You know him as the voice of Homer Simpson, but Dan Castellaneta is also a serious writer and his new passion is a play exploring the inner life of one of the last century’s most intriguing talents: Oscar Levant, one of the first performers to be open about his mental illness. ... Off-Ramp commentator Dylan Brody often tells us about his failure to convince entertainment executives to buy his comedy specials. It’s almost like they’re writing his material for them. But now, Dylan is going to have to find something new to talk about, because NextUp Comedy has just bought one of his shows. ... You know Out of the Closet and St Vincent DePaul, two huge charities that use thrift stores to support their mission. But we’ll take you to a strip mall in Silverlake, to a tiny thrift store that’s been supporting the work of the Hollywood Sunset Free Clinic for almost 20 years.
The Simpsons' man of 1,000 voices Dan Castellaneta writes, stars in new play about Oscar Levant
In "The Simpsons," voice actor Dan Castellaneta brings to life Homer Simpson and legions* of other characters.
But now -- in the new play "For Piano and Harpo" at the Falcon Theatre in Burbank -- he's bringing back to life a celebrity who died in 1972. Who? "It's Oscar Levant, you musical ignoramus!"
Oscar Levant was an actor and a classically trained pianist who trained under Arnold Schoenberg. He wrote the music for more than twenty movies, and the standard Blame it On My Youth. He co-starred in "An American In Paris," holding his own with Gene Kelly:
Levant's intelligence and acidic wit was legendary. Castellaneta says in his many movies, Levant always played the wise-cracking best friend, never the leading man. "He joked one time on the Fred Allen Show, 'If it's an B-picture, I play the piano. If it's an A-picture, I move the piano." Levant was an very popular guest on radio and TV shows, and Peter Sagal assures me he would have been a regular on "Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me." But now, he's mostly forgotten. Levant died in 1972 at the age of 65.
Castellaneta says he knew a little about Oscar Levant from movies like "Rhapsody in Blue" and the Fred Allen Show, and his wife (the actor Deb Lacusta) knew a lot more. But Castellaneta, who is active in theater, was especially struck by a passage in "Harpo Speaks!" by Harpo Marx.
"There's a scene where Harpo's having a dinner party and he gets a call. The guy on the line says 'How do I get to your house from here?' Harpo says, 'Who is this?' and the guy says, 'Well it's Oscar Levant, you musical ignoramus!' So Oscar crashed the party and ended up staying there for a year and a month. I read somewhere that Oscar said it was only four months."
So was born "For Piano and Harpo." "I thought this would make for a really interesting play about these two characters. Oscar Levant is a misanthrope, very neurotic. Whereas Harpo seems to be one of the most healthy people. But they were both attracted to each other, probably because like Oscar, Harpo was a loose cannon."
The play speaks to the darker side of Levant's life and career. Dan says, "He was one of the first celebrities to be open about their struggle with mental illness and drug addiction. His terrible years were really after his time as a touring concert pianist... in the late 1940s to late 1950s." He just couldn't handle performing in public. When Castellaneta was researching the book, he says "I spoke with a couple psychiatrists, and they said he was probably bipolar. And in those days they didn't really know how to treat it; the best they could do was to try to give him sedatives to calm them down."
And so in "For Piano and Harpo," Levant wakes up in the psych ward of Mt. Sinai Hospital and has to deal with the demons of his past and present and characters including Jack Paar, George Gershwin, his long-suffering wife June, and Harpo. (Listen to the audio player to hear Castellaneta and Oscar, Deb Lacusta as June, and Jonathan Stark as Jack Parr run lines exclusively for Off-Ramp.)
Previews for "For Piano and Harpo" at the Falcon Theater in Burbank (4252 Riverside, Burbank, CA 91505) start Feb. 1. The show runs through Mar. 5. Tickets range from $30-$45. The cast is Dan Castellaneta, JD Cullum, Deb Lacusta, Gail Matthius, Phil Proctor, and Jonathan Stark. David O is the music supervisor, scenic design by Stephen Gifford, lighting by Jean-Yves Tessier, costumes by Kate Bergh, and sound by Drew Dalzell.
*Homer Simpson, Abraham "Grampa" Simpson, Barney Gumble, Krusty the Clown, Sideshow Mel, Groundskeeper Willie, Mayor Quimby, and Hans Moleman ... and many, many more.
