Mike Millan and Barbra Streisand share the Broadwater Second Stage in Jonathan Tolins’ deliciously dishy Buyer & Cellar, Celebration Theatre’s long awaited return to live-and-in-person programming.

In actual fact, it’s only Millan (as struggling actor Alex Moore) that you’ll actually be seeing in the flesh, but don’t be surprised if you leave the Broadwater feeling you’ve spent much of Tolins’ play in the presence of Ms. Streisand herself.

Taking as his inspiration Babs’ self-penned coffee-table tome My Passion For Design, Tolins has confectioned that rarity, a multi-character play that just happens to brought to life by a single actor, and is (as Alex assures us) “a work of fiction [that] could not possibly have happened with a person as famous, talented, and litigious as Barbra Streisand.”

Notwithstanding, Buyer & Cellar feels absolutely real, and once Alex has met the woman whose basement shopping-mall-for-one he has been hired to man, there’s not an audience member who won’t feel as if he or she has been granted a personal audience with Her Majesty Queen Barbra herself.

L.A. theatergoers will chuckle at the dire professional circumstances that have sent Alex day-job-hunting (all he could book was a 99-seat show at the Zephyr), and though boyfriend Barry is supportive, love cannot pay the bills.

Fortunately, a friendly tip from onetime Disneyland hookup Vincent secures Alex an interview with Streisand house manager Sharon, the result of which is a journey into “another world, like when Dorothy steps from sepia into Technicolor” and a job “doing inventory, working the floor, greeting the customer.” (Note the deliberate use of the singular.)

Confidentiality agreement signed, Alex takes charge of Barbra’s Doll Shop, Antiques Store, Antique Clothes Boutique, and Gift Shoppe until, at last, he finds his patience rewarded by a visit from the lady upstairs, and before you know it, our hero finds himself Bonding with Barbra as only a gay man can.

Still, as anyone who’s ever had a run-in with a diva can tell you, hell hath no fury like one who’s been scorned, and Alex must navigate his surroundings (and a late-night encounter with James Brolin) with utmost care.

Director Katie Lindsay keeps things visually varied on Stephen Gifford’s stylishly designed set, decorated with an abundance of framed Barbra shots by properties design whiz Michael O’Hara, as David Murakami’s “watercolor mem’ries” projections on either side take us from “country estate” exteriors to “personal shopping expo” interiors with side trips to classic Barbra gowns.

The instantly likable, utterly fabulous Millan creates six very different characters, from our ever hopeful hero to on-again, off-again boyfriend Barry, acerbic Sharon, goosey-gay Vincent, and gravel-voiced James. (Brolin that is.)

And though Alex declares that “enough people do her—even some women—that you don’t need me to…,” Millan’s Barbra is close enough to have me convinced Babs was in the house.

R.S. Buck’s lighting is both vivid and varied and Cricket S. Myers’ sound design offers not only ambient effects but bits of sonic Streisand memorabilia along the way.

Buyer & Cellar is produced by Christopher Maikish. Courtney Rhodes is stage manager. Casting is by Jami Rudofsky. Daniel Burns plays Alex on April 4 and 10.

I’ve now seen four different productions of Buyer & Cellar, a play that never fails to captivate and delight. With Mike Millan center stage, you’ll likely be every bid as captivated and delighted as I was this fourth time around.

The Broadwater Second Stage, 6320 Santa Monica Blvd, Hollywood.
www.celebrationtheatre.org

–Steven Stanley
April 3, 2022
Photos: Matthew Brian Denman

Tags: Celebration Theatre, Jonathan Tolins, Los Angeles Theater Review, The Broadwater Second Stage