Delivering Chinese food in Sheepshead Bay in Brooklyn amidst a wide variety of ethnic communities, Steve Solomon discovered something that would have a great impact on his life. He found that if he simply stated “I’m delivering your Chinese food” into the intercom, folks were hesitant to open the door. But if he disguised his voice to sound like an older Chinese person, mumbling incoherent “Chinese-ish sounding words,” the doors would open freely.
That’s when Steve realized he had a gift for creating different voices. He continued to experiment – he would convince his mother he was any one of a number of his older relatives when he’d talk to her on the phone.
Now he has a slew of voices – perhaps 40-50 ranging in ages, genders and ethnicities. He uses many of them in his one-man shows as he recreates scenes from his life while acting out the parts of his parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins, as well as folks from the old neighborhood. He’s coming to the Valley Feb. 4-March 1 to perform his latest show, “Cannoli, Latkes & Guilt! the therapy continues…,” at the Herberger Theater in downtown Phoenix.
Born to a Jewish father and an Italian-Catholic mother, Steve uses his heritage as fodder for his shows.
“My father insisted I become a bar mitzvah, and my mother was fine with it,” he said in a recent phone interview. “Course the Italian side of the family kept looking at the Jewish side and saying ‘Why are you wearing those little hats and shawls? It’s not cold in here!’ ”
Though he always knew he could write, Steve came to performing late in life. He was a physics teacher in Brooklyn and then the assistant superintendent on Long Island. “I loved the kids – who all thought I was a loon – but when I moved to administration, I found the red tape was really overwhelming,” he says. He spent a little time doing stand-up comedy, but again found that wasn’t really what he was looking for. “I was 20 years older than most of the young comics coming up,” he admits.
He created his first show, “My Mother’s Italian, My Father’s Jewish and I’m in Therapy,” and ran it for two years off Broadway starting in 2002. He followed up that show with “My Mother’s Italian, My Father’s Jewish and I’m STILL in Therapy,” and then used that same title plus “Home for the Holidays” for his third show. Each show has won awards, enjoyed sold-out performances and induced lots of laughter and joyful tears.
Yes, it’s true the characters are a bit stereotypical: “Hey,” Steve says, “in my neighborhood every Italian grandmother really did wear long black dresses! And every Jew gesticulated wildly with his hands. In fact, one day when my Uncle Frankie was walking down the street with his hands in his pocket, my father said ‘Look, Uncle Frankie’s become mute!’ ” By engaging the familiar, Steve is able to show the universality of all these characters. He’s delighted that his shows resonate with people from all backgrounds.
Several of his shows have been licensed out to different producers, so audiences don’t always see Steve himself performing. “I know I can’t be everywhere, but I insist on approving the actors and their performances,” Steve says. He makes sure to see each one perform, and he keeps up a regular dialogue with all performers in case they need a few hints or suggestions. Each of them also comes to see Steve perform so they have a better understanding of the material. He even has an ongoing show running in South Africa, starring that country’s equivalent of Billy Crystal.
Now based in Atlanta, Steve looks forward to coming to Arizona. “The audiences are quite sophisticated there and really appreciate a good show,” he says, having played both Phoenix and Tucson in the past. After his four-week run at the Herberger Theater, he’s performing on behalf of the Invisible Theatre in Tucson for a weekend of shows at the Berger Performing Arts Center, 1200 W Speedway Blvd. on March 7 at 7:30 pm and March 8 at 3 pm.
Tickets for the Valley show at the Herberger Theater Center, 222 E Monroe in downtown Phoenix are $43-$53 and available at 602-252-8497. Show times vary on Wednesday-Sunday.
Tickets for the Tucson performances are $40 and available at invisibletheatre.com.
