special event
created and performed by mike daisey
directed by jean-michele gregory
june 6—july 1
thrust stage
running time: each monologue runs 75 minutes
read about mike’s tongues will wag workshop (pdf)
the show
multimedia
Each week during the show’s run, we’ll post a short piece of one of the monologues.
• Tesla * (3.9MB mp3)
• Barnum * (3.6MB mp3)
• Hubbard * (6.3MB mp3)
• Brecht * (3.6MB mp3)
KPFA interview by C.S. Soong (21MB mp3)
The Coil and I: Adventures with a Mad Scientist’s Lightning Machine
This June, masterful monologist Mike Daisey, creator / performer of 21 Dog Years: Doing Time at Amazon.com and The Ugly American, returns to Berkeley Rep with Great Men of Genius, a series of shows that apply his trademark wit and unique perspective to fascinating historical figures. On consecutive nights, Mike profiles the legendary lives of P.T. Barnum, Bertolt Brecht, L. Ron Hubbard and Nikola Tesla, exploring the nature of genius and the pride, insanity and chauvinism that bind these men together. Meet one genius for an insightful and entertaining evening—or meet all four for a truly epic account of triumph and folly.
* Contains adult language.
the schedule
individual geniuses
Wednesday–Saturday / 8PM
marathons—discover all four geniuses in one day!
Brecht and Barnum / 2PM
Tesla and Hubbard / 7PM
genius passes—here’s how they work
See one genius, or see all four. The more you see, the more you save. Here’s how. You can buy a One-Show Pass, or you can buy a Genius Two-Show Pass and save. Or you can buy Super-Genius Three-Show Pass and we’ll give you the fourth genius for FREE. Brilliant!
We’ll send your genius passes in the mail. You redeem your passes for tickets to the performances of your choice. Of course, seating is subject to availability, so we recommend you reserve tickets in advance. Call the the box office at 510.647.2949 or stop by, Tuesday–Sunday, NOON–7PM. Seating at the show is by general admission on the Thrust Stage. We encourage you to arrive early—enjoy a drink and a bite in the courtyard.
regular |
subscriber |
under 30 |
|
| One Genius | $30 | $25 | $15 |
| Two Geniuses | $50 | $40 | $25 |
| Super-Genius Pass | $75 | $60 | $36 |
the players
Bertolt Brecht playwright, poet, lover of women and certifiable cad who escaped Nazi Germany, sympathized with the Communists, failed in Hollywood, was persecuted by McCarthy and redefined world theater. “Daisey romps through Brecht’s life, bringing comedy and thought-provoking personal commentary full circle”—Seattle Post-Intelligencer
P.T. Barnum gifted entrepreneur, showman, raconteur, hoaxster, freakshow and circus promoter who changed the face of nineteenth century America through blatant, shameless lying.
Nikola Tesla mad genius, brilliant scientist and visionary who sparred with Thomas Edison and died insane and penniless writing love sonnets to pigeons after bringing the world electricity as we know it.
L. Ron Hubbard bigamist, occultist and charismatic science fiction author-turned-guru who took 1950s popular psychiatry by storm and went on to create the Church of Scientology: the most celebrity-driven and litigious organization on Earth.
Mike Daisey is a writer and performer who is called “the master storyteller” and “one of the finest solo performers of his generation” by the New York Times. He is a regular contributor to NPR’s Day to Day, Slate and Salon.
