Review: LIVING THE SHUFFLE at The Marsh Berkeley Tells Entertaining Tales from Robert Townsend's Hollywood Roller Coaster Ride

Filmmaker Robert Townsend is a born entertainer, and his solo show "Living the Shuffle" is perhaps more than anything about the pleasure of his company. He seems so comfortable onstage, knowing precisely how to scale his performance to the size of the room, how to punctuate a laugh line for maximum effect, when to pull back a bit to give the material some room to breathe, that it's startling to realize it's been decades since he's done live performance. He first came to national prominence with his groundbreaking, satirical 1987 film, "The Hollywood Shuffle" from which his stage show obviously takes its name. In the intervening years, Townsend has had a prolific career as an actor-writer-director-producer in film and TV. Based on the evidence currently onstage at The Marsh Berkeley, it's lucky for us that he's turned his focus to live theater.

Townsend's story is a fascinating and inspirational one, as he survives a rough childhood in the projects on the South Side of Chicago to eventually work with many of the biggest names in show business. Of course, he encounters inevitable ups and downs along the way. Through it all, remarkably he seems to have maintained his affable, sweet nature and sense of joy in the work. He's like that uncle you do want to talk to at family gatherings because he always has the best stories and whose reflected glow somehow gives you a little more belief in yourself.

As a child in Chicago, Townsend chose to adhere to his mother's admonitions to avoid the ever-present gang violence just outside his home by staying inside and watching TV for endless hours. That inadvertently turned out to be the best preparation imaginable for this budding entertainer. Townsend watched everything available on television, paying no heed to the limitations imposed on him by the color of his skin or his economic circumstances. He identified with Jimmy Stewart, idolized Sidney Poitier and really wanted to become Humphrey Bogart. Somehow as a kid he seems to have ignored any message of "No you can't do that; you can't be that." Not that Townsend ignores the difficulties of his home life. There is a chillingly effective sequence on how his mother rescued little Robert and his brothers from an abusive stepfather.

Thanks to the mentorship of a teacher, Townsend developed his skills as an actor before heading to New York with a dream and very little idea how to achieve it. He soon happened onto Keenen Ivory Wayans in whom he found a kindred spirit. After enjoying an initial burst of success in comedy clubs and the occasional TV commercial, Wayans convinced Townsend to relocate to LA in the 1980s. Despite landing a few choice roles he, like so many African American actors, suffered the indignity of auditioning for an endless parade of demeaning roles as thugs, pimps and drug addicts - and not even getting the parts. Rather than just bemoan the lack of roles for black actors, he turned things around by making his own film with Wayans, even though he had no experience as a director. Clearly, though, he had good instincts as his self-funded indie film went on to earn much acclaim and success at the box office. Doors opened to him and he eventually worked with many of his childhood idols.

Much of "Living the Shuffle" plays beautifully. It's 90 minutes of captivating tales and good humor, with some touching moments and a life lesson or two thrown in for good measure. Townsend knows how to tell a story, how to phrase a revealing detail, and has mad skills as a performer. He is an incredible mimic, able to do dead-on impressions of a host of well-known characters, often shifting from one to another in a nanosecond. Perhaps the most impressive is his Shakespearean actor of a certain age, apparently a mashup of John Gielgud and Paul Scofield. Not only does he nail the plummy accent and eccentric speech patterns, he also gives his voice that leathery timbre specific to actors who've been treading the boards for too many decades. Townsend also possesses a classic comedian's rubber face and a limber physicality that would be the envy of actors half his age. He can earn a hearty laugh just by widening his eyes or altering his posture ever so slightly. He can deliver poignant moments as well, and concludes the piece with a more introspective sequence. It provides a nice overall arc to the show that helps it add up to more than just a series of entertaining anecdotes.

"Living the Shuffle" does still feel like a work in progress, though. The flat stage lighting occasionally obscures the evocative images projected on a screen behind Townsend, and the musical underscoring can appear and disappear at random moments. It could also benefit from Townsend digging a little deeper. For example, there is a strong segment on the dissolution of his marriage that with just a little sharper writing and staging could become a truly heart-rending tour de force. Also, it really pains me to bring this up after all these years, but the segment on his direction of "Eddie Murphy: Raw" from 1987 misses a crucial opportunity to make amends for past mistakes. The segment is wickedly funny as he describes the final editing process for the film where he absurdly negotiates with Paramount execs over every single curse word. He does not, however, address the film's inclusion of shockingly homophobic and AIDS-phobic segments that were extremely hurtful to the queer and HIV communities at the time. Because Townsend projects such a warm, open, inclusive presence, it feels like an error not to address this ugly bit of his history head on, especially when other parts of his show do contain more depth and complexity. For instance, a segment about the assumed racism of Don Rickles (of all people!) is downright fascinating in the unexpected twists and turns it takes.

I sincerely hope that Townsend continues to work on the show and develop it further. He is an extremely talented guy with a great story to tell and the performance chops to tell it. Even in its current state, though, it is a very enjoyable evening out and Bay Area audiences are lucky that he chose the intimate Marsh Berkeley to work on the show. I think it's a pretty safe bet that it will move on to larger venues, and I wouldn't be the least bit surprised to see it eventually land on Broadway for a lengthy run.

(Photos by Daniel Baumer)

"Living the Shuffle" plays Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays through December 1st at The Marsh Berkeley, 2120 Allston Way, Berkeley, CA. For information or to order tickets visit themarsh.org or call (415) 282-3055 (Monday through Friday, 1pm-4pm).