The lights come up on a relatively bare stage populated with a white antique chair, a matching white bench, and a rustic-white circular table topped with a porcelain tea set and a large coffee table book. Then enters Michael Urie (Ugly Betty) a young, charming, quirky 20-something who assures the audience that “this is a work of fiction”. Inspired by Barbra Streisand’s real book, My Passion for Design, Jonathan Tolin’s “Buyer & Cellar,”  playing at the Mark Taper Forum, explores the fantasy of Streisand hiring a young man to act as the curator of her private, basement shopping mall.

While Michael Urie explains that playwright Jonathan Tolins had only ever met Steisand once in a very informal encounter — Streisand supposedly offered Tolins a piece of her Kit Kat bar — the audience can’t help but feel intimately close to Streisand by the end of the show. Michael Urie gets into character as the young, struggling actor, Alex More, who has just been fired from Disneyland’s Toon Town and is desperate for a new job that will pay the bills. More suddenly finds himself working retail alone in the basement of Streisand’s Malibu estate, with occasional visits from Barbra herself.

A mixture of Angeleno humor, celebrity mystique, and Streisand trivia, “Buyer & Cellar” does an excellent job of keeping every audience member engaged, regardless of their own personal knowledge of the legend that is Barbra Streisand. While “Buyer & Cellar” is a one-man show, Michael plays a multitude of characters including, of course, Barbra herself. Running approximately 100 minutes without intermission, Michael Urie’s stamina is quite impressive as he powers through this high-energy, stand-up routine. Michael Urie delivers his lines with such believability, it is difficult to tell where Michael Urie ends and Alex More begins.

Jonathan Tolins also deserves serious praise for his writing, which is as idiosyncratic and outrageous as the play’s premise. Director Stephen Brackett (who was also the original Broadway director) likely recognized that Tolin’s script could stand on its own without much distraction, and Michael Urie possesses the talent to do this story justice. The set (designed by Andrew Boyce) while very simple, is also very fitting as it transforms into the many ‘shops’ of Barbra’s basement-mall.

“Buyer & Cellar” is a lot of the things, but it certainly isn’t run-of-the-mill, after all, ‘Barbra doesn’t like run-of-the-mill anything.’ There is truly humor in this show for everyone, regardless of age, gender, or Streisand literacy. Michael Urie’s performance alone is enough of a reason to enjoy this one-of-a-kind comic masterpiece, so be sure not to miss “Buyer & Cellar” while it’s in town. 

Reach Theater Editor Savannah L. Barker here.

"Buyer & Cellar" is playing at the Mark Taper Forum (135 N Grand Ave) through August 17. Tickets are $25-$85. For more information visit CenterTheatreGroup.org

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