Singer-guitarist Benjamin Scheuer purrs his life and times in ‘The Lion’
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Version 0 of 1. Benjamin Scheuer is a mesmerizing guitarist, and he tells his story strumming in his solo show “The Lion.” Scheuer pours his heart into his own coming-of-age tale, dealing with a difficult dad who died suddenly when Scheuer was a teen. That family disaster is not the only monumental life crisis in this brisk, musically supple 70-minute performance. Scheuer’s only co-stars are the half-dozen or so guitars stationed around the nightclub-style set (by Neil Patel) at Arena Stage’s 200-seat Kogod Cradle. They’re all acoustic, except for the electric guitar he hammers as an angry young man. When Scheuer jabs into squealing rock solos, they’re brief and ultimately bashful — just part of a phase, one of the many recognizable stages we all go through growing up or trying to cope. Most of the time, Scheuer coaxes folksy, nuanced original tunes from one of his acoustic instruments, crooning with a touch of Richie Havens rasp whenever the passions get intense. And things do get intense in “The Lion,” which appeared off-Broadway in 2014 and is now touring. Scheuer doesn’t sugarcoat how hotheaded he was as a kid, what a tough customer his dad could be, how isolated he was even as an emerging artist. “I hope that all these things will fix themselves,” he says at one point, ticking off a list of things going wrong. [Benjamin Scheuer talks about how he created “The Lion”] The show’s flinty emotional edge is well served by Scheuer’s direct style. Singing or talking, he’s appealingly frank: He sticks to facts, letting a hurtful comment hang in the air but then moving into one of his gnawing, introspective, largely delightful songs. The ballad “Cookie Tin Banjo,” packed with nifty licks, recalls his first handmade instrument as a kid. A love song called “Laugh” brightly sketches a romantic relationship. “Weather the Storm” is a wise and catchy tune about how to carry on. Those songs are awfully well-constructed and exactingly played; there’s a hint of Paul Simon in Scheuer’s easy, knowing lyrics and disciplined musicianship. The show gets its title from Scheuer recalling his dad singing about what makes a lion a lion (the answer turns out to be clever), and Scheuer’s father was a skilled guitarist who got his son started. “He shows me a G chord / I’ve never looked back,” Scheuer sings. The rub is that the father was also so prickly (and then gone) that the very prospect of playing music seems terribly complicated. This is partly worked out in the storytelling, but it’s gorgeously explored in the restless fingerpicking, the impossibly light touch and fast runs, the sudden bursts of big twangy chords as Scheuer rips into the steel strings. The playing is deeply, intuitively expressive, and Scheuer’s joyful display of craft is a large part of the story. It keeps “The Lion” high-strung, in a good way. The Lion, written and performed by Benjamin Scheuer. Directed by Sean Daniels. Lights, Ben Stanton; sound design, Leon Rothenberg; costume consultant, Jennifer Caprio. About 70 minutes. Through April 10 at Arena Stage, 1101 Sixth St. SW. Tickets: $40-$70, subject to change. Call 202-488-3300 or visit arenastage.org. |