One-man First Folio show celebrates the life of Will Rogers
Younger generations don't know much about Will Rogers, the part-Cherokee cowboy celebrity from Oklahoma who rose to mega-fame in the early 20th century. And often people who think they know who Rogers is will mix him up with TV cowboy crooner Roy Rogers of "Happy Trails" fame.
So it's nice that actor and playwright Kevin McKillip is doing his part to keep Rogers' memory alive in the world premiere show "Will Rogers: An American Original" for First Folio Theatre. The famed Oklahoman (1879-1935) is considered so culturally significant that among all the statuary of statesmen and other historical Americans on display in the U.S. Capitol building, Rogers is the only entertainer.
In his day, Rogers was famed for his folksy wit in syndicated newspaper columns and for his great comic timing in vaudeville, on Broadway and in Hollywood movies. And don't forget Rogers' amazing lasso rope tricks he learned from herding cattle in far away places ranging from Argentina to New Zealand.
Alas, McKillip's show isn't as much fun nor as emotionally satisfying as "The Will Rogers Follies," the 1991 Tony Award-winning musical biography of Rogers' life retold in the style of a lavish Ziegfeld Follies (in which Rogers was a star attraction in five editions on Broadway between 1917 and 1925). Instead, McKillip sticks entirely to rambling routines that Rogers himself delivered on his wildly successful tours where he mixed monologues with cowboy rope tricks (he called it "monopologuing" people's time).
As an actor, McKillip has an enormous range (he played Shakespeare's Richard III to much critical acclaim in a previous First Folio season). And McKillip's skills also encompass quite a few rope tricks he performs with ease and dexterity.
Buy you can't shake the nagging feeling that you're getting a skilled actor dressed up in a cowboy outfit instead a performer who truly embodies the historical figure he's portraying. McKillip is certainly amiable enough with his lanky frame and aw-shucks smile, but he comes off as a carbon copy comedian retelling someone else's jokes in front of a kitschy western backdrop.
Thankfully, McKillip reportedly sticks just to Rogers' own words in his script. A previous touring tribute show, "Will Rogers' USA" by Paul Shyre, allowed the late actor James Whitmore to improvise in the persona of Rogers to comment and opine on current politics (something that many an actor portraying a historical figure dubiously does at library events and other community gatherings).
If McKillip isn't fully convincing as Rogers, at least the dialogue he assembles and performs proves to be an invaluable history lesson. If some of Rogers' overt niceties come off as too naive in our cynical age (one of his most famous quotes is "I never met a man I didn't like"), he does hit the bull's-eye in skewering partisan politics in America. One of Rogers' quotes that still gets plenty of mileage today is "I'm not a member of any organized political party. I'm a Democrat!"
And since Rogers was at the height of his fame during The Great Depression (before his untimely death in a plane crash near Point Barrow, Alaska), what he has to say about Americans facing economic tough times is eerily prescient and humbling. The documentary aspect of "Will Rogers: An American Original" practically proves the point that history keeps repeating itself.
In his one-man show, McKillip shows why it's invaluable to remember the country's great entertainers who provided comfort and joy to millions of Americans. Too bad that McKillip's capable performance only shows why an imitation falls short of the title "American Original."
"Will Rogers: An American Original" Rating: #9733; #9733; #189;Location: First Folio Theatre at Mayslake Peabody Estate, 1717 W. 31st St., Oak Brook, (630) 986-8067 or firstfolio.orgShowtimes: 8 p.m. Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays; 3 p.m. Sundays; runs through May 2 Running time: About one hour, 45 minutes with intermissionTickets: $28-$30; $23-$25 students/seniorsParking: Nearby lot Rating: For all ages, though little ones won't get the political ribbingFalse13332000Kevin McKillip stars in the title role of his world premiere one-man play "Will Rogers: An American Original" for First Folio Theatre in Oak Brook. False <div class="infoBox"><h1>More Coverage</h1><div class="infoBoxContent"><div class="infoArea"><h2>Stories</h2><ul class="links"><li><a href="/story/?id=370996">First Folio's Kevin McKillip loves a challenge <span class="date">[04/08/10]</span></a></li></ul></div></div></div>