A HIDDEN HOLLYWOOD CAREER
AS A MASSEUSE FOR CELEBRITIES
For years, Anzu Lawson’s managers and friends had been urging her to write about her own life after performing as Yoko Ono and writing Dear Yoko, one of several of her own original plays and musicals. And though she had been pitching The Rub as a comedy pilot along with performing in the stand-up comedy circuit for 15 years, Anzu realized it was time to take all those jokes and turn them into a final opus farewell to the chapter of her life as a masseuse for celebrities. Thus in February 2023 her one-woman play The Rub came into being, directed by and developed with Jessica Lynn Johnson. I caught her show on November 18 as part of the Binge Free Festival at Santa Monica Playhouse.
Interestingly enough, Anzu admits how much spiritual wisdom she gained about herself while massaging others. She shared with me, “The biggest secret I learned is that our bodies are a record of everything that’s happened to us stored in our cells and muscles. And everything is energy, and energy doesn’t lie. Certainly everyone we touch in our lives, touches us. And all the people I was paid to heal through massage, inadvertently healed ME of my biggest pain and my deepest shame. And for that, I’m forever indebted.”
Although Anzu never mentions any of her celebrity clients by name. it was often very easy to figure out exactly who she was talking about as she shared the ups and downs, literally, about a career of which her mother so disapproved, especially after Anzu’s singing career in Japan where she achieved a #1 hit record. But when she arrived in Los Angeles, Anzu soon discovered it was not as easy to break into the Hollywood entertainment world as she thought it would be.
With so many personal tales to tell, Anzu hit the mark with the amount of information shared (or not shared) as she related stories of trying to break into the inner world of Hollywood film production. And being within that world allowed Anzu to meet the type of actors who had enough money to employ her as a private and very confidential masseuse. It’s not a job she ever dreamed she would have to do, but, as she rationalized, “no matter what, I had to make the rent.”
But what Anzu did not expect to happen was how much personal information big Hollywood stars would share with her, or how many times she would be asked for “other services.” To add a bit of musical levity between scenes, Anzu sang parodies to well–known rock melodies describing her experiences in a format familiar to her. And at the end, Anzu picked up a guitar and let us see her rock star persona shine in the spotlight. One wonders why she ever decided to give up that career given how authentic she shared her joy while singing.
Anzu and Nick Vallelonga
After the performance I attended, Anzu introduced me to Nick Vallelonga, the Oscar-winning co-writer and co-producer of the film Green Book based on the friendship of his father Tony and concert pianist Don Shirley. Nick discussed wanting to turn Anzu’s show into a limited series for television since it shares her experience as an Asian-American woman looking to break into the world of movie production who hits roadblocks at every step due to racism. Nick shared that “since the entertainment world has now opened to Asian performers, I know now is the time to tell Anzu’s universal tale by presenting her life experiences from her own point of view. The pilot is currently being re-written and will be marketed to production studios in 2024.”
No doubt the two will transform Anzu’s one-hour play into a more detailed account of the various true tales of her life as a celebrity masseuse, thus allowing viewers into a hidden part of her Hollywood life. And who doesn’t love to hear about the backstage shenanigans going on in the entertainment industry?
photos courtesy of Anzu Lawson
The Rub
part of the Annual Binge Free Festival (BFF)
The Other Space at Santa Monica Playhouse, 1211 4th Street
reviewed on Saturday, November 18 at 3pm
for tickets to Santa Monica Playhouse, call 310.394.9779 x1 or visit SM Playhouse
BFF is five weeks of free performances, workshops, readings, music and poetry in Santa Monica’s ONLY fringe festival
to watch The Rub and other videos of Anzu Lawson, visit YouTube
for more info, visit Anzu Lawson