Review from Post and Courier

We had full houses and great feedback throughout our run at Piccolo Spoleto! Here is our review from the Post and Courier:


Review: This 'Elephant' is worth your vote
By Andrew Johnson

David Lee Nelson is no stranger to South Carolina. A graduate of the College of Charleston, this is the New York-based comedian’s third time performing at Piccolo — he previously brought “Status Update” and “Skinny White Comics.” This time he’s turned his attention to a more sensitive topic: Politics.

“The Elephant in My Closet,” Nelson’s latest one-man show, chronicles his journey from being raised a hardcore Republican to eventually voting for Barack Obama, and the uncertainty he feels about whether to tell his father. Part history class, part memoir, he deftly weaves his knowledge of American history in with autobiographical stories from his own life.

The set is sparse. Nelson sits behind a lone desk with a few notes in front of him while photos are projected behind him. It feels like a class presentation, and for some of the show it is, as he takes the audience through a brief history of the Republican Party. But even when discussing the drier historical details, he commits so fully it’s hard not to just go along for the ride. By the time he gets to Reagan, his passion is so contagious that it’s easy to understand why Republicans hold the man in such high regard, regardless of one’s politics.

Most of the show focuses on growing feelings of confusion and frustration, but Nelson is a comedian first and foremost, and his self-deprecating tone alleviates the most cynical diatribes. The show’s beauty lies in his ability to poke fun at both sides of the political aisle, even though we know he’ll ultimately go the way of the donkey. Sarah Palin provides an easy target for more than a few jokes, but she’s presented as no worse than the die-hard liberals who pigeonhole all Southern Republicans as uncivilized ignoramuses. It’s not a political screed — Nelson still seems to have great respect for Republicans, even though he’s now changed sides — as much as it’s the story of one man’s philosophical evolution.

The conceit for “The Elephant in My Closet” promised by its title is that “coming out” as a member of a certain political party carries the same weight as coming out as gay. Though this seems at first to be insensitive at best and downright offensive at worst — has anyone ever been driven to suicide simply for holding certain political beliefs? — it’s a testament to Nelson’s performance that, by the end, the comparison feels earned.

His father’s devotion to the GOP is presented as so entrenched that one gets the impression that an admission of “switching teams” could destroy their relationship. The final moments feel undercooked, perhaps because Nelson only came out to his father two months ago. Even so, the show is an entertaining reminder that blood runs thicker than ideology, and the best opinions are those that leave room for discussion

Pegasus News- Dallas, TX

Not being a social media devotee, I was unaware that David Lee Nelson's solo play titled Status Update (playing once more on March 8) had anything to do with Facebook or any other social network. Mr. Nelson talked about his change of status dilemma, amongst many other things, in his very personal, very funny recollections and commentary on divorce, acting, drinking, drugs and naps, all while being 32, now sober and a stand-up comedian.

Nelson discussed his life, past and present, as though he were doing a comedy gig – standing before a microphone and drinking water between laughs. During a series of "turned towards himself" videos, he slowly explained why he and his wife separated. As the videos played, he stood to the side and nervously checked his note cards before the next stand-up bit.

Dressed somewhat like Bill Nye, the Science Guy, Nelson's demeanor was all polite uncertainty. He smiled meekly and paused frequently to the extent that you felt nervous for him. But, as his stand-up continued, it being clear he was in total control and it presented itself as reflection within stand-up comedy within a play. Status Update had a spark of that highly quirky, highly imaginative work of the late Andy Kaufmann. To bear your soul and yet remain funny was no small feat and Nelson inventively juggled both in his capable hands.

Believing I was going to watch a comedian doing a often done routine, I walked out, instead, having seen a talented man explain the struggles of turning his life around while remaining a performer, a stand-up. David Lee Nelson's performance was compelling, laugh-filled and a definite must see.

Theater Jones-Dallas, Texas

Loop Review: Status Update

David Lee Nelson's confessional solo should come with a giant "Like" button. With video trailer.
by Mark Lowry
published Saturday, March 5, 2011

photo: Courtesy David Lee Nelson

"David Lee Nelson...Status Update"

Status Update

by David Lee Nelson
presented by

WaterTower Theatre

Addison Theatre Centre
15650 Addison Road
Addison, TX 75001
click here for a location map

Plenty of writers and performers have mined rich material from their own failures. And as uncomfortable as it might be, we love to witness the results. Helps us feel not quite so insecure about ours. Especially if it's entertaining.

So if you get a friend request from David Lee Nelson, accept it. The New York-based comedian and playwright chronicles his journey to sobriety, a falling-apart marriage and his career as a starving artist in Status Update, in what will surely be a highlight of this year's Out of the Loop Fringe Festival.

But it's not the typical here's-how-I-effed-it-up narrative. Directed by Adam Knight, Nelson performs most of it as a stand-up comedy routine, and occasionally breaks to show a bit of personal documentary video in which he talks about his life with his wife, the divorce, vacations and, to jump the whole thing off, a very disturbing gift he received from his mother.

The stand-up starts off simple enough, with humorous life observations. It's a bit awkward as the audience wonders if this is, indeed, more of a comedy-club act than a theatrical performance. But the video interludes provide important back story, and slowly the stand-up performer grows increasingly caustic with his material.

The big climactic comedy section, which is where the show's title comes in, is the bit about the most painful act of any break-up these days: the relationship status on Facebook. Once you hit that button and become single, it's public, and you have to admit it to yourself. And if, for whatever reason, you're still Facebook friends with the ex, you get to stalk watch all the new fun he or she is having in his or her new phase of life.

