"Mincing Words" at The Marsh

I think this will be fairly short. Some friends were going to see Tom Ammiano's solo show, "Mincing Words," at The Marsh, so we decided to tag along. The reviews I'd seen of the show weren't exactly glowing, but at 75 minutes, I figured it would at least be brief.

The Show

I can't really call this a play. It's somewhere between a retrospective monologue and a stand-up comedy routine. Tom Ammiano was a fixture in San Francisco politics for several decades, starting as a teacher who aligned himself with Harvey Milk when Milk first ran for office, and extending through his own terms on the school board, Board of Supervisors, and eventually the State Assembly. Unknown to me until recently, he also worked some as a stand-up comedian.

The show began (late) with Ammiano tossing off a few jokes about the current political scene. OK, it's fine to establish some rapport with the audience before diving into your story. But the initial presentation doesn't come across as very polished. The delivery is pretty sloppy, and the punch lines are often kind of swallowed. There is some polite laughter.

Eventually, the story veers into something that is roughly a chronology of Ammiano's life in San Francisco, the Castro, and local politics. Unfortunately, no clear story arc really appears to unify or guide the journey. It feels like a rambling reminiscence, which would be fine sitting in the living room, but this is meant to be a rehearsed presentation, and it just doesn't feel like one.

The meat of the presentation seems to be focused on his six years in Sacramento as an Assemblymember. He portrays himself as some kind of fish out of water, though by the time he gets there he's a very experienced politician. And he tries to make it seem as if his being gay and liberal somehow makes him an outsider. But again, in a state that is overwhelmingly Democratic politically, it's hard to see this as a great handicap.

He goes to great lengths to describe his interactions with more conservative members of the legislature, giving them cute nicknames like "Tammy Fae Bakersfield" and such. Some of the stories are pretty funny in themselves, but ultimately, there doesn't seem to be an overarching message.

And as such, the narrative just kind of rambles until he decides he's done. Occasionally he breaks into song, or a song just appears that is somehow related to something he said, but other than showing off that he likes music and dancing, it's hard to see the point. After over an hour and a half, he decided he was done, thanked us, and ended.

Bottom Line

Ammiano strikes me as kind of a fun guy who would be fun to talk to in a small group or at a bar. But as a speaker or stage performer, he seems uncomfortable and unfocused, shuffling around the stage, moving his hands distractingly, and sometimes muffling his words. Especially his punch lines. The overall effectiveness is not that great.

I was hoping for a bit more insight, rather than just some anecdotes. But this one seemed to just be kind of phoned in. There is one more performance this coming week, and then I believe it's done. And that's OK. Mild amusement is not really enough to justify a stage show.