REVIEW: Josh Sharp slides into his life
Photo: Josh Sharp performs in his new one-person show, ta-da! Photo courtesy of Emilio Madrid / Provided by Print Shop PR with permission.
NEW YORK — Josh Sharp, a very funny performer, is earning tons of laughs in his new solo show, ta-da!, now finishing up an extended run at the Greenwich House Theater in the West Village. Performances for the 80-minute, intermissionless work continue until Sept. 27.
The central conceit of the show is that Sharp offers a personal story about his life, about his parents, about coming out, about facing discrimination, about his sexual awakening, about his love for magic — all to the backing of a slide presentation that is projected on a screen in the theater. Amazingly, Sharp goes through 2,000 slides in 80 minutes, which is an incredible feat, and on the night this reviewer caught the show, everything worked seamlessly.
ta-da! is definitely a comedy show, with laughs coming every few seconds. Sharp has an uncanny ability to tell a story, sometimes at a frantic pace, and hit the clever one-liners with perfect precision. Helping him in the narrative-building are those slides, which often emphasize his recitations with an artful display of the words he’s saying aloud. The connection between his monologue and the slides is so unique, with Sharp creating a buddy style of comedy, as if the technology he’s using is a scene partner.
The stories in the monologue are quite personal. Sharp offers thoughts on so many experiences he’s had, but perhaps the most moving and profound sections deal with his parents, who have been supportive of him his entire life, ever since his upbringing in the American south. His dad is a kind man who is a big fan of Adele’s, while his mother, equally kind, faced many uphill battles with her health. Along the way, Sharp allows the audience into his family’s life by showcasing a few personal photos and videos, all helping to accentuate his dear stories about the love he’s received from his parents.
Other tales in the show are about Sharp’s move to New York City, his coming out as gay, a few scenes with his friends on the city’s subway system and some sexual encounters. These passages are often presented as humorous asides to the main arc of the piece, tangents worth taking, but tangents nonetheless.
The jokes fly by at a quick pace, sometimes so fast that it’s difficult to take a breath from all the laughing. This is a strength of the show because it showcases Sharp’s witticisms and unparalleled mastery of the English language, but it also means audience members need to lean in a bit and make sure they’re not left behind. These 80 minutes are nonstop with few opportunities to process what’s being said.
Sam Pinkleton, fresh off his Tony Award from directing Oh, Mary!, helps Sharp build the monologue into a theatrical piece that feels perfectly at home at the Greenwich House Theater. The projected slides help set the tone and pace of the evening, and prove to be an asset, not a hindrance; what may have come across as gimmicky or contrived totally does not. The show, in some ways, requires the fast-paced slides because they match the energy of the performer’s comedic style.
Sharp is an expert storyteller who knows how to generate laughs, and he also knows when the tale being told connects with the audience on a personal level. Ultimately ta-da! is about Sharp and his family, but it’s also about how everyone looks back at being a child, being a teenager, being in one’s 20s and realizing how much one has grown up.
By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com
ta-da!, written by and starring Josh Sharp, continues through Sept. 27 at the Greenwich House Theater in the West Village. Directed by Sam Pinkleton. Running time: 80 minutes with no intermission. Click here for more information and tickets.
