Stage: Ripping good

By Barbara Scherzer

If you think of comic Rip Taylor as an over-the-top performer with a penchant for outrageous costumes and one-liners, leave your preconceptions at the theater door for this show. In It Ain't All Confetti, Taylor takes us on his journey from special services showman to Strip star in a surprisingly poignant and restrained performance.

Following a photo montage of the famous faces who have peppered his career, Taylor takes to the stage. The comic then sings the humorous tune "I've Done It All." Born Charles Elmer and nicknamed "Mo," for the first time onstage Taylor bares his talent and his soul.

Amid his highs and lows as a Borscht Belt comic, Broadway song/dance man and flamboyant Strip headliner, Taylor successfully hid a longtime secret: He was an abused child. Starting out as the show's narrator, Taylor deftly switches to playing himself--from childhood through the present day--as he conveys the meaningful moments of his life. Whether quieting his dog Blackie who is hiding away with him or manipulating his mother into buying him an expensive bike, Taylor is riveting.

Raised by his domineering grandmother in Washington, D.C.--his father died early on--Taylor would try anything to get away from her and the other horrors that his home held. A first-place win in a local talent contest unexpectedly propelled him into the world of show business.

His childhood was no laughfest. Besides the abuse, he was frequently beaten up on his way to school. Many years later, his unwarranted firing from Jackie Gleason's hit TV show by the alcoholic "Great One" deeply scarred this confetti-tossing comic. Shedding his wig, Taylor touches on his only marriage to a showgirl, which ended in divorce. "I send out now," he says with a laugh.

Robert Brewer, who co-wrote the funnyman's story with Taylor, directs the star in an easy-to-follow narrative style. The simple set holds a stool for Taylor to perch upon, a music stand for some show notes and a piano. Music director Joseph Darro accompanies Taylor on some musical interludes and songs. A drop-down screen provides the only scenery and occasionally flashes photos from Taylor's life.

Surprisingly, Rip Taylor shreds your notions of him with this one-man show, which serves as a benefit for UNLV's Nevada Conservatory Theatre. Taylor hits home with a meaningful personal story that ably illustrates that universal quest: looking for love.