the buzz
about the show
“comic, poignant and thought-provoking…entertaining and impressive…a monologue of pugnaciously revelatory satire…Daisey charges into the material with energizingly pugnacious bravado, satiric glee and investigative skill…told with wit and panache, Daisey punctuating his words with sharp gestures as his flexible voice assumes different characters and rises from intimate confidences to manic bellows…The result isn’t just highly entertaining. It’s also bracingly honest and affecting.”—San Francisco Chronicle
“Watching a Mike Daisey show is a lot like staying up all night listening to the maniacal rantings of the smartest kid in your dorm holding forth on science, art, showmanship, megalomania and, of course, Star Trek…Comic timing is Daisey’s secret weapon…I laughed so hard I cried…Great Men is big-time brain candy that takes a while to digest. It’s a colossally gutsy project that takes the whole medium-is-the-message thing seriously as Daisey slaps the convention of the short and tight solo genre upside the head…seeing these shows as stand-alone solos would be cheating yourself of one of the cheekiest theatrical adventures in recent memory…it was like having Daisey teach a full-on Western Civ survey class.”—San Jose Mercury News
“In the first few minutes, Daisey had us in the palm of his meaty hand, tickling our bellies. (Our scribbled notes in the darkness say this: "Fucking HILARIOUS.")…He paints for us not only pictures of who these men were, but also of himself, and, by association, how the productivity and madness of genius can be expressed in our own lives. And did we say he’s funny? Daisey is freaking funny. And smart…He is a cross between Louis Black and Andy Richter, or the love child of Spalding Gray and Micheal McShane…The ultimate result is a vivid and detailed portrait of the nature of megalomania and success…the five-hour plus journey was brilliantly executed. We say, stock up on trail mix, coffee, chocolate, and get tickets for one of the remaining Sunday marathons before this unique theatrical experience sells out.”—SFist
“Like a coked-up History Channel biography, Mike Daisey’s new ‘bio-logues’ ruminate on brilliant men and their piteous pitfalls, interspersed with Daisey’s personal experiences. Each night explores a new subject, from Bertolt Brecht to L. Ron Hubbard—it’s like hearing a lecture by your favorite professor while drinking beer in a comfortable lounge chair. You might even walk away smarter than before.”—Village Voice
“Engaging and funny, Mike Daisey’s monologues brim with subtle messages that never hammer you over the head…by association, he adds himself to the titular category.”—Time Out New York
“You get the feeling that Daisey is coming to new conclusions and realizations all the time, right there on stage—that his delving into the minds of these men is never complete, and that it’s deepening before your eyes.”—The Stranger
“An interestingly unpredictable and uneasy moosh of homage and parody…a kind of dual Rorschach test, in which one man identifies his own demons and ideals in the ink-blot of another’s life story.”—Seattle Times
“Daisey comes off as a kindred comic cousin to the late Saturday Night Live actor Chris Farley or maybe the precocious brother to social commentator / filmmaker Michael Moore. Each performance literally has a life of its own, as Daisey works without a script, using only a few pages of notes on yellow legal pad pages, and a towel always close at hand to wipe the sweat from his animated face.”—Seattle Post-Intelligencer
about mike
“The master storyteller…one of the finest solo performers of his generation.”—New York Times
“A charismatic performer, his shows have the insightful hostility of the best comedy.”—New Yorker
“Daisey has the wry sensibility of David Sedaris.”—Wall Street Journal
“He doesn’t pull punches. Daisey has wreaked his own brand of havoc.”—Washington Post
“A large man of unstoppable energy, he’s a fast, inventive, exceptionally funny storyteller with crisp comic timing and an amazingly flexible voice.”—San Francisco Chronicle
“A powerhouse…Daisey exudes honesty and has a flair for performance; these traits are present in just-right proportions for irresistible storytelling.”—San Francisco Weekly
“Comic delivery so sharp it draws blood.”—San Jose Mercury News
“Daisey’s skill is that he is able to talk about the historical and make it human, the personal and make it universal, so that the listener is both informed and transformed.”—Paper Magazine
“Sharp-witted, passionately delivered talk about matters both small and huge, at once utterly individual and achingly universal.”—Boston Globe
“He takes seemingly incongruent topics and mixes them with personal experiences to create the dramatic equivalent of a classic cocktail: there’s a balance of strong, sweet, and sour components and a few dashes of bitters. Each night the same story emerges differently; he could be a hip-hop artist freestyling, or a Baptist preacher.”—Boston Phoenix
“The new memoir is a monologue, and Mike Daisey is its rising star.”—Boston Herald
“Daisey is a brainy, manic hoot, a cross between Noam Chomsky and Jack Black.”—Seattle Times
“Mike Daisey makes storytelling sexy.”—L MAGAZINE
other press
Great Men of Genius in Brooklyn
Seattle Weekly on Great Men of Genius
