John Lithgow's star power and impressive acting chops turn what might have been a boring evening -- the reciting of two short stories -- into a surprisingly engaging experience. Lithgow, who also conceived and wrote Stories by Heart, first performed this solo show at Lincoln Center Theater three years ago, with Jack O'Brien directing. O'Brien's name is no longer attached, but things still move smoothly thanks to Lithgow's winning ways with an audience.
When not acting out the stories -- P.G. Wodehouse's "Uncle Fred Flits By" and Ring Lardner's "Haircut" -- Lithgow speaks directly to the audience, sometimes in a confessional manner, other times cracking jokes like a standup comic. He also sings a blackly comic sea shanty.
The theme of the evening is, "why do we want to hear stories?" Lithgow answers the question by recalling his own childhood when he and his three siblings took joy and sustenance from the classic fables their mother recited nightly (from memory). Now, in turn, he is the teller, not the listener -- and we are the beneficiaries of this universal turn of events.
Wodehouse's story, first published in 1935, is typically whimsical and silly, but Lithgow skillfully brings out its humor, drawing lots of big laughs.
Lardner's "Haircut" is a darker comic tale -- a barber telling an unseen patron a horrific story in a blithely ghoulish way that reveals his own hidden sadism. Lithgow occasionally goes over the top -- especially when he gives the barber a too-maniacal laugh -- but on the whole he acts out and recites "Haircut" in masterful fashion.
