BRATTLEBORO — When writer and performing artist Seth Lepore's grandmother died last year, he was on tour.
The former Vermonter was devastated. He had been very close to her, and he knew a vital part of his existence was now gone.
As a way to deal with his grief, Lepore decided to write a memoir about their relationship. But not long into the project, he realized that a one-man show would be the best vehicle to pay tribute to a woman that he describes as “a second parent” and says led to “some of the most ludicrous and heartfelt moments” of his life.
Lepore will be returning to Brattleboro to present his newest work, “Firecracker Bye Bye” for four performances in November at the Hooker-Dunham Theater.
He describes the show, directed by Linda McInerney, as “a comedic tearjerker about the best Italian-American Grandmother. Ever.”
He claims that “Firecracker Bye Bye” “playfully prods the Italian-American obsessions of food, homemade sweaters, and unfiltered discourses that border on the absurd.”
'Rubber face'
A writer, humorist, musician, and solo performer, Lepore says he's known for dynamic character acting and vocal elasticity.
He is the star and author of a trilogy of one-man shows that zero in on the underbelly of the self-help movement: “Losing My Religion: Confessions of a New Age Refugee”; “SuperHappyMelancholyexpialidocious,” which he started touring in 2012; and “Kicking Ass and Taking Names,” which he is still developing and plans to debut in 2014.
“Losing My Religion” won an Audience Encore Award at both the Boulder and Minnesota Fringe Festivals, and it was one of top 10 plays of 2011 for Twin Cities Daily Planet arts editor/theater critic Jay Gabler.
And Lepore's latest offering also impressed Gabler, who called it “a tender and funny ode to his late grandmother Nonie” after it premiered at Minnesota Fringe Festival in August.
The critic described Lepore as “a gifted performer with a rubber face; he can lucidly switch characters just by cocking his head and changing his expression [...] and this heartfelt show is just about impossible not to enjoy,” he wrote. “Bring your grandmother - whether she's alive, or simply alive in your memory.”
'Interesting, compelling, and funny'
“Firecracker Bye Bye” celebrates more than Lepore's grandmother. For the first time, he is writing about his entire family.
“My relatives often asked me why I never wrote about them,” says Lepore. “I really don't know why. Perhaps I thought I was too close to the subject. It never was because there was no great material there. My family is very interesting, compelling, and funny.”
In his press materials, he wryly calls his show an “embarrassing exposé, twisted tribute, and lamenting love letter to yarn, lasagna, and sweet misunderstandings.”
He says that the show touches on a range of themes “from lasagna experiments gone wrong to crocheted eyesores,” and that he tries to portray his family's “offbeat charm with grace and punch, leaving the audience both jealous and relieved that they aren't my relatives.”
Portraying his most intimate cast of characters yet, Lepore uses a chameleonlike ability to shape-shift between his family members with the animated subtlety that has become his trademark.
Lepore plays all the characters in his family: Frank, who he describes as “the debonaire dad;” Camille, “the kooky aunt;” and his grandmother Nonie, “the sassy and endearing matriarch who holds the family together.”
“'I want to emphasize that this is a really funny show,” Lepore said. “It also incredibly heartwarming and life-affirming. The message here is that friends and family are very important.
“What I wrote is no parody of my family, but a genuine portrayal of these people's lives, as best as I was able. Most of all, I wanted to demonstrate what a really special lady my grandmother was.”
A longer version
Initially, Lepore was not sure what he should call call his newest work. So he asked on his website for suggestions.
“I ended up with two that rivaled for the best,” he says, “ so I combined them to make 'Firecracker Bye Bye.'”
The performance of “Firecracker Bye Bye” in Brattleboro will be more substantial than the 54-minute version that he presented at the Minnesota Fringe Festival, trimmed down to ensure that the performance would not be stopped in mid-performance.
“Fringe Festival one-man shows have to be under an hour,” said Lepore, who said that he has seen “the cane pulled on other people's show, and it wasn't pretty.”
“In Brattleboro, 'Firecracker Bye Bye' will be able to breathe more, and I can safely include all the material I need to make the show flourish,” he said.
Multiple roles, multiple projects
However much he has become a master of a challenging genre of theater, Lepore has other irons in the fire.
“I compose music under the name Older Than Hours,” Lepore said. “I also blog about what's it's like to be a theater artist as well as on topics that fit under the hood of 'social criticism,' which basically means anything that I wish to unravel.”
Some projects in the works include several book projects and collaborations, said Lepore, who also teaches courses on self-promotion and marketing for independent theater artists.
Lepore, who has been performing since he was in high school, began writing and performing in one-person shows after he found himself in traditional shows wanting to perform every part in the play.
He recalled looking at all the other roles in the play and wondering, “Hey, why can't I do that one, too?”
“In one-person theater, that is exactly what you do,” Lepore said. “Actually, 'one-man' is really a misnomer. There are many characters in my shows; it just happens that I perform them all.”