Review
Elvis People
New World Stages
June 16, 2007
VanLoan
vanloan@nyconstage.org

It is almost unfathomable that a show about the dynamic, the iconic,
the one and only Elvis Presley could be this dead on arrival. Ostensibly
about the volcanic, emotional impact Elvis had on the lives of people who
considered themselves more than just fans, the play by Doug Grissom is a
series of lackluster vignettes held together with period music (needless to
say; it's the best feature in the show with Elvis hits like " Viva Las
Vegas" or "Are You Lonesome Tonight" ). The scenes are titled according to
their subject matter: "Ed Sullivan" deals with the generational impact Elvis
made with his initial appearance on that TV show while "The Button" deals
with a button ripped from Elvis' costume at a concert. That the button is
eventually used as a ploy to get sexual favors is indicative of the quality
of the writing. There are two scenes, however, that seem to come close to
what Mr. Grissom may have intended and offer a glimpse of the subject's
potential. "Elvis in Vietnam" tells of a soldier wounded by mortar fire who
struggles to listen to his Elvis tapes while hoping to be rescued. "The
Impersonator" tells of an amateur Elvis impersonator who slowly becomes
consumed with being Elvis (a 'tribute artist' as he calls himself)
destroying his personal life in the process. Ed Sala brings a humane
poignancy to both parts; the other actors either mug or vamp their way
through the mediocre material. At the preview I attended, a man in the
audience was wearing a Hawaiian-style shirt made of Elvis profiles. It was
absolutely outrageous; something no doubt Elvis would have loved. Its very
outrageousness is sorely needed for Elvis People to move us the way "the
King" did.

...end