Bitter, party of one.

It's at times uncomfortable and occasionally heartbreaking, but frequently funny. Laughter is the key. That's how Nelson keeps us from approaching him after the show, pulling out a few bills and offering them up with a sweet "you need this more than I do."

What's genius about Nelson's setup is that it's confessional because the age of social networking demands that it be. We've all said stuff on Facebook that we probably shouldn't have (ahem), or we've made decisions—joined a fan page, liked an '80s rom-com movie or friended certain folks—that will be questioned or even mocked by others.

Don't worry. No one's judging.

Yeah, Nelson knows that's not true. And in Status Update, no one's a bigger judge than numero uno. It's like poking yourself on Facebook, if that were possible.

To sum it up, he says "I'm a 32-year-old sober, stand-up comedian. That is the saddest thing I can think of."

And when he has our sympathy for a brief second, he goes right back into making us laugh.

To use Facebook terminology: LIKE.

◊ Click the calendar link above to see future performances for Status Update, which plays in the Addison Theatre Centre's Stone Cottage. View a full Out of the Loop Fringe Festival schedule here.

Here's a trailer for Status Update.

David Lee Nelson...Status Update Review

David Lee Nelson puts the fun in dysfunctional in Status Update

One liners and lost love makes for great theatre

by Kinsey Gidick

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Epically heart-breaking, tremendously endearing, and painfully funny, Piccolo attendees take note, David Lee Nelson's Status Update is not to be missed. Nelson, a College of Charleston alum and New York City based stand-up comic, opened his one man show last night, and the result was a surprisingly delightful nugget of a play. Tucked in the Simons Center's tiny black box theater, Nelson began with a confessional video clip about the best gift his wife ever gave him — a blackberry and porn. "If GQ rated gifts from wives, that would be in the top ten," he says, when he emerges on stage clad in a tan jacket, jeans, and bowtie.

But that's one of Nelson's happier memories of the 10 years he spent with his now ex-wife who left him in March 2009. Using his intimate video blips juxtaposed against long-form monologues, Nelson paints a picture of a man wrestling with his reality and trying to find the funny under it all.

And he succeeds.

Nelson's pithy reflections on life provided a fantastic rhythm to the production, but it's the raw truth of his video clips that make the show worth seeing. Halfway through Nelson reminisces about making his wife's coffee. "I knew just how to make it. I knew the exact color she liked it with just enough milk," he says, and it's like he's poured the audience a cup of heartache. Then, just when he's pushed the attendees to the edge of melancholy, Nelson brings them back with more laughs.

Famed English essayist Charles Lamb said in 1885, "We do not go to the theatre, like our ancestors, to escape from the pressure of reality so much as to confirm our experience of it," and Nelson's production is the embodiment of that idea. Status Update may be the culmination of the past year in Nelson's life played out in jokes and tell-all soliloquies, but it's bits and pieces are a reflection of the reality in all our lives. As he pokes fun at himself and his failings, we see our own issues and can laugh at them.

Now, that's not to say all audiences will love Status Update, if you're a prude, stay home. If you're in a rocky relationship, perhaps don't bring the significant other, unless you want to spend an awkward post-production cocktail hour with your date. This is a PG-13 production, and if you can't handle discussion of sex, porn, drugs, or religion, I hear there's a Spoleto marionette gig you might like. If you are interested in laughing heartily and seeing one of the more creative approaches to a one-man show the festival has produced, then snap up a ticket to Nelson's production. You'll be posting "What a great show!" on your Facebook wall the next day.

Post and Courier Review

David Lee Nelson slays with sharp wit

By Dottie Ashley, Post and Courier Reviewer

Tuesday, June 1, 2010

Buzz

The playlet "David Lee Nelson ... Status Update" reminded me of my paternal grandmother who would say to me whenever tears came into my eyes: "Please don't cry, dear. It'll make your nose all red, and that's so unattractive."

When Nelson, 31, who wrote this one-man show, appears in his blue polka-dot bow tie and asks: "Do you think Bill Gates ever goes to an ATM machine?" and "Have you ever looked at your cell phone and realized you hate everyone you know?"

It's as if you're watching a fledgling Jerry Seinfeld in his first few seasons on television when he performed a stand-up routine at the beginning and end of his TV show.

But make no mistake. Nelson keenly has developed his own style and varies his monologue's tone, unlike any comic I've seen. Although Nelson takes risks in offending certain segments of society, in the mode of Larry David ("Curb Your Enthusiasm"), he also balances his truly funny material with heartfelt comments on his situation in life.

His monologue initially grabs your attention when he opens with: "For Christmas 2006, my wife gave me a Blackberry and a cassette of porn."

Spoleto 2010News, stories and reviews

Your guide to the events, performances and highlights of this year's festivals.

He also breaks up his monologue by switching from videos of himself in various places at various times, then back to live action.

Honest about his battle with addiction, he says, "I drank and smoked for 12 years, and I was the sober one in my family." Nelson has the knack for making a connection to his audience, as he makes wry comments about AA meetings. But he also talks seriously about how difficult it is for comics to stay married while constantly traveling. He touchingly describes the little things he misses most about his now ex-wife.

A theater graduate of the College of Charleston, Nelson makes you feel certain that behind those lively eyes is an incredibly sharp brain that someday will produce a top-flight comic. Meanwhile, let him entertain you. You probably need a laugh, or a smile.