Burt Young, who starred as Paulie in the Rocky films, is now 77 years old. He is the main character in The Last Vig. There’s just one problem. He doesn’t know his lines. So, they gave him an earpiece. Each time he has a line, we see him listen, and then repeat what he hears. This makes for an incredibly slow show. Then, there is an issue with the earpiece and they have to stop the show. It’s a small issue and things are fixed within a few minutes.
After the intermission, Burt is on stage alone at his desk. The voice on the phone starts before he picks it up. Then, he takes the phone and places it to his ear, instead of putting it in the speakerphone device. A few lines in, he forgets his line and they have to stop the play again. After 5 minutes, they come back and try again. At the exact same spot, he forgets his line again. They stop the show. On the 3rd try, he yells out that he can’t hear anything. He throws his earpiece and storms off.
He finally comes back and the audience asks him to just read the script for the rest of the play. However, when he gets up from his desk to move to the middle of the stage, he doesn’t bring the script. He has to keep walking back to his desk to read his next line.
For big fans of Burt Young’s work, it may be worth it to come and see him in person. However, maybe not as seeing him in this play might ruin the reputation he has earned from his past work. Unless, of course, disasters are something you enjoy laughing at while watching. Then, this is definitely the show for you.
The Last Vig is playing until Feb 19th.
Quinn Delaney
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