‘Buyer and Cellar’ takes actor and icon for a ride

By Rich Fahey

BOSTON – It takes a special actor – or maybe a crazyperson – to perform a 100-minute solo show, a seemingly unending test of stamina and concentration, a high-wire act with no net below.

But take such an actor as Victor L. Shopov, match him with the right piece, and the result is theatrical magic.

His list of artistic triumphs runs on and on, as evidenced by his many IRNE and Norton awards and nominations. Add another triumph for his portrayal of Alex More, a down-and-out actor who puts on a very special performance for a company of one  in The Hub Theatre Company of Boston’s “Buyer and Cellar,” now at Club Café through Aug. 1.

Playwright Jonathan Tolins, his character More, and – by extension – Shopov are all master storytellers, and there is quite a story to tell when More gets a chance to serve a celebrity icon who is so well-known only one name is necessary. Springsteen. Jackson. Streisand.

Barbra Streisand may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but there’s no  missing the fact her career has spanned more than six decades since her breakthrough role in “Funny Girl” in 1964. Still, the Brooklyn native with the unfixed schnoz has remained largely a private person, and has made fewer and fewer excursions into the worlds of TV, movies. music, and concerts.

A note: The show, for legal reasons, is advertised as “not a true story,” meant to keep the notoriously litigious Streisand’s lawyers at bay.

“Buyer & Cellar” is fiction, but it is based on something true: La Streisand had a shopping mall built in the basement of her Malibu estate. Playwright Tolins takes that and runs with it, imagining a Disneyland Main Street-type setup that includes a doll store, an antique shop, a gift shop, and a frozen yogurt machine – all for one potential customer.

Tolins has also pounced on an actual book Streisand wrote – “My Passion for Design” – which details her rise from a cramped Brooklyn apartment living with her mother, brother and grandparents to the palace she always wanted, complete with her own photos of the rooms she decorated and the art and furnishings she used and the gardens she planted on her estate.

As we begin, More’s uneven acting career has cratered. He has been evicted from the Mouse House (Disneyland) while serving as mayor of Toon Town for making an unkind remark to a young guest. A theater show bombs spectacularly. He is at his wits end in keeping his Volkswagen afloat when a friend gives him a lead on a possible job at an estate in Malibu.

The job, it turns out, is essentially “managing” Streisand’s mall, making sure the stores are properly “stocked” and that the yogurt machine and popcorn maker are both working

Tolins has created some other secondary characters for Shopov to play besides his own. There is the witchy Sharon, Streisand’s caretaker, who addresses Alex with an endless sneer. Alex’s boyfriend Barry is a bitchy, sarcastic, struggling screenwriter whose rants after he discovers that Alex has hooked up with Streisand – and what that might mean to his career – are priceless.

And then there is Streisand herself. More, nodding to her status as a gay icon, slyly notes he doesn’t “do” Streisand, “but there are several women who do.” The star is a major focus from the first time she descends downstairs, cheerfully identifying herself as “Sadie.” There is also a visit from Mr. Streisand himself, James Brolin, who made Alex’s mother swoon in “Marcus Welby, M.D.”

Eventually, “Sadie” will engage Alex in “negotiations” over the price she is willing to pay for a piece from her own doll store, with Alex hilariously standing his ground. There is a parallel story line with Alex as Streisand’s acting coach for a possible remake of “Gypsy” with Streisand playing “Mama Rose.”

Their relationship seems to evolve and strengthen, but at no point does Tolins have Alex feel secure about it, or its possible endurance. He is always in the moment, knowing a cross word or a sideways glance might put him out of her favor and back on the street.

Tolin made a decision to fill in the blanks with Streisand with what he knew about her as a performer and a person, and he added the requisite vulnerabilities and insecurities, as well as the drive that pushed her to the top.

It will not end well for Alex, of course, but in this case it’s all about the journey.

The direction is by Daniel Bourque, Hub’s associate artistic director. He has helped Shopov stay en pointe throughout and he has in concert  with choreographer Kiki Samko kept Shopov on the move for the entire 100 minutes. Shopov is especially effective when he lines up against one of the two video screens to illustrate a specific point using one of Justin Lahue’s vibrant projections. It also prevents the piece from becoming static.

Hub may be a small company, but it punches way above its weight when it comes to production values, starting with Lahue’s projections, which provide the perfect context to accompany More’s dialogue. Lahue also designed the well-detailed set.

Greg Baker’s sound, Rachel Harned’s lighting, Cate Healey’s costumes, and Sara LaFever’s props all contribute mightily to the production.

Producer and Artistic Director Lauren Elias reminds one and all that all performances are “pay what you can,” the troupe’s policy since its founding in 2013.

Shopov’s skills make “Buyer & Cellar” a solo tour de force with both wit and wisdom, a romp through a Disneyland of a different sort that might have made even made Streisand smile.

The Hub Theatre Company of Boston production of “Buyer and Cellar.” Written by Jonathan Tolins. Directed by Daniel Bourque. At Club Café through Aug. 1. Hubtheatreboston.org