Voice Of Authority: Dean Temple Brings His $19 Million Lawsuit To The Kraine Theater

When Dean Temple's lawyer explains to him that the US Department of Justice is suing him for $19 million, has frozen his assets, and he isn't even allowed to use his credit card, he can only think of one thing to ask:

"How am I supposed to buy a Metrocard?"

Temple's real life tangle with the Feds is the subject of his award-winning solo comedy Voice of Authority, at the Kraine Theater in February and March as part of the FRIGID New York Festival.

Temple didn't have $19 million in the bank. He didn't have a clue. Working for his Canadian uncle, who runs a lottery ticket brokerage, he becomes the target of federal investigation, getting followed by agents and having his assets seized.

"You'd think," Temple says now, "you'd spend all your time with your lawyer when something like this happens. But you can't afford that when your lawyer costs $450 an hour. So I spend my time with Zachary instead."

Zachary Solov, a family friend, Balanchine dancer, and the choreographer of the Metropolitan Opera Ballet, takes Dean in. "He tells me about getting drafted into World War II the same week he's cast in Oklahoma! But he stays focused on being a dancer and it works out for him unbelievably. Slowly, it starts to sink in that this lawsuit isn't the end of the world."

The show, which covers the span of the lawsuit and the last years of Solov's life, takes a humorously neurotic and musical look at the voice in our heads that leads us to doubt ourselves, and how giving into that voice leads to our worst choices. Going after what you really want can be scary, but Solov's stories show Temple that focusing on your dreams can get you through any adversity.

Voice of Authority won Staff Choice Best Show at the 2018 Pittsburgh Fringe Festival and will go on to Edinburgh Fringe August 2-24. Dean Temple is a writer and actor based in New York City and the Hudson Valley. deantemple.com and @deantemple (tw).

Voice of Authority
Written and Performed by Dean Temple
Presented by the Frigid Festival 2019
Thu Feb 21, 8:50 p.m.
Thu Feb 28, 5:30 p.m.
Tue Mar 5, 7:10 p.m.
Fri Mar 8, 5:10 p.m.
Sat Mar 9, 3:20 p.m.
Tickets: $15 adults; $8 seniors/military/students
Ages 16 and up
Tickets: https://bit.ly/2VuzXmz / (212)-777-6088
Kraine Theater
85 E. 4th St, NYC