Theater Review: "Posing"

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Parent Category: Film and the Arts

Category: Reviews

Published on Friday, 25 June 2010 03:26

Written by Terry Maloney

Written by and starring Patrick Askin
Directed by Jack Hyman

In the autobiographical one-man show Posing at the Wild Project theater on Manhattan's Lower East Side, the charming and attractive Patrick Askin appears as an art class model, posing au naturel for most of the performance (naturally) while recounting his life experiences, from his childhood days of advising his older sister on her prom attire, to his mistreatment by the NYPD for the "crime" of crying on his Chelsea rooftop during a period of depression.

This 75-minute tour de force takes the audience on an emotional roller coaster ride from comic to tragic and back again, with the emphasis on the comic.  Askin's humor is of the self-deprecating variety, never mean-spirited or bitter, even when recounting career setbacks or relationships that ended badly.
 
Injected throughout the show on an upstage screen were several vintage black and white film clips, including the classic scene from 42nd Street when Ruby Keeler is told by Warner Baxter that "you are going out a chorus girl but you must come back a star!" These well-chosen clips, although not directly related to the narrative, helped to set a lighthearted, nostalgic mood.

The author/actor has been pursuing his craft since his graduation from the University of Virginia and, despite experiencing only limited commercial success (so far), is determined to continue in his chosen profession, regularly auditioning for both theatrical and film projects.

After several years of perfecting the production, Askin is now hoping to take Posing to an Off-Broadway theater for a limited run and is seeking investors. I feel Posing could be successful Off-Broadway as an inspirational vehicle which speaks to thousands of struggling New York actors, both working and wannabes.

Most one-person, autobiographical shows have starred celebrities, as did, most recently, Leslie Jordan's My Trip Down the Pink Carpet. Askin's production could be a breakthrough in the spirit of a then-unknown Nia Vardolos' My Big Fat Greek Wedding, which had its genesis as a one-woman show in Los Angeles. At the time Vardolos was an unknown actor who turned her stories of growing up in a Greek-American family.

Am I predicting the same kind of success for Mr. Askin's production? Not exactly. I don't make predictions. But what Posing has going for it is its universal subject matter told in a uniquely comic manner, and the irrestable charm of Mr. Askin portraying the character he was born to play.

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