HOW TO GO
What: "American Fiesta," presented by the DAI's Arts Night Out
Where: Dayton Art Institute, 456 Belmonte Park N., Dayton
When: 8 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 27
Cost: $30 (10 percent discount for Arts Night Out subscribers, 25 percent for active military service members with valid ID)
More info: (937) 223-5277 or www.daytonartinstitute.org
In the one-man show “American Fiesta,” Emmy Award-winning performer John McGivern plays Steven, a man who, like himself, is middle-aged and gay.
Unlike McGivern, Steven has a falling out with his parents over his decision to marry his partner in Canada.
McGivern will perform “American Fiesta” on Thursday at the Dayton Art Institute, his first trip to Dayton.
“Fiesta” is the first of three diverse shows in the DAI’s “Arts Night Out” series, a new series devoted to blending theater and visual arts that will run through November.
In the show, when Steven’s parents announce their refusal to attend the wedding, Steven finds himself metaphorically obsessing over finding the perfect set of fiestaware, a line of multicolored, ceramic dinnerware designed to be bought piecemeal.
“It’s the father that disapproves the most,” McGivern said. “And while Steven tries to convince him via his mother, who is more sympathetic, he also discovers that he can’t find a perfect set (of fiestaware), yet the pieces still go well together. The comment is that it still makes sense even if it’s not perfect.”
McGivern does not give the impression that he ever suffered a similar altercation with his own parents. His own autobiographical shows are affectionate recollections of his family and growing up in Wisconsin.
“(My family) is real, they’re honest, they’re the true tale,” he said. “They’re used to me telling stories, though two of my siblings made it clear I’m never to talk about them. They’re all successful, and my mom still asks me if I need money, even though I’m 57.”
McGivern’s “American Fiesta” performance at the Dayton Art Institute (DAI) will be his first trip to Dayton. “Fiesta” is the first of three diverse shows in the DAI’s “Arts Night Out” series, a new series devoted to blending theatre and visual arts that will run through November. Even though McGivern said it’s difficult to get into the proper headspace when he doesn’t perform the play for a few months, he still enjoys it, calling it a “wonderful little piece.”
McGivern and “American Fiesta” came together at the Renaissance Theaterworks, a Milwaukee, Wis.-based theater company. McGivern was born in Milwaukee and has always, despite stints with PBS, Comedy Central and HBO, gravitated back there, doing one-man shows by and for Midwesterners.
“The theater community (in Milwaukee) knows me from all the shows I’ve done, and they thought it would be a good idea,” McGivern said, adding a laugh before continuing: “They sent the script for me to read to see if I liked it, then asked me to audition. When I went to audition, they told me they were auditioning people all day, yet when I walked out the only person there was the guy sweeping the floor. Then immediately when I got home, I saw there was a message on my machine telling me I got the part.”
“American Fiesta” was critically acclaimed during its New York City run but underperformed commercially, McGivern said. Milwaukee Theaterworks obtained the rights, and eventually “Fiesta” playwright Steven Tomlinson gave McGivern exclusive rights to perform the play for two years. Although “American Fiesta” is also a one-man show, McGivern said it’s considerably different from doing his own work.
“It’s a tough little piece,” he said. “There’s a lot of light and sound and image cues that have to be precise. It’s not like my own work where I sit there and say, ‘Let me tell you about my mom.’ ”
McGivern flirted with the big time earlier in his career. “Midwest Side Story,” a show he wrote for a Chicago LGBT festival got him noticed by Comedy Central. This led to small parts in movies, commercials and gigs with HBO. Still, McGivern said his years in Los Angeles were the hardest of his life.
“They had me doing a lot of comedy clubs,” he said. “(That format) is just not what I do. What I do is sit on a stool and tell stories. It’s not a laugh every 10 seconds. You have to listen, and it would’ve been nice if (the audience) wasn’t drinking so much. It was hard, and it was poor. It’s much better now. Wherever I’ve lived, Milwaukee has never been far from my heart. Of course, when I tell people where I’m from, they usually say, ‘So how is Minnesota?’ ”
McGivern’s “Fiesta” performance this week will be his first trip to Dayton.
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