JOE SHOW
If you’ve lived in Chicago long enough, you’ve probably come across people very much like the characters in Joe Liss’s dreadfully titled yet expertly performed one-man Joe Show. Sitting through the production is kind of like taking a guided tour of the northwest side of the city. There’s the crabby laundromat proprietor who knows everybody’s business, the tripped-out flier distributor, the sarcastically indifferent cop, the fast-talking, chain-smoking cabdriver, the show-biz failure who runs a karaoke joint.
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In less than an hour Liss provides an accurate and humorous cross section of this city’s denizens, splicing the long monologues with clever videotaped bits that enable him to make quick clothing changes. The characters are presented separately, but their lives intersect and overlap as they pass on the street or talk about one another in the neighborhood bar or laundromat. Wisely, Liss doesn’t dwell on these relationships, but uses them sparingly to give greater depth to his portrayals.
