Peter Filichia Brings A PERSONAL HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN THEATRE to Dayton Playhouse, 7/22

So, what's it like to be a theater critic? Is it really fun to attend the theater night after night after night after night? Ask Peter Filichia, who has been attending theater consistently for the last half-century and has been a reviewer for more than half that time.

Filichia has seen theater in 42 states and 14 foreign countries and has managed to see as many as 365 stage shows in a single year. He will, God willing, soon see his 10,000th stage show.

One of those was Spaulding Gray's one-man show, A PERSONAL HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN THEATER. Gray simply sat at a table and held a bunch of oversized index cards. He pulled out a card at random and would tell a story based on the title of the show printed on that card.

Gray died in 2004. Filichia reasoned that the show should not go with him - but should go on. And so, he's created his own version of A PERSONAL HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN THEATER. He's got quite a few index cards from which to choose.

Each performance of A PERSONAL HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN THEATER is, of course, different. An audience might hear about Filichia's adventures with a nice celebrity (Jerry Orbach), a not-so-nice one (Mary Tyler Moore), or one who turned out to be a little sneaky (Steve Allen). What's it like to face Ben Vereen shortly after you've written a negative review about his performance? How did Filichia feel after he put his foot in his mouth when dealing with James Earl Jones?

There are stories about memorable audience members, ranging from Richard Rodgers' daughter Mary to the black man and old white woman who buttressed Filichia at The Wiz. Filichia also goes back to when he began theatergoing as a teen, and how many a play changed his life, be it as serious as A Raisin in the Sun or even as frivolous as Damn Yankees. There's a poignant story about the time Filichia took Yugoslavians to a musical, as well as funny ones involving community theater disasters.

It's all in the cards - and the story-telling. Filichia has performed A PERSONAL HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN THEATER in points north (New York State), south (Miami), east (Boston), and west (Aspen, Colorado). Because of the very nature of the show, it can be as long or as short as a presenting house demands. Afterwards, Filichia is glad to take questions from the audience.

Tickets are available at 937-424-8477 or online at www.daytonplayhouse.org. All seats are $15.00 8:00pm Showtime!

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