Passport Playbill, A Musical Monologue

Reviewed by Holly Bartges

He takes the audience on a journey with an intriguing concept. His passport represents his theatre experience. Each stamp on the passport represents a significant transitional point in his life. Hence, each stamp represents a playbill listing Producer, Director, Set Designer, Prop Master, and Cast. Sometimes the emphasis lies on location, sometimes on the cast of characters, sometimes with an external focus; sometimes internal.

Eddie Kirsch in the one-man show, Passport Playbill, A Musical Monologue.

Having grown up in the Bronx, he paints a picture of having the capacity for getting into trouble, always with someone telling him he won’t be able to do certain things. A creative mind creates ingenious solutions. He learned very early in life various techniques how to sneak into Broadway shows. With roustabout mannerisms, he earned the nickname Fast Eddie.

The list of “can’ts” grew longer. One thing Eddie Kirsch was never told he couldn’t do: travel. Travel he did for five years throughout Europe, Asia, and Africa.

is two-act one-man show comprises of detailed experiences from drugs, intriguing characters, strange experiences, and humorous encounters. Along the way he employs the trumpet, harmonica, easy dance steps, and original songs as exclamation points. On a bare stage with a park bench, an attaché case for his trumpet, and duffle bag for odds and ends he launches into his rhyme and reason, his love of theatre, and the wide horizon he gained from his travels.

Intriguing as the concept of Passport Playbill is, it leaves much to be desired.

I had the distinct feeling I was listening to a travelogue without visual aids. I also had the feeling I was listening to a spiritual confession. Sometimes the two came together. Sometimes they didn’t. Although he indeed has some very funny stories to relate, I felt totally detached from Kirsch’s storytelling. I wanted to be a part of. I wanted to be absorbed. I wanted to be included. I couldn’t pinpoint exactly what he wanted me to do with his material. Travelogues are a dime a dozen. Spiritual confessions even cheaper.

I loved his momentary commentary on the theatre as sacred ground, and frequently more so than what the church can offer. At that moment he got me where I lived. I loved his statement that if anything can happen in the theatre, anything can happen in real life. Then he left me hanging.

I wanted to see the places he talked about. I wanted to experience the interaction between him and the juicy interactive characters. This created mind wandering while my mind played visualization games.

There is no question this talented actor, who has played theatres all over the world, has a significant story to tell. I wanted to feel it was important to him that I heard it.

Hopefully, Kirsch will take his kernel of truth back to the drawing board to rethink his rhyme and reason, to incorporate multimedia, to even think in terms of a film that could develop the colorful characters in depth to give me a reason to care.