Billy Crystal: 700 Sundays
 Photo By Carol Rosegg.jpg)
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Cititour.com Review
It’s been about 450 Sundays since I first saw Billy Crystal fill the Imperial Theatre to the brim with his theatrical memoir, 700 Sundays, and revisiting this very special solo show is like reconnecting with an old friend who has the uncanny ability to tell you the same stories you heard the first time –and still make you double over with laughter.
As he affectionately and hilariously recalls the first 15 years of his Long Island childhood – before his father, Jack, dies suddenly of a heart attack while bowling – Crystal magnificently conjures up a very special world filled with loving Jewish parents, wacky Yiddish-speaking relatives, comedians in the Catskills, and some of the world’s greatest jazz musicians. You see, Jack inherited his brother-in-law Milt’s business, running New York’s famed Commodore music shop, and he introduced his sons to these legendary musicians (including Billie Holliday), who encouraged the already hammy young Billy’s love of performing.
Crystal’s cache of stories are given extra life by the projections created by Michael Clark (displayed on David F. Weiner’s replica of the actor’s Long Island house), which include actual 8mm movies taken by Billy’s dad. But perhaps the funniest bit in the entire first act is when Crystal claims he will show us a film of an infamous family barbecue – and instead, simply acts out the event like a silent movie. Even at age 65, his physicality and dexterity are a wonder to behold, whether he’s showcasing his famed one-legged tap dance or imitating the walk of an elderly relative.
Given from the outset that we’ve been warned that Jack would die at 15, it’s not altogether surprising the show’s second act takes a more sentimental turn as the teenaged Billy struggles to cope with the aftermath of his father’s sudden demise. While this section is often touching, and even occasionally quite humorous – as Crystal recounts a most unusual basketball game opposite Brooklyn’s Erasmus High School -- it also becomes oddly mawkish at moments.
Moreover, Crystal’s decision to extend the show for another half-hour or so after he goes to college, touching on his longtime marriage to wife Janice and featuring an extended sequence on his mother’s stroke when she was 88, strikes me (once again) as misguided. It may complete the story, but the tone is so different than what has come before – a problem the brilliant director Des McAnuff simply can’t solve – that it undercuts a little of our goodwill toward the performer.
Still, you could do far worse things than spend 2 ½ hours -- or even an entire Sunday – with this peerless storyteller and comedian.
[Photo (top) by Carol Rosegg]
By Brian Scott Lipton
Visit the Site
http://700sundaysonbroadway.com
Cast
Billy Crystal
Open/Close Dates
Opening 11/5/2013
Closing 1/2/2014
Box Office
212-239-6200
Theatre Info
Imperial Theatre
249 West 45th Street
New York, NY 10036
Map
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