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Latest items? Unedited? Fringe Report Uncut
Sol Bernstein
in
Almost Alive II
Verdict: Warm character comedy
Its been said that Sol Bernstein is the Jewish Alf Garnett - except for the pipe. But Sol looks dapper in gold-buttoned blazer, check trousers, tatty trilby and - of course - a tie.
Sol Bernstein has a thing about ties. He even wears them in the shower - but only nylon ones, because they dry without creases.
Sol's ditched the safety of retirement homes - where there's a constant turnover of audience - for the dark, claustrophobic spaces of the night-club scene. He reveals that Hitler was an entertainer with a huge gay following. Sol confesses he's played with the world's best jazz musicians - doing unforgettable solos on triangle.
Sol intersperses sponsor plugs - for Sol beer - with phrases he promises are Yiddish and mostly anatomical. He admits to being a hit with the younger, attractive women in the audience - and can get away with almost anything - even his impersonation of Robert de Niro in Taxi Driver.
Sol Bernstein may be an old-fashioned song-and-dance man, but he's outspoken - eg his non-PC solutions to the Israeli/Palestinian problem - witty and observant. Amiable and charming - Sol offers advice to all the men in the audience: 'Wear a tie'. Why were the Beatles a bigger hit than the Rolling Stones? They wore ties.
Cast Credits: Steve Jameson.
Company Credits: Writers Steve Jameson & Ashley Boroda. PR David Burns, Burning Issues. Technical Operation Gilded Balloon staff.
END
(c) Lea Harris 2004
reviewed Tuesday 17 August 04 / Gilded Balloon
Fringe Report (c) Fringe Report 2002-2012
