BWW Reviews: Toby Yatso Excels in BUYER & CELLAR

Toby Yatso is phenomenal in his one-act tour de force performance as Alex More, a starstruck aspiring actor, in Phoenix Theatre's current production of Jonathan Tolins' Buyer & Cellar, directed by Ron May.

The star with whom More is struck is Barbra Streisand, who beyond her singing prowess, is a devotee to architecture and the author of My Passion for Design, which, thankfully for Mr. Tolins, is a trove of revelations about Babs and her tastes.

In particular, the playwright discovers that, in the basement of her Malibu compound, she has built the equivalent of a European-style arcade with a variety of shops that contain her cherished collectibles. Thereupon, Tolins has constructed an imaginative theatrical concept by employing Mr. More as the solitary shops-keeper.

As Mr. Yatso affirms at the onset of his marathon conversation with the audience, there's no truth to the story. That is, the audience needs to know that none of the things to be portrayed happened. It's a fiction. Yet, truths abound in this play on celebrity and vulnerability and conceits and aspiration.

You know that there can be only one buyer in the self-indulgent museum of collectibles, and More anxiously awaits her arrival. When she finally appears, the bargaining commences, and so too, the evolution of their relationship up to and including, yes, a collaboration around the reprise of Gypsy!

In a very funny exchange that involves the sale of a French antique toy. More and the star haggle over its price. Really? The star needs a bargain? More's not to be outdone; he holds fast to the asking price. He's no match for her wiles, though. Her power play involves her return with a coupon (!) and she gets the price she wanted.

As their relationship evolves, Mr. Yatso, with his trademark versatility and physicality, navigates from one voice to another, from one persona to another, not imitating Ms. Streisand but capturing her sense and sensibilities and familiar gestures, evoking an immensely curious but engaging relationship. He does so, likewise, playing other roles including James Brolin; Sharon, Streisand's rigid master of the house; and Barry, his Jewish boyfriend.

Yatso is at his other best when he channels Alex's exchanges with Barry, who is relentless in his cynicism about the star's intentions and insists that Alex remove his blinders and realize that he is simply her latest acquisition.

If there is a revelatory moment in this play that clutches at the mind and heart, it is the brilliantly crafted exposition on beauty, vanity, and aspiration, as Barbra is asked what wish she'd want fulfilled. It is in her answer and Alex's response that, among the fictions and the collectibles, the point of this play is finely etched. Oh, to be beautiful! Really?

It may take a while until Alex accepts that he has been "too long at the fair." He is summarily dismissed from his position. Yet, at play's end, Alex More enjoys his own sweet victory, Mr. Yatso has claimed the role as his own, and the audience is exhilarated and inspired.

Buyer and Cellar continues its run at Phoenix Theatre through May 3rd.

Photo credit to Erin Evangeline Photography.

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