THAT’S WHAT FRIENDS ARE FOR
Up-and-coming storyteller Gabe Mollica has brought his “sweet not sappy” 90-minute Solo: A Show About Friendship to Boston after 80 Off-Broadway performances and an excerpt on This American Life, the NPR radio show and podcast. Directed by noted monologist and queer disability activist Greg Walloch, and written as well as performed by Mollica, the evening is a skillfully structured, always entertaining exploration of multiple facets of Mollica’s life so far, peppered with jokes and one-liners, but always true to the larger narrative the 30-year-old has created.
A self-identified straight man whose love of musical theater made him “too straight for gay kids and too gay for straight kids” in high school, Mollica reflects on his relationships with other men, including his “bros,” Stephen Sondheim (with whom he corresponded), two boys (now men) he first encountered as a counselor at a camp for kids with serious illnesses, and most importantly, his college bestie, Tim. Projections on a large screen (Matt Lazarus, design) offer the occasional enhancement to the otherwise empty stage. These elements are artfully woven together to build to a satisfying emotional conclusion as well as the very helpful and amusing projection of Adam Sandler movies, ranked by Mollica’s bro Nick. (Among the threads structuring the performance are what Mollica terms the obsession with ranking among straight men and his bro’s love of Adam Sandler movies.)
Mollica’s musical theater background is evident in his physical presence. His story is not simply “told,” but enacted with movement and gesture that bring his exploration of friendship and heterosexual masculinity to life. While the numerous anecdotes and elements of this autobiographical account work well together, I suspect that with time, some of them will deepen and expand. The story of the relationship between Gabe and Tim, for example, might not be over, as Mollica seems to assume. After all, he appropriately ends the show with a quote from Robert Burns (since some of the story takes place in Scotland), appropriated by his spiritual mentor Sondheim: “Who’s like us? Damn few” — a quote that suggests that the kinds of friendships Gabe and Tim once shared are too precious to discard.
photo by Mindy Tucker
Solo: A Show About Friendship
20 Middleton Entertainment
Calderwood Pavilion, Boston Center for the Arts, 527 Tremont Street
ends on April 21, 2024
for tickets ($45.50), visit Boston Theatre Scene
for more info and dates, visit Gabe Mollica and Facebook
