About the Play

Joey Lange is an actor from Hawaii who's moved to New York City. He gets a call one morning from his agent telling him he's scored the audition of the year: author/director Russell Bankhead Davis is casting his new Broadway play about an actor from Hawaii who's moved to New York. Perfect casting, Joey and his agent think. 

The audition however is something else entirely: Russell only wants Joey to talk about his life: no sides, no reading from the script.  Like in A CHORUS LINE (Joey's favorite show), Russell wants to know all about Joey and what makes him tick.

Joey freaks: What will he say?  Where does he begin?How will it end?  And what's with that neon sign on his forehead?

ALOHA OY! written by actor JEFFREY VAUSE is a semi-autobiographical, multi-character one man show about life thru the eyes of a gay performer just trying to find his way in the world.

Author's Notes

It's November of 1999, and I was frustrated. I'd just lost a really good day job and was about to take a short-lived job at a web-based "dot com" company that was eventually listed on a website entitled "f**kedupcompany.com."  This was how I began the new millennium, working a day job I hated. I left them after 3 months. I didn't come all the way to New York City from Hawaii to not become a working actor!

So I channeled that frustration into a series of monologues that I wrote entitled WORKING MY NERVES, and that November I invited ten people to the apartment I share with my partner (Fred Orlansky) and read them out loud to my appreciative and critical friends. I was energized by their positive reactions to what I had written and thought I was on to something.

In mid 2000 I got a great day job that I still hold, and I kept on writing because I felt I could still do it all (acting, write AND work a day job) as I have done in the past. So I kept writing and re-shaping the monologues, still called WORKING MY NERVES, and on April Fool's Day 2001, with the help of director Laurie Wessely-Baldwin, fashioned another reading at Cap 21 in Chelsea attended by 35 or so friends and interested parties. Laurie gave me the best advice then: she told me she'd taken the piece as far as she could, and she let me go. And I went and re-wrote and re-shaped some more, deciding to somehow link these various monologues into a structured play with a beginning, middle and end.

Then one summer day in 2002, I auditioned for a play at the NY Fringe Fest for director Gregg Bellon. I really liked auditioning for him and felt he was interested in me for the part, and although I wasn't cast, we kept in touch as I had told him I had written myself a one-man show: would he be interested in directing it? He said he would and for two and a half years, we have molded, reshaped and restructured WORKING MY NERVES into what's now called, ALOHA OY!

Artistic frustration is a funny thing: you can either let it get you down or it can energize you in ways you least expect. This is ALOHA OY! And yes, some of it is true but some not - and I won't reveal which. But I have changed the names to protect the innocent. And I hope you like it.

Bios

Jeffrey Vause (Author / Joey Lange / voice of Chloe Summerstoch / Mom / Kenny / Cecil / Joshua Templeman / Lucas Morse / Anthony / Linda Louise Davis / Russell Bankhead Davis) made his "official" stage debut in the St. Louis High School production of Tom Stoppard's ROSENCRANTZ & GUILDENSTERN ARE DEAD as Alfred the "youngest tragedian": it was the first time he appeared in drag on stage and it wouldn't be the last. Years later, he won raves as Arnold Beckoff, the broken-hearted drag performer in the 15th Anniversary Off-Off Broadway revival of Harvey Fierstein's Tony-winning TORCH SONG TRILOGY in Greenwich Village, at the Grove St. Playhouse.

Born and raised in Honolulu, Hawaii (like Bette Midler and Don Ho before him), Jeffrey performed in numerous productions there at the Diamond Head Theatre (formerly Honolulu Community Theatre), the Manoa Valley Theatre (formerly the Hawaii Performing Arts Co.), and with the short-lived American Theatre Co.-Hawaii, founded by the late Tommy Aguilar, the original Paul in the London company of A CHORUS LINE. Highlighted roles include Barnaby in HELLO, DOLLY! (DHT); Sohovik in DAMN YANKEES (MVT); Greg in A CHORUS LINE (ATCO-HI.), with the original Bennett choreography as recreated by Mr. Aguilar; Bud Frump in HOW TO SUCCEED IN BUSINESS WITHOUT REALLY TRYING (MVT); A-Rab in WEST SIDE STORY (MVT); Alphonse in THE BOY FRIEND (MVT); Sylester in GOOD NEWS (DHT); Duane in HARVEY (DHT); and David (Arnold's son) in the Hawaii premiere of TORCH SONG TRILOGY (MVT). He also performed many ensemble roles in the MVT productions of CHICAGO, THE PIRATES OF PENZANCE and SWEET CHARITY, and in the DHT production of PAL JOEY. While living in Honolulu, he worked behind the scenes as well, Assistant Directing an acclaimed production of Larry Kramer's THE NORMAL HEART for MVT, which starred future Tony-winning actor, Denis O'Hare, as well as Stage Managing MVT's production of the musical WORKING.

Regionally, Jeffrey's appeared in the Rockwell Theater in Milton, Pennsylvania production of A CHORUS LINE again as Greg. New York credits have included Monty in the B.T. McNicholl-Paul McKibbon musical THE IT GIRL at Broadhollow Theatre in Bethpage, N.Y.; OKLAHOMA! (Ali Hakim) directed by Dominic Cuskern at the Gallery Players in Brooklyn; TAKE IT EASY (Ensemble/Swing), an original 1940's musical which played the Judith Anderson in N.Y.; and Wendell in Eric Winick's WHISKEY DOWN at the Mazer Theatre in N.Y.  He is proud to have created the following roles in their initial NYC productions: Irving Berlin in IRVING BERLIN RAGTIME REVUE at Theater for the New City; Gideon in SOMEBODY I LOVE at Wings; and Peter in the original cast workshop of JUST US BOYS at Theatreworks Studios in Chelsea.
 
Film credits? He recently completed THREE TO FIVE & GLASSY playing the role of KIMO AIKANE and if you look hard enough, you might spot him running for a train at Grand Central aside Ricki Lake in MRS. WINTERBOURNE. 
 
ALOHA OY! is a revised version of a series of monologues originally entitled WORKING MY NERVES performed at staged readings in 1999 and 2001. He is currently at work on his third play, entitled COCKTAILS & CRUELLERS, with staged readings and hopeful production slated soon.  He continues writing and has recently joined the Emerging Artists Theatre playwrights circle. 

Gregg Bellon (Director) Gregg performs, writes, directs, & designs for theater, film, & television. Most recently, at the 8th NYC Intl. Fringe Festival, he directed HExTC's THE KNOWLEDGE & CONVERSATION OF MY HOLY GUARDIAN ANGEL, Or AN OLD-FASHIONED LOVE STORY by Tom Sleigh marking his fifth Fringe and third as director. NY credits include: LEAD HEAVY SKY (Conceived, Designed, and Executed with Patrick Meagher, FringeNY '03/ Flatiron Playhouse); POWER STROKES ("Alden", HEREArts); LAS AVENTURAS DE DON QUIJOTE ("Carrasco", NTPA Natl Tour); BATMAN FOREVER Stunt Spectacular ("Batman", Six Flags Great Adventure); RADIO RADIO (Director, FringeNY '02); WILD THING (Director, The New Acting Co.). He is founding member of the production collective, a company dedicated to developing interdisciplinary theater productions.

The production team also includes Set & Light Design by ERIC B. COPE, Costume Design by DON NEWCOMB, & Stage Manager CINDY DAVIS.