Like A Dog On Linoleum
I recently had the chance to catch Leslie Jordan’s one man show, Like A Dog on Linoleum. If you’re not familiar with Leslie, he plays Beverly Leslie on “Will and Grace” and starred as Brother Boy in the cult film, “Sordid Lives.”
Leslie Jordan is a sprite of a man, standing all of 4 feet, 11 inches. But the energy that he projected during his show was amazing. His show is basically a laugh out loud recital of his life story starting at the very beginning (”I fell out of my mother’s womb into her high heeled shoes”), growing up in Chattanooga, TN, training to be a jockey, his days in Atlanta (”Hotlanta”), and moving to Hollywood (with a brief stint in jail) to begin his career in show business.
As he often said about the various stories, “Y’all, this story does NOT have a happy ending. It is fraught with tragedy.” There were so many hilarious lines, I can barely remember them. I wish I could have written them down. There were also a few poignant moments because underneath the humor is the story of a boy, then a man, in the midst of a life long struggle for self-acceptance. Alcohol and drugs were a part of his life for too many years. Fortunately, his story had a decidedly happy turn when he got sober and began to embrace his own uniqueness.
After the show, he came out to the theater lobby and happily posed for pictures, shook hands, signed programs and talked to anyone who wanted to meet him. He couldn’t have been nicer. I felt that he truly enjoyed performing his show and meeting the people who came to support him.
I loved his show, not only because I love to laugh, but because I struggled for years to figure out who I am, what my place is in this world, and what it is I’m supposed to do with my life beyond earning a paycheck. Several songs on my CD deal with those issues. It took a long time for me to figure a lot of it out, but thankfully I did. Seeing Leslie Jordan’s play reminded me of my own struggle and reminded me that there are so many people out there who struggle with their differences, self esteem, and self love.
If you want to see if his show is playing near you, check out www.brotherboy.com .
