Don't Let Go of the Potato

It's not until the last story of Todd LeJeune's solo show that his tales of growing up in the Louisiana backwaters start to lift off the ground. The first act, covering LeJeune's adventures as an 11-year-old boy, is particularly slow, with subtle, meandering stories filled out with only the barest of theatrical stage craft and LeJeune's tendency to shout as the main trait of any character that is not himself. LeJeune and seasoned solo-show director David Ford find some lovely moments in the second act as LeJeune has made it to 17 years old. The story, which gets propelled by LeJeune's girlfriend's tipsy best friend offering him the chance to do a "body shot" off of her, is full of southern charm and dumb teenage choices we can all relate to. We gladly follow him through all the twists and turns back into his girlfriend's heart and into his own sweet moment of self-acceptance. But getting to this story takes so long that the overall effect of the show is hearing stories that might be better off read than seen. — Molly Rhodes