Walking into the Highmark Theatre at the Pittsburgh Playhouse, I experienced the same sort of brain-tingling zip of nostalgia that I assume people born in the 1950s felt seeing “Forrest Gump.”
As the audience surveyed the cozy-looking set for “Robin & Me: My Little Spark of Madness,” the memory-tickling strains of ’80s and ’90s TV show theme songs played on the PA system. As I hummed to myself along with the all-too-familiar tune that opened every episode of “Full House,” I considered the important role of cultural nostalgia in the art of every generation.
Dave Droxler’s one-man show feels a lot like that — like sifting through the pop culture history that each of us build and craft into parts of our personalities. For Droxler, one particular figure showed up again and again throughout his life: comedian and actor Robin Williams. In fact, the full title of the play comes from a quote by Williams: “You’re only given a little spark of madness. You mustn’t lose it.”
The 90-minute performance opens with the framing device of Droxler preparing for his off-Broadway show and, in his nervousness, receiving a visit from his imaginary friend Robin Williams for the first time since Williams’ death in 2014. This reunion prompts Droxler to go back and survey his life, picking out the important moments where Williams mattered most. Some of them are laugh-out-loud funny — puberty; and some of them are gut-wrenching — the death of his grandfather, an early supporter of his childhood family performances.
And Droxler plays all the roles. Not just himself and Williams, in a hilariously uncanny impression. He is also his parents, his younger self and a number of other screen icons. Droxler is a full-body actor; his teenage love of Jim Carrey, for example, feels very appropriate, and his physical imitations of the “Ace Ventura” star are absolutely on point.
The show never feels like it lacks another character, though I’d love to see Droxler play another actor. He ping-pongs and races around the set, which is pleasantly cluttered with a hodgepodge of furniture (scenic designer Stella Frazer made the audience feel right at home). There are definitely elements of Williams’ manic energy to Droxler’s performance, especially in moments where we go into other places in his head — including the deck of a ship in the middle of a storm, or a jokey fake game show.
Bringing all of those elements to life were sound design by Conchetta Aronowitz and lighting design by Isabel Caldwell-Aranza. Their contributions were exemplified by a scene where Droxler played both sides of an AOL Instant Messenger conversation (there’s that nostalgia again), the sound and lighting choices giving it that stylistic wow factor. Director Chad Austin must have really been on Droxler’s wavelength, because he did a great job fine-tuning every technical element of the show around the star and writer’s vision and personality.
While all of that pop culture is a fun and important throughline, it’s also a lens through which to see the other complicated stuff about growing up: figuring out who you are, fighting with your parents, pursuing a dream, and then having to take care of your parents and your own kids at the same time. Williams has been a touchstone for Droxler as an actor and a comedian throughout his life, but the version of the “Popeye” star that lives in his head is more than that — at once a friend and a father figure, in the times when his relationship with his own father was strained.
This show is a funny and heartfelt journey through life, love and comedy. It’s at once remarkable and relatable, and can be enjoyed by adults of all ages — though maybe especially those who saw “Mrs. Doubtfire” in the theater as kids.
“Robin & Me: My Little Spark of Madness” will run through Jan. 26 at the Highmark Theatre, Pittsburgh Playhouse in Downtown Pittsburgh. To learn more and get tickets, visit plahouse.pointpark.edu.