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06-01-2005, 01:18 AM
How to do the Star Wars trilogy in 58 minutes
When Ross finished performing, his elbow- and kneepads scuffed and clothes drenched in sweat, 3,000 fans stood up and cheered like braying Wookiees.
By Stephen Humphries | Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor
Charles Ross's touring stage show, "The One-Man Star Wars Trilogy," is as audacious as the title suggests.
Without the use of props - or any other actors - Mr. Ross sings John Williams's theme music, mimes the crawling yellow text at the beginning of each episode, replicates the sound effects of whooshing X-Wing Starfighters, and impersonates all the characters, even minor ones such as Admiral Akbar, the tunic-wearing squid-like creature that makes Jabba the Hut look like a pretty boy. Improbable as it may sound, Ross accomplishes the whole thing in 58 minutes.
Demand for Ross's critically acclaimed show is suddenly hotter than the twin suns of Tatooine now that "Episode III: Revenge of the Sith" - which has earned a record $271.2 million in 12 days - has restored balance to the Force by reviving public interest in a waning franchise. Capitalizing on the momentum, Ross's flurry of summer performances across the United States culminates in a three-month engagement at Lamb's Theater in New York.
"It's a homage," says Ross, but he quickly adds that he pokes fun at the space opera, too. "I can sometimes make small commentary or I can simply just do an impression. If you capitalize on somebody's idiosyncrasy and you heighten it - just slightly - it makes for a sort of mockery, but at the same time I like to have a tone of respect."
Last week, Ross was invited to talk and perform on The Late, Late Show on CBS. He's been interviewed for forthcoming issues of Esquire and Spin magazines and his off-Broadway debut in August has been heralded in a full-page ad in The New York Times. But his CliffsNotes version of "Star Wars" hasn't been an overnight success.
Ross spent three years - longer than Han Solo was frozen in carbonite - touring fringe festivals and small towns and cities such as Dubuque, Iowa. When Ross reached Chicago in 2003, he performed his high-energy shtick on a stage the size of a kitchen table, much to the amazement of audience member Kathy van Beuningen. "He runs around the stage, he rolls around the stage, he jumps around the stage," says van Beuningen, who has now seen the show 35 times. "He's always moving."
Word eventually reached the offices of "Star Wars" creator George Lucas. That led to an invitation from Lucasfilm to appear at the 2004 San Diego Comic-Con, the mecca of science-fiction conventions.
When Ross finished performing, his elbow- and kneepads thoroughly scuffed and black clothes drenched in sweat, the 3,000 sci-fi fans in the audience stood up and cheered like braying Wookiees.
Ross hasn't looked back since.
More on this Story (http://www.christiansciencemonitor.com/2005/0601/p01s04-almp.html)
When Ross finished performing, his elbow- and kneepads scuffed and clothes drenched in sweat, 3,000 fans stood up and cheered like braying Wookiees.
By Stephen Humphries | Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor
Charles Ross's touring stage show, "The One-Man Star Wars Trilogy," is as audacious as the title suggests.
Without the use of props - or any other actors - Mr. Ross sings John Williams's theme music, mimes the crawling yellow text at the beginning of each episode, replicates the sound effects of whooshing X-Wing Starfighters, and impersonates all the characters, even minor ones such as Admiral Akbar, the tunic-wearing squid-like creature that makes Jabba the Hut look like a pretty boy. Improbable as it may sound, Ross accomplishes the whole thing in 58 minutes.
Demand for Ross's critically acclaimed show is suddenly hotter than the twin suns of Tatooine now that "Episode III: Revenge of the Sith" - which has earned a record $271.2 million in 12 days - has restored balance to the Force by reviving public interest in a waning franchise. Capitalizing on the momentum, Ross's flurry of summer performances across the United States culminates in a three-month engagement at Lamb's Theater in New York.
"It's a homage," says Ross, but he quickly adds that he pokes fun at the space opera, too. "I can sometimes make small commentary or I can simply just do an impression. If you capitalize on somebody's idiosyncrasy and you heighten it - just slightly - it makes for a sort of mockery, but at the same time I like to have a tone of respect."
Last week, Ross was invited to talk and perform on The Late, Late Show on CBS. He's been interviewed for forthcoming issues of Esquire and Spin magazines and his off-Broadway debut in August has been heralded in a full-page ad in The New York Times. But his CliffsNotes version of "Star Wars" hasn't been an overnight success.
Ross spent three years - longer than Han Solo was frozen in carbonite - touring fringe festivals and small towns and cities such as Dubuque, Iowa. When Ross reached Chicago in 2003, he performed his high-energy shtick on a stage the size of a kitchen table, much to the amazement of audience member Kathy van Beuningen. "He runs around the stage, he rolls around the stage, he jumps around the stage," says van Beuningen, who has now seen the show 35 times. "He's always moving."
Word eventually reached the offices of "Star Wars" creator George Lucas. That led to an invitation from Lucasfilm to appear at the 2004 San Diego Comic-Con, the mecca of science-fiction conventions.
When Ross finished performing, his elbow- and kneepads thoroughly scuffed and black clothes drenched in sweat, the 3,000 sci-fi fans in the audience stood up and cheered like braying Wookiees.
Ross hasn't looked back since.
More on this Story (http://www.christiansciencemonitor.com/2005/0601/p01s04-almp.html)