Barry Smith’s Baby Book
7:00 PM, Fri., 2/27
10:00 PM, Sat, 2/28
4:00 PM, Sun., 3/1
1:00 PM, Sat., 3/7
8:30 PM, Sat., 3/7
$7
From the creator of Rogue hits JESUS IN MONTANA and AMERICAN SQUATTER comes a new solo, multi-media comedy. Writer/performer Barry Smith began life as a baby, and shortly afterwards started documenting every bizarre and tiresome detail of his existence with the zeal of a professional archivist. This early passion for recording his life history soon morphed into an obsession bordering on total insanity. This disturbingly funny multi-media comedy is Barry’s attempt to come clean about the mountains of junk he’s gathered and finally answer the perennial
question - “Who saves this stuff?”
Barry Smith
Aspen, Colorado
www.barrysmith.com
Genre - Solo Performance
Rating: PG-13 60 minutes
Latecomers permitted within 15 Minutes
Filed under: 2/27 Friday, 2/28 Saturday, 3/1 Sunday, 3/7 Saturday, Starline Performance Venue
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12 Responses to “Barry Smith’s Baby Book”
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February 19th, 2009 at 11:26 am
I cannot wait to see Barry perform this year. He has been a favorite since I first saw him two years ago. “Jesus in Montana” was outstanding, “American Squatter” was amazing - and from the YouTube clip, I feel we are going to get to see an even deeper, more poignant side to Barry this year. We have seen him be hilarious, we have seen him searching for something to believe in, we have seen him as a skater dude, as a rebellious teenager, as basically a bum in London, and all the while the roving reporter, capturing every detail of life and making us laugh. This year, it seems he will let us in on more than the funny parts, there will be pathos as well. And I trust Barry to put it together in such a way that we will be laughing until our sides hurt, then crying, then laughing again - somehow, he won’t let us stay in the deep feeling side too long. He’ll let us get there, it will be rich, it will tug on our hearts, but then he’ll bring us back to laughter. I cannot wait. This is a show NOT to miss!!! I am pretty sure he sells out every show - so get there early to wait in line!
February 27th, 2009 at 9:22 pm
i just got out of barry’s show and it was hilarious and amazing. this guy does have an incredible amount of his life documented by he tells his story in such a fashion that it could be a movie. really, it could be. i saw him last year, and now this year and was just blown away by his life & his work. great stuff. you shouldn’t be disappointed at all by this show. make time to see him.
February 28th, 2009 at 12:47 am
I think Barry is tremendous, and I look forward to seeing him each year.
To me, it’s both a blessing and a curse to have seen his previous work. At the show Ed and I were at, when Barry mentions his previous shows, there’s applause as if he were on Jay Leno and had mentioned a great movie he’d been in.
That gives him a leg up and an instant fan-happy crowd, which allows him leeway in case his show doesn’t work.
The curse is, those who have seen his past shows know his shtick, which is the same for all three of his shows…therefore you miss the initial surprise and excitement of figuring out what he’s doing. For Barry, he’s got to try and toe the line, pleasing both veteran fans and newcomers alike.
Does he succeed? Yes and No. This show has a vulnerable twist, showing us a part of Barry we haven’t seen before, which is nice.
But for those quite used to his methodology, you enjoy his power-point punchlines, but I, for one, grew a bit tired of the same ol’ same ol.
So what should YOU do? If you’ve never seen his show, or missed out last year, this is a don’t-miss!
If you’re a huge fan, then you really should see it and continue to enjoy what it is he does.
So either way, see the show, I guess…..and decide which camp you fall into.
March 1st, 2009 at 9:52 am
Another great show from Barry. It’s not only very funny, but it’s great to see a true master of the PowerPoint presentation at work.
March 1st, 2009 at 12:27 pm
Barry Smith is the Rogue’s king of existential angst. In his characteristic rapid-fire delivery, he takes his audience on a journey that is both hilarious and poignant. An unfinished baby book is the unlikely vehicle Smith uses to explore some of the universal philosophical questions (identity, art, and mortality). But don’t take my word for it. Go. See.
March 1st, 2009 at 12:30 pm
After seeing American Squatter last year I know that I had to go see Barry’s show this year, and I must say I was not disappointed at all. Barry embraces his obsession, and brings great entertainment to his audience, if only the rest of us could make such good use of our obsessions.
March 1st, 2009 at 7:02 pm
Fantastic! A definite must- see. Could not stop laughing! People- go see this one!
March 2nd, 2009 at 2:51 am
Another excellent show from Barry, and one of the best of the Rogue.
Although his tone at the show I caught often seemed overly serious, rather than amusingly dry, causing me to ponder more than to laugh as much as I did in previous years, this show is still an excellent piece of work and highly recommended.
March 2nd, 2009 at 8:47 am
Barry does it again!!! An OCD inspired gem! The most entertaining powerpoint presentation ever!!! 5 stars!!! GO SEE IT!!!!!
March 3rd, 2009 at 5:21 am
Definitely worth seeing! This is the third of Barry’s shows that I’ve seen. He reveals himself honestly and humorously, with poignant as well as funny details of his life.
March 4th, 2009 at 3:32 pm
The first thing that impresses me about Barry’s show is the images he projects onto the screen. Not just that he has all those photos and videos to begin with, but that he puts them together in such a well thought out way and takes the time to do all the object animations on the slides. And there are a lot of slides in the show, too. I’m just impressed at how well it comes together and how much time it must have taken.
But the second thing that impresses me is that as amazing as the projections are, they don’t steal the show, and the most expressive parts of the show are still Barry’s voice, timing, and facial expressions.
Some friends and I were commenting after the show that after seeing pictures and videos of Barry’s father in both this year’s show and last year’s show, we almost feel like we know Barry’s dad! We’re joking, of course, but you can’t deny how compelling the personal elements in Barry’s shows are.
All this said, the thing you’ll remember most about Barry’s show (at least at first) is how much you laughed!
March 9th, 2009 at 3:25 pm
I think Barry Smith’s cult experience is some of his best material (”Jesus in Montana”), though “American Squatter” came pretty close last year in terms of the zany weirdness of the subject matter. “Baby Book” was a little more restrained, but still funny, still interesting, and still a little weird. (Barry, your dad looks really intense!) Barry Smith has a gift for realizing the entertainment value of certain parts of his life. It was definitely one of the highlights of the Rogue Festival, whether you’ve seen his previous shows or not.