Top 5 breakfast cereals, according to Off-Ramp interns
Jesus Ambrosio and Rosalie Atkinson are the latest in a long line of Off-Ramp interns that includes Kevin Ferguson, James Kim, Elyssa Dudley, Raghu Manavalan, Chris Greenspon, and Andrea Domanick.
What began as a friendly conversation about a sugary snack quickly devolved in a cereal box-ing match. Snap, Crackle, and Pop in one corner, coaching Off-Ramp intern Jesus Ambrosio on the benefits of a less sweet breakfast, and Cap'n Crunch in the other, medicating fellow intern Rosalie Atkinson with more than a spoonful of sugar.
This week, KPCC's Quality of Life team hosted a breakfast social for employees, with a dozen brands of cereal, granola, and oatmeal, and practically every type of milk Whole Foods sells.
Things were going great until Jesus admitted ... he likes bland cereal. "I can't do cereal that's sweet because it just really hurts the top of my mouth... It's all the sugar that's on top of it that really like- grinds the top of your mouth. Anytime you have Frosted Flakes, anytime you have Trix, about that cereal just hurts the top of your mouth."
Rosalie couldn't accept it. "Cap'n Crunch tears up the top of your mouth because ... they are basically little razor blades that taste like berries. They might as well be volcanic rock... but you love it anyways! That's the whole point: the post-pain reminds you of how good it was."
Jesus wasn't having it: "Regular Cheerios are okay." Rosie's reaction? "How could you ever wake up in the morning from a nice nights sleep and think 'You know what I want? To eat Cheerios which are basically cardboard.'"
They agreed to disagree, and came up with this breakfast listicle.
Off-Ramp's Serious Cereal Listicle for Serial Cereal Eaters:
1. Honey Bunches of Oats (with fruit)
This one was a complete compromise. Because the primary sweetness comes from the freeze-dried fruit, Jesus can enjoy his oat-y flakes with minimal interruption and Rosalie can get a little sugar fix. Therefore if Jesus and Rosalie were forced to share a single type of cereal- this would be it.
2. Frosted Mini-Wheats
Because they are only frosted on one side, you don’t have to worry about hurting your mouth. Pro-Tip: The crumbs at the bottom of the bag are always a treat.
3. Fruity Pebbles
A subdued sweetness and tiny little composition. Reminiscent of both Jesus' favorite (Rice Krispies) in shape and Rosalie's (Captain Crunch) in flavor, without leaning too much one direction. A delicious option for those subtle sweeties out there.
4. Cap'n Crunch
We aren't cuckoo; of course the Cap'n made the list.
5. Rice Krispies
Snap, Crackle, and Pop are iconic; because onomatopoeia. The best part is when the cereal stop making the sound, which means you just have to pour yourself another bowl. Nuanced hints of sweetness.
What kind of cereal will you defend in the ring? Tweet the interns at @RoAtkinson and @jesusambrosio_ and let them know! And listen to the whole debate in the audio player near the top of your screen.
5 ways to avoid Super Bowl Sunday
These cool tips would have landed in your in-box with no extra effort on your part IF you'd subscribed to Off-Ramp's weekly e-newsletter. We send out a recommendation every week, along with all the latest Off-Ramp news. Sign up now!
This weekend is the big game … but what if you don’t know anything about sports? We’ve got you covered. Here are 5 things in Southern California to check out if you are planning to avoid the game this weekend:
If you’re less into watching games and more into playing them, celebrate your inner geek at the Retro Gaming Expo at the Ontario Convention Center, where you can compete in retro gaming tournaments, and play classic and hard to find retro games. This is a 2-day expo. Tickets for Sunday are $20. Visit website for more info.
Join the soul train and put on your dancing shoes this weekend at The Short Stop for Super Soul Sunday. Sip on some cheap drinks, and hear DJs spin all the greats like Aretha Franklin, Otis Redding, and Ben E. King all night long. This is a free weekly event. Visit the website for more info.
3. "Zoot Suit" at the Mark Taper Forum
In 1979, “Zoot Suit" became Broadway’s first Chicano play. The production packed houses in LA for nearly a year before the move to Broadway. “Zoot Suit” is returning to LA at the Mark Taper Forum. Dancers, actors, and singers weave fact and fiction together as they portray the events surrounding the infamous 1942 Sleepy Lagoon murder. Tickets start at $25. Sunday, Feb 5 showtimes times for “Zoot Suit” are 1 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. at the Mark Taper Forum. The production will run through March 19. For more information visit the website.
