By Michele Markarian
Little Orphan Danny. Books, music and lyrics by Dan Finnerty. Additional music by Dan Lipton. Created by Dan Finnerty and Sean Daniels. Directed by Sean Daniels. Presented by Merrimack Repertory Theatre, 132 Warren Street, Lowell through April 15.
Last year I saw a one-man autobiographical show in London, written and performed by David Baddiel, called “My Family, Not the Sitcom”, about his mother’s affair with the publisher of a golf magazine. I laughed until I cried. So it was with great enthusiasm that I got my ticket to “Little Orphan Danny”, the one-man show created and performed by Dan Finnerty, which has the added bonus of being a musical! The material, which covers 90-minutes without an intermission, is very funny, but also, in moments, extremely moving.
Born in Rochester to a teenager, Dan Finnerty is adopted as a baby by an uptight, religious, and loving family from a small hick town in New York. When he asks why he and his sister were adopted, he is told by his mother that it is because she is barren – “Empty on the inside”. None of this seems to trouble the young Danny, who has bigger fish to fry – he is chunky and doesn’t like sports. His family, who forbid drinking alcohol or swearing, won’t let him watch the infamous Saturday night lineup from the 70s – Love Boat, Fantasy Island, Saturday Night Live. He is forced to clothes shop in the Husky department, and advised by the family doctor to “Try sports, Danny. All boys love sports”.
Anyone who’s ever been a fish out of water in a jock town can relate to what Danny is going through. In a supreme lapse of judgment, Danny decides to throw a Murder Mystery Party when he enters middle school in order to attract friends (the disaster is saved by his mother, who, after consulting with her Dr. Spock, “What to Expect When You’re Expecting an Orphan”, puts together a discreet Sundae Bar). Somehow, Danny manages to survive this by embracing his theatrical side. He goes first to theater camp, then to Emerson College, and then to Europe to tour with “Hair”. After moving to Los Angeles, he meets and falls in love with actress Kathy Najimy. It is only after he marries her and they have a daughter of their own does he realize the enormity of what he’s been feeling. At the end of a beautiful, emotional song to his baby daughter, he says, “I can’t believe I made a relative”. Indeed, baby Samia is the first person he’s ever met who’s actually related to him. This prompts his journey to find his birth parents.
Dan Finnerty is a very engaging, charming and open performer. Anyone who was raised in the 70s will love his references, from Weebles to Chess King to Linda Blair. While I delighted at the references, I’m thinking, “Come on. How old is this guy? He can’t possibly remember Weebles”. Born in 1970, he can, but man, he is so youthful and energetic and reverts back to his younger self so easily it’s remarkable. All of this is set against the backdrop of Michael B. Raiford’s Brady Bunch set, complete with staircase and white console. And the music, backed by an excellent band, is rockin’.
The struggles that ensue after Dan does meet up with his birth family are delicate, which he handles with grace and care. Anyone who’s ever been or has had a parent can’t help but be moved by the intricacies of balancing two situations – one, the woman who raised him, and two, the woman who was forced to give him up. Both women, as well as Dan’s wife, are played by the talented Julie Foldesi, whose beautiful voice blends well with Dan’s.
Dan, in the end, is a lucky man, as are each of the moms in his life. The way he has constructed the story of his journey and its aftermath tells us he’s also a very loving one. In sharing his uniquely personal ride, Dan Finnerty, and what it means to be a family, will stay on your mind long after the show is over. For tickets and information, go to: http://www.mrt.org/
