Tony Award Winner Jay Johnson Brings Autobiographical Show to Landmark

Wind the clock back to an earlier era of television, to the heyday of the variety show. By the 1970’s, variety shows had morphed from vaudeville roots into a polished form from which viewers could choose between the Mike Douglas Show, the Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, the Carol Burnett Show and others. Study the reruns of the Mike Douglas Show, and you’ll discover Jay Johnson making at least eight appearances. Archival listings of many other variety show appearances will catalog Johnson’s frequent appearance with his alternate personality, Bob.

A veteran both of Soap and of the golden era of variety shows is Jay Johnson, whose one-man play “The Two and Only” won a 2007 Tony Award for Best Special Theatrical Event. “The Two and Only” will amuse and entertain, but this interpretation of his oeuvre is also reflective and personal – a retrospective on a unique career heard through unique voices. Johnson’s performance of “The Two and Only” will be staged at Port Washington’s Landmark on Main Street this coming Friday, March 8, 2011.

Patch caught up with Johnson by phone in Southern California earlier this week.

How did you get started?

I started “Squeaky” when I was eight or nine – maybe even before that.

Did you invent the Bob we got to know on Soap?

No.  The character Bob on Soap was a new character introduced by the writers. That was good for my career. It allowed me to break out of what I’d been doing before, which had been more tame, a less dramatic persona.

Why has there been a cultural shift away from the special skills of a ventriloquist?

Things always come and go in entertainment. It’s not so much that “novelty acts” fall out of favor. Instead it’s at least partly a venue issue. Today there are no true variety shows, except for the contest format. YouTube may be the only replacement for that. It reminds me of a time when I was the opening act on a tour with Andy Williams. He said variety shows can’t work today because people can program a variety show with their remote control.

Do you think you’re fighting prejudices toward this form of theater?

Yes. Of course performers doing mime or clowns would also say that. Is it the fear factor? Maybe. Ventriloquism, more than other theatrical form, is troubling for some people. You’re creating a personality out of something that shouldn’t talk. I compare it to stage magic, to the work of illusionists. But ventriloquism touches what is a primal thing for some people, the illusion of the imaginary playmate. It can have a deeper psychological impact than other novelty acts, perhaps because of its central, personal element of storytelling.

What memorable events with variety show hosts come to mind? Did you meet Steve Allen?

Steve Allen hosted a ventriloquism and comedy show where I met him. He always had a piano present. Steve Allen was a true Renaissance Man.

But Johnny Carson was unforgettable. Early on, when I was first on his show, he spoke with me before the show because he’d started his career as a ventriloquist-magician. He took an obvious special interest. Later the talent coordinator came to me in the dressing room and said, “What was he talking to you about! He doesn’t talk to just anyone.” Carson was like that for me.

Do ventriloquist acts only work for comedy, perhaps due to the legacy of Charlie McCarthy and Edgar Bergen?

The show talks about the roots of ventriloquism. People will be surprised to learn where it came from. Previously it operated primarily in the occult realm!

Which voices are most challenging? All of them – if you do them right. For instance, some voices demand upper range, others need more of one’s lower range.  You want to make the greatest difference either way. In the show there are a couple of characters that are under the stage, under a suitcase, and a spirit that’s, well, nowhere. The inflections add challenges of timbre and amplitude.

Does the puppet – the instrument as you put it – become a sort of Other, even though it is really just an extension of self? 

I have thought about this a lot.  For example, when a violinist performs, it’s moving, but it isn’t personal. When you add a truly personal voice, it changes things. When I am playing music it’s through these instruments that are these distinctly other voices. Orchestras can’t play them, it’s my music. It’s personal to me. Religion and ventriloquism are linked to religion as metaphors of the Other. Such as how I am an individual and Bob is a character, yet we are similar, each reflecting some part of the other.

Was there a special moment that illustrated this?

When I did the Mike Douglas Show in Philly, I was on with violin virtuoso Itzhak Perlman. Perlman kept his Stradivarius in its case close to him. I sat next to Perlman. When there was a sudden ruckus on the stage, we both grabbed our instruments – he his Strad, and me my instrument. The two objects were very similar in that moment. We played them. They were instruments. That’s how I think of the process in my kind of performance.

What is the significance of this particular show for you?

It feeds my love of theater. But I also think of this show as my personal legacy.  I would gladly do this show eight times a week.

Tickets for Jay Johnson’s “The Two and Only” are available by calling the Landmark on Main Street box office at 516-767-6444, or visiting landmarkonmainstreet.org.