Andreas Beckett's affecting performance piece, Unbuttoned, is confessional autobiography punctuated with bursts of song, dance and clowning. Beckett, an intense and charismatic actor, has led a tumultuous life.
Born in the Bavarian Alps, he had a troubled and violent youth. Someone -- parents, siblings, teachers, friends, girls -- was always pushing his button. He channeled some of his "narrisch" (craziness) by becoming a junior hockey player in Germany -- and by hanging out with a Turkish biker gang. That led to criminal behavior, prison and then a dead-end factory job.
What saved him was his decision to take a class in gymnastics. A girl he met there turned him on to rock 'n roll acrobatics. They took part in a stage show which was seen by a European scout for Jerome Robbins, who was looking to cast talented kids for the Cleveland Opera Company's production of West Side Story. A few days later, Andreas found himself in the USA rehearsing the role of The Arab (and hastily polishing his English).
His good singing voice, dancing skills and charisma got him more showbiz work, but his career was continually undermined by his offstage flaws -- anger, alcoholism and a weakness for sexy but unstable girls.
Andreas doesn't sugarcoat his life story, nor does he gloss over all the pain, shame and guilt he has suffered. But he wisely orchestrates his tale of woe by suddenly breaking into song or doing the tango with someone from the audience. And ultimately, he manages to find a measure of maturity and love when he becomes a father (and wangles permission from Homeland Security to become a permanent resident of the USA). Andreas Beckett no longer has a button for the world to push.
