
Then answering in the deep smoker’s voice of his sister, “I do it (cough, cough, cough) because I like it! And if I stop, I’ll gain weight.”
Solomon said his childhood home was the perfect training ground for a comedian and dialect enthusiast. He learned at an early age how to use his gift for imitating accents to his advantage.
Prior to his professional comic career, Solomon was a physics teacher and assistant superintendent of schools in Long Island, New York. All the while, he continued to write and submit funny stories to periodicals and comedians he knew in the business. Eventually he couldn’t ignore his calling.
“I loved teaching, but I didn’t want to be a stuck up bureaucrat academic. I decided follow my heart and become an impoverished comedy writer and performer.”
Telling his parents the news is one of the many hysterical stories included in “Therapy.”
In addition to his immediate family, Solomon introduces 30 characters in the show including his therapist, a stuttering cousin, store owners, a cousin on parole and his parole officer, not to mention an old-world Jewish grandmother.
“You don’t have to be Jewish or Italian to love the show. People always tell me they can relate to the show so much. It reminds them of their family, friends or just people they encounter everyday,” said Solomon. “Everybody walks out of the theater identifying with a character.”
“Therapy,” which earned a Best New Play distinction from BroadwayWorld.com in 2009, is the first of four original “My Mother’s Italian, My Father’s Jewish” shows developed by Solomon, others are: “Still In Therapy,” “Home For the Holidays,” and “Cannoli, Latkes and Guilt.”
The original “Therapy” reached a milestone 4,000 performances this year while nearly one million people have seen all four productions. Among his recent tour stops are Las Vegas, Connecticut, South Carolina, Delaware and Texas.
“I want people to love the show,” said Solomon. “Every night is opening night with that as my guide once the music starts playing I can’t wait.”
While “Therapy” is suitable for all ages, Solomon boldly claims the show’s political incorrectness is one of its greatest attributes.
“When people ask me if my show is politically incorrect, yes it is. That’s what makes it funny,” he said. “But I’ve never received any feedback that it’s been offensive.”
Show material is ever evolving and Solomon often goes off script if the situation lends itself to do so.
“I mean if a cell phone goes off while I’m on stage, there’s no way I’m ignoring it.”
His material strikes a chord with the audience, and Solomon is keenly aware that the show itself may be therapeutic.
“The audience can expect to leave laughing their heads off and feeling like they are leaving a family dinner, then remembering why they left home in the first place,” he laughed.