"I write about things I can't figure out," Eric Bogosian has said. "Provocation in the guise of a good time." This funny and thought-provoking performance artist performs at the Yale Repertory Theater-this Saturday only-as part of their Special Events Series. His one man show, Wake up and Smell the Coffee, is 75 minutes of ranting, raving, and role-playing about the state of America in 1996.
Bogosian is probably best known as the misanthropic "shock jock" Barry Champlain in the movie Talk Radio, directed by Oliver Stone and based on Bogosian's play of the same name; Stone's bombastic, confrontational style was curiously at odds with Bogosian's performance. Other movie work includes Robert Altman's Caine Mutiny Court Martial and last summer's Under Siege 2, in which Bogosian played Travis Dane opposite Steven Seagal. He is also the author of the play subUrbia, the novella Notes from Underground, and three previous Obie Award-winning solos: Drinking in America; Sex, Drugs and Rock and Roll, and Pounding Nails in the Floor with My Forehead (which played at the Rep in 1994).
Wake Up and Smell the Coffee is directed by his wife, Jo Bonney, who headed his other solo efforts as well. The new show has Bogosian playing everything from a New Age healer to a harried executive to (why not?) Jesus Christ, targeting pretension, apathy, and pettiness in all of his characters-even himself. Not surprisingly, he also takes aim at the world of critics and star-searchers who champion such cutting-edge artists as Bogosian. At one point, he plays a perplexed theatergoer; apt, since "Get the audience confused" is one of Bogosian's mottos.
Like it or not, he's here to stay: his plays and shows have been staged around the world, and a new script is apparently in the works. This weekend we have the genuine article here in New Haven, ready to disturb, shock, and entertain all who are willing to listen.
-Siobhan Peiffer
Copyright 1996, The Yale Herald, Inc. All rights reserved.
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