THERE MAY BE SOMETHING WRONG WITH CYRUS,
BUT NOT SO MUCH HIS SHOW
Meet Cyrus Deboo. An adult actor who, against all the odds and ends of a traditional Persian upbringing, blossomed into an out gay man in a loving relationship, and with the eventual acceptance from his dad. In There’s Something Seriously Wrong with Cyrus, which played the Hollywood Fringe Festival for three performances with an encore slated for July 7, we go back to the beginning to find one of the cutest, wide-eyed kids on record; one who was — like a lot of born theater geeks — outgoing, inquisitive, playful, and special. As with many coming-out stories, this one captures the journey of the butterfly stuck in the cocoon, but with more vulnerability than expected. While his parents — strict and filled with expectations — were a lost cause (mom’s cold dismissiveness in particular led to an anger streak that Cyrus is not ashamed to divulge — that “hot bitch” of the subtitle) — he magically found himself surrounded by people who did accept him, especially his sister and an elderly lady who seemed to be the Mother Theresa of godmothers. It also helped that he had Madonna and Taylor Swift to look up to. Most relatable of all is the immigrant experience of his parents, who were determined to live a Persian culture in the U.S. (wait ’til you see the photo of his childhood living room). As Cyrus bounds about the theater, he bounces between characters and events in a rather rapid-pace fashion, tossing off details with the aid of really well-chosen music and Mary Lou & Justin Sandler‘s awesome multi-media projected upstage. While his impressions of people in his life prove Deboo’s acting skills, he still hasn’t arrived at the point where he can play himself. The lines from the people he knows are astounding, but he himself has yet to find comfort in delivering Cyrus. Perhaps that is because he rushed through the show. And when he was out of breath, instead of relaxing into the next scene, he continued like a locomotive determined to get to the end of his journey. Director and developer Jessica Lynn Johnson has really aided in creating a well-crafted show, moments of which remain with me weeks later. The fact that a show can be so endearing and funny right out of the gate is quite remarkable.
for more info, visit Cyrus at The Hollywood Fringe Festival site