Review: ONE-MAN SHOW SON OF ZEUS at Penguin Rep Theatre

Is the old saying true that everyone has a book in them, which is to say, the story of their life? Translated to a different art form, does everyone have a solo show in them, which is to say, a full-length monologue compelling enough to engage an audience for 80 or more minutes?

The answer can be found in two symbiotic places: the audience and the life of the storyteller.

Not all of us can claim a background like that of Jimmy Georgiades, though. That’s not a complaint. Not when you consider the man, now in his 60s, has lived through two rough-and-tumble father figures who shared a nasty penchant for domestic violence. One of them, his mother Helen’s second husband, Joe, who wanted to be called Dad, had a sizable family of his own, known to the outside world as organized crime. Jimmy's biological father, Demosthenes (or “Demo”), had a volcanic temper that erupted in fits of jealousy, an inconvenient character trait when your wife is a belly dancer in a Greek nightclub whose very job relies on being ogled by salivating men.

Out of that decidedly unordinary upbringing, Mr. Georgiades has crafted a one-man show titled Son of Zeus. It is in performance at Penguin Rep in Stony Point (Rockland County, N.Y.) through July 27.

Once Demo is hauled away in handcuffs after Jimmy’s mother has had enough of being a punching bag, he is never seen or heard from again, which suits Jimmy just fine. Then, one day, in the midst of reading Homer’s The Odyssey, in which the Greek island of Crete is virtually a character, Jimmy receives a letter from someone who lives in Crete (what are the odds?) and who claims to be his brother.

Mr. Georgiades, who went on to an acting career, plays out his fascinating story on stage with the help of a handful of props; a very effective and efficient stage lighting and set design (Cameron Filepas and Brian Pacelli, respectively), dominated by a large upstage scrim that functions as a screen on which various backgrounds projected; and his effortlessly slipping in and out of the cast of characters who populate his life experience. It all coheres nicely in the hands of Mr. Georgiades and director Gretchen Cryer (whom avid theatergoers of a certain age will recall as co-creator (with Nancy Ford) of 1970s-80s Broadway hit musical “I’m Getting My Act Together and Taking it on the Road.”

It isn’t long before Jimmy turns into a tough customer himself – developing twitches and tics along the way -- and gets lessons in pugilism from Joe so Jimmy can defend himself and get the better of the other guy. We learn that Joe – his stunted emotional IQ notwithstanding, has some redeeming values, even if they are attached to a perverse moral code.  He teaches Jimmy that “It’s never about you. Use your abilities to protect others.”

One of Joe’s compatriots –300-pound “Uncle Mo” -- buys Jimmy a telescope so he can indulge his curiosity in the cosmos.

Still, Jimmy remains a troubled adolescent, constantly getting into physical altercations, fulfilling a past teacher’s assessment of him as a “very troubled young man.” It prompts Jimmy to wonder, “Will I ever know what it’s like to be safe in my own skin?

And then Jimmy finds a measure of salvation when he saves a young boy from drowning  while working as a lifeguard at the Jersey shore. “It felt so good to save,” he tells us.

Jimmy’s life seems to be a constant refrain of one step forward, two steps back. At 17, as he catches a glimpse of Joe breaking his promise never to lay a hand on Jimmy’s mother, Jimmy stops Joe, who then kicks the kid out of the house. He is making time with his high school sweetheart when he loses it and smacks her on the cheek after she says there’s another boy in her life.

It is not until Jimmy acts on the letter he received from the long-lost brother living in Crete that he is able to find redemption. It turns out there are three siblings of his living on three different islands in Greece. While visiting them, he learns some unexpected truths about his father Demo, who ended up in Greece siring Jimmy’s siblings.

Completing his own odyssey, Jimmy at long last comes to appreciate something his mother taught him a lifetime ago: the Greek concept of “philotimo,” which means love of honor, to do the right thing, and having the courage to give and to forgive.

One gets the sense that Jimmy Georgiades was driven to stage this theatrical representation of his adventurous life as a form of therapy. That in itself takes no small amount of courage – to give of oneself in a way that may also serve as a tonic for others.

It’s heartening to know, with all he’s been through, this proud Greek and son of Zeus has found the essence of philotimo, while at the same time, as he puts it, “healing his bloodline and himself.”  

Christian Fleming is Costume Designer, Max Silverman is sound designer, Paul Deziel is projection co-designer, Sarah Goodman is associate sound designer, Michael Palmer is production stage manager.

Joe Brancato is Penguin Rep Theatre founding Artistic Director. Andrew M Horn is Exectuive Director.