4. Doug Benson Interrupts the Super Bowl
This one technically will be showing the big game, but it’s safe to say you won’t necessarily be watching it. Comedian Doug Benson talks over the game, and discusses about whatever is on his mind. This is a potluck event, and don’t you dare just bring a bag of chips. Admission is free but RSVP required. Visit website for more information.
This weekend in a galaxy not that far way… Ska Wars. Local ska acts will take the stage at the Union Nightclub, with performances by Viernes 13, South Central Skankers, Red Store Bums, and many more. It’s unclear whether ska music can actually save and restore freedom to the galaxy, but ska puns are alive and well. Tickets available at the door for $30. For more information visit the event website.
Next week: Off-Ramp saves your butt on Valentine's Day.
No sleep 'til...: A weekend at a pop-up airport legal clinic
"We were sitting on the floors, we figured out the best electrical outlets at LAX," recalled lawyer Lindsay Toczylowsky of her experience helping set up a mobile legal clinic at the airport over the weekend. "We had lawyers at times with balloons that said 'lawyer' in Farsi, Arabic and English and they were walking around the baggage claim area so that families could know where they were."
Over the weekend as people started learning of President Trump's executive order to restrict travel from 7 majority Muslim nations, protests erupted at international airports across the country. In addition to demonstrators, there were lawyers-- working for free. Here in Los Angeles, the amount of lawyers numbered in the hundreds.
"Mobile legal clinics would normally take months of planning," says Toczylowsky, founder and executive director of the Immigrant Defenders Law Center, the largest deportation defense firm in LA. "In this case at LAX it was really a bunch of attorneys independent of each other showing up with backpacks, with laptops, and papers." ImmDef also put out a call for Arabic and Farsi translators to help folks at the airport. Nearly 1,500 people reached out to help.
Toczylowsky talked Friday morning with Off-Ramp producer Taylor Orci about what it was like to set up a mobile legal clinic, virtually overnight.
Song of the Week: Crying, in the rain, because Willie Nelson's Bako concerts are sold out?
Seeing Willie Nelson perform should be on your bucket list. He's a giant in music, and he's 83. But you're going to have to wait "a little bit longer," because all three nights - Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday - at Buck Owens Crystal Palace in Bakersfield are sold out.
So for the rest of us, left crying in the rain, as it were, our song of the week is "Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain."
Nelson wrote many great songs -- like "Crazy" -- but this wasn't one of them. "Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain" was written by Fred Rose back in 1947, and was first performed by Roy Acuff. Nelson recorded it for his 1975 hit album "Red Headed Stranger," and it went to #1 on the Country chart and #21 on the Hot 100.
True legend: "Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain" is the last song Elvis ever sang.
Dylan Brody's comedy special about heartbreak and hope in Hollywood ... gets picked up by the Brits
Comedian Dylan Brody opened for David Sedaris, wrote a searing memoir called "Laughs Last," performs commentaries for Off-Ramp, and his comedy special "Dylan Brody’s Driving Hollywood" will be released on February 14 through NextUp Comedy.com.
I once had to fire a manager because I overheard him trying to get me booked for a show saying, “Sure he’s funny. You know. Not funny ha-ha.”
While I resented the comment and I am sometimes "funny ha-ha" I knew what he meant. I don’t adhere to the comedy club standard actually set by late night television showcase spots in the early eighties. That is to say, I don’t maintain a strict 4-to-1 laugh per minute ratio. Yes. That’s a thing. They check it. With a stop watch. Because I think we all know the best art is created in accordance with a ruthless rubric.
That’s the real problem. Not that I tell stories instead of one-liners. Not that I don’t always get a laugh every 15 seconds. The problem is that I think of comedy as art, not as entertainment. Frankly, I believe that "entertainment" is the word people use when they don’t want to take responsibility for what they say through their art.
So when Comedy Central said they wouldn’t produce a half-hour special with me because I wasn’t right for their demographic, I wasn’t really all that surprised. They cater to a young audience that responds well to implied vulgarity and puppets based on cultural stereotypes. My work lacks both of those elements.
