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MNfusion: 'Buyer & Cellar' Fails To Sell Its Performance

As many an actor knows, a production is only as good as the story it's telling.

Glamorous sets, elaborate costumes and talented actors can only do so much when a script is subpar. This has been seen time and time again, even with actors and big as Barbra Streisand.

When it comes to New Century Theatre's "Buyer and Cellar," even a talented actor embodying a 1970's movie star can't save the story.

Jonathan Tolins' "Buyer & Cellar" is part fact and part fantasy.

The story is simple enough. It revolves around an out of work actor, Alex (Sasha Andreev), who gets hired to work as the sales associate in Barbra Streisand's basement mall. The two then create a sort of friendship.

This part is fiction.

Prior to the story beginning, Andreev comes out and explains Streisand has fashioned the basement of the barn on her property to mimic a city street full of shops. Her city mall is lined with shops that are filled with her belongings and each have a different theme. This is all explained in a book that Streisand published about her home called "My Passion For Design."

This is fact.

Andreev then explains that none of the events in the play ever happened and that he isn't trying to do an impression of Streisand. Instead, he's creating a character based off of the real Streisand.

While it was meant to help clarify things for the audience, this introduction proved only to add confusion.

It was a bit difficult to understand when Andreev became Alex and when the fictional story began.

If the audience was to believe Andreev was acting as himself, the introduction felt unneeded and a little belittling to the audience. After all, many people assume what they are seeing on stage is fake unless otherwise specified that it is somewhat biographical.

If Andreev was acting as Alex when he was explaining how the play was fake, it detracted from the story.

It made it hard to care about Alex's story if we were to believe it was really a fragment of his imagination.

This is also due in part to the fact that Andreev isn't just the main character, he is the only character. And he isn't just acting out characters by himself, he's acting out sets as well.

This fabricated story doesn't have any sets, costumes or other characters to play off of, as Andreev embodies them all.

It's difficult enough to maintain the audience's attention during a one man show, let alone one that is 100 minutes without an intermission. But pair that with a Sunday afternoon, and it's almost an insurmountable task.

So, the struggle to connect with Alex was in no way connected to Andreev's performance.

From Alex to Barry (Alex's boyfriend) to Streisand to James Brolin, Andreev did a phenomenal job of creating distinct characters in body and voice. His pops between characters were tight and deliberate, and he rarely slipped up on lines.

There were a few times when his Streisand accent blended with Alex, but for an actor who had to carry the whole 100 minutes on his back he did a commendable job.

But in the end, while the show attempts to take a look at the importance and frailty of relationships by examining how many different factors can influence them – jobs, stress, fame – the point is muddled by the single actor attempting to create a relationship with himself.

However, while a bit long and hard to commit to at times, for Streisand fans the show does offer a delightful, fictional look into her life while lovingly poking fun of her fame.

"Buyer & Cellar" is open now through April 24 at the New Century Theatre. Tickets cost $25 to $39.50. For more information, or to purchase tickets, visit Hennepin Theatre Trust online.

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