Are you a father? Do you have a father? Have you ever heard of “children?”
Then grab a dad and go see “Long Gone Daddy,” the insightful, honest, raw, and rock ‘n roll funny celebration of one man’s stumble into fatherhood. Playing now through Aug. 7 at Hoboken’s Mile Square Theatre, this engaging and touching 90-minute show will leave you smiling, sniffling, and nodding your head in recognition.
“Long Gone Daddy” is a one-man show written and performed by the precise, talented, and magnetic Joseph Gallo of Hoboken. Gallo pulls us through the powerful transformation of his character — Thomas DaGato — from firefighter’s son to reluctant, hesitant, and imperfect dad. It’s a personal and parental revelation.
This is the third main stage production since Mile Square Theatre (MST) moved into their new space at the Artisan on 14th and Clinton in Hoboken, and it is a triumph of theatrical imagination. The set, designed by Matthew Fick, with a brick and wrought-iron theme echoing the iconic Hoboken Terminal, is a master stroke. Its nooks and crannies allow the director, Chris O’Connor, to use every inch of the space, every tweak of light, and every pulse of sound to transport DaGato from apartments and taxi cabs to playgrounds, rock concerts, and a militant OB/GYN’s office.
Those are the physical places where the play takes us. Our emotional journey is in the confident and capable hands – and voice and mannerisms and subtle method – of Joseph Gallo. Gallo, a theatre professor and MST’s playwright-in-residence, enters smoothly, but then his everyman DaGato is shot out of a canon, relaying his journey through time and emotion with neither hesitation nor pause.
Perfect match of performer and text
At first, we want him to slow down, to catch his breath, to wait just a second. But that’s not how fatherhood works. Eventually, it becomes clear that this is the perfect match of performer and text. Never rushed, but deliberately moving forward, Gallo’s storytelling is relentless – just like life. Before long, we’re swept up in his energy, keeping pace, running right alongside DaGato as he chases questions about childhood right into doubts about parenthood.
Gallo’s performance transforms the audience into a group of Hoboken dads, filled with the same kindness, optimism, and fear that drive his character’s tale.
The many other characters Gallo and O’Connor bring to the stage are also familiar. The Israeli mothers, the bewildered new dads, the firemen, landlords, and lifelong friends all become recognizable members of our own community. We soon know their styles, their judgments, their emotions, their jokes. Gallo uses understated technique to shift seamlessly between them and it’s a credit to both his acting and O’Connor’s directing that such a crowded world rests upon a simple stage holding just one man.
The locations in the story are distinctly Hoboken, which provides a few inside chuckles for those in the know. But the story itself is universal: it’s set in Hoboken, but it takes place everywhere. You don’t have to know about Sinatra’s favorite mutz to know that DaGato is struggling with a life in transition.
It’s not all struggle, though. DaGato’s challenges, dramas and trauma provide plenty of genuinely funny moments. The humor comes from real moments in our lives, real relationships, interactions, and emotion. The laughter comes from the chest – from the heart – just as often as it comes from the gut.
This story of what it means to become a father happens to be a great fit for today’s changing local demographics. Kids – and their overwhelmed parents – are flooding Hudson County’s streets, apartments, and parks like never before. For every two feet of sidewalk space, Hoboken now has four double-wide strollers. That’s entirely untrue, but you could believe it, right? They’re here. We need this play.
The imaginative staging and the constant pace this show let the audience sit back and enjoy this bumpy, scary, funny, and relatable ride. We don’t know where we’re going, we’re not sure what we’re doing, but we get to a pretty cool place at the end. If that doesn’t sound like fatherhood, I’m not sure what does.
Go see “Long Gone Daddy.” It’s a one-man show for everyone’s one man: Dad.
“Long Gone Daddy” runs from now through Aug. 7, Thursday to Saturday at 8 p.m. and Sunday 3 p.m., at Mile Square Theatre, 1400 Clinton St., Hoboken. Tickets are $20, and $12 for students/seniors. For more information, call (201) 683-7014, or visit www.milesquaretheatre.org.
Jeff Kreisler is an author (“Get Rich Cheating” and “The Psychology of Money”), comedian (Bill Hicks Spirit Award), TV face (MSNBC, CNN, FoxNews), corporate speaker, and radio host. The New York Times says he’s “delectable,” The Chicago Tribune calls him “hilarious,” and his preschooler thinks he’s “weird.” His specialties are politics, money, and naps. And oh, he lives in Hoboken and at jeffkreisler.com