Paul Provenza once said that I treat comedy as literature. I never really thought about it that way, but I suppose it’s true. I always felt, and I know this will be a controversial thing to say in Los Angeles, that if one is going to communicate to a great many people, it’s a good idea to start from the question of what you want to say, not what they might enjoy hearing.
It occurred to me that perhaps if I could produce a show on my own, get the material recorded and then present it to the people who don’t understand how my work would function in the humorscape, they might have an epiphany. A man can hope, can’t he? I called for advice and support and heard many times over that it was a great idea. “Content is king!” people said. I rallied my courage, secured my wife’s support, and invested many thousands of dollars into shooting an evening at Mark Taper Foundation's David Henry Hwang Theatre.
I shot three full length specials in one grueling night of performance. Grueling for me. The audience had a wonderful time. And why wouldn’t they? I had it catered.
Showtime had told me a few years earlier when they viewed my first special, "More Arts/Less Martial" that they couldn’t consider it because I didn’t have a balcony and a jib. That’s one of those weird camera crane things that allows for expansive, sweeping shots of the audience and the important balcony. Hence, shooting the new specials at the Hwang Theatre, which has a beautiful balcony ... and I rented a jib to make sure they could get the sweeping shots.
I took the new specials to Showtime and they said that it was a little too artsy for them. Those weren’t their exact words. Their exact words were, have you watched our specials?
I took the specials to every outlet at which I had any contacts at all and heard, with resounding clarity that content is king as long as the content looks exactly the same as all their other content.
Then I stumbled onto this wonderful new outfit out of London, England. NextUp Comedy, a by-subscription streaming service has a bunch of really great UK comedians including my friend Brendan Burns and three not-so-great comedians including another friend of mine. I sent a note to Brendan and he opened a door.
Almost exactly a year after I shot the specials, I signed a deal for the first one. When the people at NextUp got their first look at the thing they got right back to me, full of compliments and flattery. One person, in a charming British accent, said, “Of course you couldn’t place this in Hollywood, Sir. You’ve allowed your hair to turn grey!”
I’m not convinced that my hair color is the issue. The show they picked up – and they may yet pick up the other two – is called "Dylan Brody’s Driving Hollywood." It’s an exploration of heartbreak and hope at the intersection of art and commerce. I strongly suspect that to people who started out in the arts and wound up in entertainment the whole thing feels sad no matter how many laughs I get from the live audience.
If the stories and jokes keep touching on the viewer’s fears about his or her own contribution to society it might feel as though I submitted an hour-long recording of me literally performing stand-up tragedy.
I risked a bunch of my own money to put together this show about the potential for all of us in Hollywood to reach for our highest aspirations and had to go 8,000 miles away to get anybody to even consider it. Living and working as an artist at the heart of the entertainment industry can be funny. Just, you know. Not funny ha-ha.
Comedian Felipe Esparza: 'I want Latinos to laugh the hardest at my jokes'
KPCC's Erika Aguilar goes in-depth with Felipe Esparza about his transition from the streets of East LA to being a highly successful stand-up comedian who won NBC's "Last Comic Standing" in 2010, and says being an immigrant is central to his comedy.
Where does your story start?
My story started when we crossed the border when I was six or five. From Sinaloa, Mexico. My father, he came to America first, started another family, then came and got us. (Laughing) That’s part of my comedy routine. I did a lot of translating for my parents like most immigrant kids. I would go to the hospital and translate for the doctor and they would tell me things like, "Tell your father he has back spasms." And I’m like third grade. I never heard back spasms in Spanish or English. So I would translate English the way I saw white people do it. You know, the way I saw my teacher do it. The way I saw the white police man do it – just add an “O” after every English word. "Papa, tienes backo spasmo." And the doctor would look at me and he would go, "That’s pretty good, kiddo."
Why is immigration, Latino issues … why is it so much part of your work? Why is it so important to you?
Because I find it funny. And I could relate to it, being an immigrant myself. And I like saying it, you know, because not a lot of people talk about it, so I want to talk about. Some kids had their birthday party at McDonald’s, Chuck-e-Cheese’s. I had mine at the snack bar at Kmart. I got a lot of gifts ... but I had to put them all back. "Hey, hey, hey. Mijo, mijo, you get that toy in three months. Esta layway, c----n.”
