John Colella (Photo by Austin Highsmith)
Reviewed by Taylor Kass
Ruskin Group Theatre
Through February 2
RECOMMENDED
As a kid, John Colella never understood why his father told him to be anything but a baker. His father’s pastry shop was a magical land of sugar and creativity, staffed by the extended Colella family and a staple of the tight-knit Italian-American community in Chicago. But as he grew up and found his own passion in performing, John found a new way to carry on his father’s legacy and a deeper understanding for the man at the center of his life. In An Extraordinary Ordinary Man, a world premiere solo show directed by Michael Matthew for the Ruskin Group Theatre Co., writer and performer John Colella creates a deeply personal, laugh-out-loud funny, and emotionally impactful piece to honor the unbreakable bond between father and son.
Colella might be the only performer on stage, but he conjures the effect of a boisterous Italian family by effortlessly slipping in and out of character. He paints his childhood in the 1970s and 80s as almost preternaturally idyllic, surrounded by love and freshly-baked bread. But after his father’s first heart attack when he was only 40, Colella describes the emergence of a newfound anxiety humming underneath his day-to-day experience. His father’s health issues threaten to fracture the family, exposing tension Colella hadn’t noticed before. It’s only when he’s onstage that he feels wholly at peace — a similarity he never knew he shared with his father.
Solo shows are notoriously tricky. They’re best when the performer is deeply connected to the subject matter, but how does one make a singular personal experience relatable to an audience? Colella’s natural storytelling ability and obvious love for his subjects bridges the gap easily. An Extraordinary Ordinary Man is Colella’s way of memorializing his father through art, but the audience leaves with their own appreciation for a baker from Chicago who touched the lives of those around him.
Ruskin Group Theatre, 3000 Airport Avenue, Santa Monica; Sat. 8 p.m.; through Feb. 2. http://www.ruskingrouptheatre.com or (310) 397-3244. Running time: 75 minutes with no intermission.
