One-Man show titled Steve Cuiffo is Lenny Bruce
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| Steve Cuiffo is Lenny Bruce, Photo Courtesy of MASS MoCA |
Culturbot.org raves, "Cuiffo does the single best Lenny Bruce we've ever seen. He's got the accent, the mannerisms, the rhythm, and the sensibility down. It's like Lenny Bruce really did come back from the grave." Join Cuiffo for an Alt Cabaret comedy performance of Lenny Bruce's classic material on Saturday, December 6, 2008, at 8 PM in MASS MoCA's Club B-10. Bruce fans can come early to tour the galleries which will be open until 7 PM before the performance.
Steve Cuiffo first began channeling Lenny Bruce while he was performing with acclaimed experimental theater company The Wooster Group. After receiving a boxed set of classic Bruce material, Let the Buyer Beware, the actor wrote a two-minute sketch depicting Bruce's comments on war and terrorism for the 2006 production of Major Bang or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Dirty Bomb, a work about terrorist paranoia.
Those two minutes led to Cuiffo's contact with the Bruce estate and its encouragement to continue the act. After being granted unprecedented access to the comic's notes and life, Cuiffo began memorizing and performing material verbatim. Cuiffo explains, "I spent a lot of time getting his rhythm, his timing, his tone of voice. The idea was to get it as close as possible to what it would be like to see him in a live nightclub."
Even though Cuiffo's show is eerily realistic, the actor is adamant that he is not an impersonator. "I'm an actor/performer as Lenny Bruce, so I'm not the comedian. I'm seeing how the material lands with the audience." When Cuiffo is not portraying Bruce he performs as a skilled magician, and teaches magic to the terminally ill in VA hospitals around the country. He is also on the board of directors for The Conjuring Arts Research Center, a nonprofit that promotes the art of magic.
MASS MoCA's year-round Alt Cabaret series features the best music, dance, theater and more from emerging artists in cozy Club B-10. Lickety Split serves full dinner and snacks before and during the performance, along with Herrell's Ice Cream. A full bar is available as well. The series is sponsored by the Hans and Kate Morris Fund for New Music.
Tickets for Steve Cuiffo is Lenny Bruce are $14 in advance/ $18 day of show/ $10 students. MASS MoCA members receive a 10% discount. Tickets are available through the MASS MoCA Box Office located off Marshall Street in North Adams, open from 11 AM until 5 PM, closed Tuesdays. Tickets can also be charged by phone by calling 413-662-2111 during Box Office hours or purchased on line at www.massmoca.org.
