When a friend invites you to his one-man show

Let’s face it, being a blogger is a lot of fun.

You get invited to a lot of places and events then you go home and write about it.

But what if a good friend of yours invites you to see his one man show? What if it’s not any good? What if you are caught taking a nap in the theater during the show (this happened to a critic I worked at a newspaper with – no names!).

Well, I took a chance and went to see my friend, David Trudell’s show at Skylight Theater/Skylab in Los Feliz on Sunday afternoon.

It’s called In Heat In Hollywood and is described as “a sexy, hip, irreverent and delirious thrill ride through mid-life.”

I was operating on about three hours sleep after waking up at 5 a.m. to watch Wimbledon and didn’t have time for a nap before the 2:30 p.m. show.

I did not yawn once!

Sure, I knew David could tell a terrific anecdote but I honestly did not know what to expect on stage because I had not seen him perform before.

Well, that charming and effervescent man I know from our happy hours together is the man we see on stage for over an hour regaling us with funny, touching, raw and scary stories about his life as a gay man – first in New York then in Los Angeles.

I’ll be honest with you – I did not expect the show to be this good!

David uses minimal props and yet he fills the stage with his personality and has a wonderful connection with the audience. As with many of us gay men, our mothers provide us with great material. Whether it’s his mom barging into his room as he’s performing Donna Summer’s MacArthur Park or her first visit to see him in West Hollywood where he lived with his boyfriend, there’s very good stuff here.

There is also very moving material about a life-threatening illness David battled and the perspective that has brought to his life.

And I’ll just tell you now – SPOILER ALERT – at one point David is completely naked! Let’s just say he had a one-night stand that went VERY wrong and this is the funniest part of the show (not his being naked, but his brilliant recounting of this very memorable evening).

I loved the show and am so proud of my friend!

The show grew from David’s participation in Michael Kearns’ acting workshop.

It began its run on June 17 (It has been extended for three more weekends so there’s still time to see it).

Kudos to David and to director Michael Kearns (Michael’s memoir The Truth is Bad Enough: What Became of The Happy Hustler) has just been released) for a wonderful collaboration.

I highly recommend you try and catch this show over the next three weeks. It is performed on Sunday at 2:30 p.m. and the theater is right on the main drag in Los Feliz.

Here is a LINK to buy tickets and to find out more about the show!