"Now What?": A New Visit with an Old Friend

SHOW INFORMATION: Now What? runs through January 20 at CENTERSTAGE.  Performances are Weds – Sat at 8:30PM, Sun at 8PM.  Tickets are $20 general/$15 Subscribers/$10 Students.  www.centerstage.org or 410-332-0033 

1 hour, 20 minutes, no intermission.  Adult language and sexual themes.

◊◊◊◊ out of five.

Now What?, the new one-man show/monologue from Josh Lefkowitz which opened last night at CENTERSTAGE, is, in some ways, your typical sequel.  The performer is the same, and the story picks up where the first part, Help Wanted, left off.  Many of the characters are the same – Josh, Anika, his girlfriend, even his dad makes a "cameo."  There is a definite comfort in the familiar here, particularly given the atypical (for around here, anyway) genre of these two pieces.  But, also, like a sequel, there is something just a tinge less satisfying about it.  And, no, I don't mean the piece is bad, and no, Mr. Lefkowitz is NOT suffering from the sophomore slump, either.  I think that the "less" feeling comes purely from the lack of making a surprise discovery this time around.  I now know Josh's work, and my expectations are appropriately high, but now it is as new to me, is all.  That said, Now What? also shows a remarkable growth for the writer/performer, who is definitely heading in the right direction.  As a whole, this work (which easily stands on its own – you need not see Help Wanted to understand Now What?) is more literate, poetic, and dangerous.

One of the hallmarks of a Josh Lefkowitz performance is that the actor is so accessible.  His wide, expressive brown eyes are warm and inviting, his smile is genuine and ingratiating, and his physical presence is both everyday friendly and theatrically larger than life.  His facial expressions are the portal though which we gain access to his world.  One tilt of the head, one gaping mouth, and we are transported.  Then there is his delivery – an odd mix of stream of consciousness, every day chatter, stand up comic, and wry story teller.  His pauses, Pinteresque in quality, often say as much if not more than his words.  Now What?, minus Help Wanted's table and written pages (a la Spaulding Gray, his mentor),  allows Josh to leap from his seat, pace the floor, reenact scenes from his life, and give us whole body characterizations of a wealth of people.  He does each character so well – all with a slight change of voice and a minor adjustment to his body language – that I swear you could pick the "real" people out of a line up if you had to.  Mr. Lefkowitz is equally adept at selecting his movement as he is at taking a pause to take a sip from his water bottle, and while every movement fits perfectly, not one seems less than spontaneous.  That he makes each member of the audience feel as if he is talking just to them is a bonus.

This follow up monologue has many of the same great qualities of the first.  The story is non-linear linear – he is such a master at story telling that you go one way for a bit, then meander off the path, then off that path and then another, and all of a sudden, you are back to the original path again.  That return is always a surprise, and is always greeted with approving laughter from both audience and actor.  Now What? is also chock full of common experiences – talking over a pizza, tiny bedtime arguments, a ride on a train, walking through a city – and tidbits of pop culture – the Sunday New York Times, movie references (I will never go to a Subway sandwich shop again without thinking of a very vivid image from the show).  All of this helps make Josh's world our world, universal.  But Now What? also stretches the content boundaries with decidedly more poetic imagery and alliterations, and abundantly more literate.  In this piece, Lefkowitz makes pointed use of literary allusion – the green light from The Great Gatsby, and the relationships of Long Day's Journey Into Night figure prominently in the show.  And many of his references will appeal to the more learned in the audience, including an absolutely hilarious sequence in a book store where the great writers of the ages talk to Josh from the shelves.  Those literary moments, interestingly enough, have the desired effect of maturing his writing, and yet, remarkably remain as accessible to all as his chatter about the New York skyline or the stock characters of theatre folk in his life.  And, of course, his themes speak to all of us.  We all have moments we remember as "perfect", but they are fleeting, and never really perfect.  We, as Americans, strive for success, and are somehow never satisfied with how much of it we achieve.  It is that conflict which drives the entire piece, in fact, as we watch Mr. Lefkowitz struggle with inner demons to overcome a fear of being a one trick pony or a flash in the pan.  Clearly, with Now What? as the result, we know that he has successfully won that battle!

Finally, Help Wanted had its serious moments, but Now What? has really taken some risks in this regard.  From the subtle but touching references to 9/11 – clearly still heavily on this New Yorker's heart – to some surprise twists in characters we think we know, the piece is much more serious in spots, and generally more serious in its undercurrents.  There are three defining moments in the piece where the entire room is at a peak of silliness and is instantly brought to a startling conclusion of stunned silence.  To say more would be to give away too much, but I will say each of those instances are dramatically thrilling and serve to bond everyone concerned into one.  Perhaps most dangerous of all is that Josh's life twists and turns make us feel like we know him, closely, and we root for him and feel for him, and take his side.  Right until the very end.  Then, we, like Josh, are left to make a real decision about how we feel about him.  I won't share my exact opinion, because, again, it would give away too much, but I will say my reaction was as much a surprise to me as the event which precipitated it.

Now What? is a terrific piece on its own, and a terrific piece if you've seen the first.  It certainly stretches the boundaries of the typical theatergoer, and you would really be remiss in not taking this golden opportunity to see one of the best one man performers/writers today.  Let's all hope there is a third installment, maybe, I'm Back!  Reserve my seat now.

PHOTOS of Josh Lefkowitz in Now What?, courtesy of CENTERSTAGE.  Photography by Brittany Harper.

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