Best of the Wildside: Pentecostal Wisconsin

I sat next to a pretty adorable young actress and her friend at the last performance of Pentecostal Wisconsin this Saturday, where I was recording audio for Tristan while he shot the show from further back. According to the lady, Ryan Paulson’s one man, one act show was by far the best of the Wildside fest this year; and as a season ticket holder at the Centaur theatre she was also equipped to call this maybe one of the best shows she’d seen all season.

She enjoyed it so much the first time she saw it, she myspace’d Ryan to let him know, and he sent her free tickets to the closing night, which is how she found herself beaming with a buddy next to me in the front row. And she was right, the show did rock. The hour flew by with laughter and hymns, and orginal songs by Paulson that helped tell the sweet auto-biographical story about the heartbreak of trying to hear Jesus, and figure out what you’re supposed to be, as a teenager in a small and seriously religious Scandinavian community.

Pentecostal Wisconsin is a one-person play that tells the story of an unorthodox upbringing in a faith that requires no less than religious ecstasy from a bunch of shy Scandinavians.

The nicest thing about this story is the way he uses perfect, classic storytelling rhythms of repetition and impersonation and song to have you love and emphathize with and shake your heads smiling at the flock of his Pentecostal church back home. When, in the story, Ryan decides to let go of the hurt and anxiety of not being able to literally hear Jesus’ voice we get to the sweetest moment in the piece. He didn’t get to talk with Jesus, but he got to know the faux Western singers, and the girl of his dreams, and the one goodlookin guy in town who every year gets made to play Judas in the crucifixion story. He only wishes they’d spend less time trying to talk to God, in tongues no less, and more time talking to each other. “Other people are the only thing I’ve ever found worth talking to” he says, and in his dear direct way hits the world-troubling nail right on the head, I think. Looks like the story has a future, with dates in New York in upcoming weeks, and the storyteller is definitely worth watching out for, so keep and eye on Ryan Paulson’s site for updates, and go ahead and make him your myspace friend too; from what I hear he likes people.

side note: wonder which show my little theatre friend named worst of the wideside? bet you can guess. it was “Sex and La Cite”, the quebecois infused sex and the city fan fiction which apparently reaked bad writing. though all the actors were great, they just couldn’t save it from it’s lameness. you’ll note that Matt Radz in the Gazette article I link to for the Wideside fest above doesn’t even mention “La Cite”. Oy. And by the way- I’d have linked to the Centaur site directly instead of to that review, but the Centaur seems to have let their domain name expire. sigh..