Felipe Esparza: They're Not Gonna Laugh At You (2012)
Tell me what happened after that night you got high on PCP and got into a fight with one of your rivals?
The next day I’m walking around with blood on my shirt. There’s blood on my shoes. I don’t know what to do. So I’m walking around with a loaded pistol now for like a week because I’m scared there’s going to be retribution for what happened. So my mom -- you know how most Catholic moms are – they pray and thank God for everything.
So, Father Greg Boyle comes to my house. And he goes, "I heard you got into a lot of trouble. What are you going to do?' And I said, “Well, I ain’t going to run. I’m right here. They know where I live.” He said, "That’s what your mom told me. Maybe you need a break." I said, “Break. Where am I going to go? I’m not the Fresh Prince of Bel Air. We have a long talk and we sit and pray and then I decided to go to rehab. I was 21.
So, I’m there for about a year and I finally get out. I get out on a break and I go back … first person I see is the guy who I beat up. And he wants to revenge. And he started walking towards me, in front of me and my mom. And I just came from church. I’m just ignoring him. And I turned my back to him and I shouldn’t have done that, and he just kicks the Bible off of my hand. And he goes, “You think I’m going to stop just because your f------ mom is here. And I go, “I’m going to f--- you up right now. We’re going to fight!”
Then, I just … I thought about it – and it’s always sad because … I really wanted to go kill this guy, man … I really, really! … wanted to just end it all right there and just … But I cried, instead, which made things worse. “You gonna cry you, pussy!” So, I just went inside; I grabbed this big as bat and I just – I just rushed outside.
And my Dad with all his might, he just hold me. Hold me. And the more he hold me, the more I cried; the more I cried. And I could just hear this guy … Seeehhheee, man. I just didn’t not go outside … and um, … my Dad just … he ended up taking me back to the rehab that day and then, I couldn’t go back home.
Then you went back to rehab, where you met a mentor who asked you, "What did you always want to be in life?"
And I said, “Umm, do you mean like goals?” “Yeah, like goals. What were your goals? Well, I never really had goals. I never thought about being anything but a comedian. Write that, number one: comedian. And then it goes easy! Then, I was like happy! But like happy tears come out of my eyes. The second one was to be happy. Easy. The third one: I always liked Olive Garden. I wanted to go Italy, not just taste it. And then four and five, I couldn’t think anymore. I was too excited about the first one. So what I would do, I would bring in all the homies from my neighborhood where I lived, you know, and they would give me a ride. I had an audience and I made them laugh and it felt good, man.
I want Latinos to laugh the hardest at my jokes. I want white people to laugh, too, but I don’t want them to laugh as hard as Latinos do.
Giving new life to clothes and the community
A huge painting of Michael Jordan takes up a corner of the store. There are typewriters tucked into the tall bookcases, vintage shoes lining the windows, and every color you can imagine is on the rack and on the walls. But this isn't an ordinary thrift store.
The Berda Paradise Thrift Store in Silverlake sells all sorts of clothing and wares to raise money for the Hollywood Sunset Free Clinic, one of the oldest clinics in the city. Store manager Sharion Taylor explained how they have had a symbiotic relationship with the clinic for twenty years.
The store has been donating proceeds to the clinic since its opening in 1997. Sharion says, "There is a woman who is actually Berda and she had a shop in the community for years. She wanted to do some fundraising for the clinic so she reached out to them and instituted the store."
Sharion is the manager of Berda Paradise and says she stumbled upon her job two decades ago. She says, "I was a shopper here. The girl who was working here went on maternity leave and they asked if I could step in for her. Well... it's been twenty years now."
Browsing the store, the eccentricity of the Silverlake/Echo Park neighborhood is definitely reflected.
Grabbing a pair of white linen pants she says, "Armani pants. Aren't they beautiful for the right person? And the right person always finds them. It's like the clothing vibrates and they come in and find it."
Everything here-- even the designer labels, is remarkably affordable (be sure to check out their famous $1 rack). True, the thrift store could charge more for the quality of goods that make their way to the store, but Sharion is happy the used items do double duty as affordable finds and clinic donations. She says the work is worthwhile because its all for a good cause, "Free healthcare for all!" she exclaims through big smile.
The store is at 3506 Sunset Blvd in Silverlake, right next to Trois Familia and Millie's Cafe. Drop offs are welcome everyday.