Stage Notes: Neal Medlyn's Unpronouncable Symbol

Neal Medlyn is one of downtown’s most talented and flexible performance artists. He played George W. Bush to Karen Finley’s Martha Stewart in Finley’s George & Martha; he has built tragic/comic one-man operas around the songs of Lionel Richie, R. Kelley and Phil Collins; he danced in Adrienne Truscott’s recent hit show at DTW; and he was a sexy, table-hopping rascal in PS 122’s C’est Duckie. He does it all: sings, dances, acts, strips and writes his own shows. His latest endeavor is dedicated to Prince and was co-written and musically arranged by Kenny Mellman (Herb of Kiki & Herb), with choreography by Truscott and drumming by Carmine Covelli.

Hi Neal. So What’s this show all about?
It’s the story of these two characters who meet and fall in love, and I play both characters. And there’s an evil character (played by Carmine Covelli), who tries to break them up. One of my characters becomes really jealous and he ends up trying to kill everybody, and then he descends into Hell and he ends up returning as a Messiah, somehow.

So that’s the story line of the whole show?
Yes. And there’s a live band on stage: Kennie Mellman on piano, Carmine Covelli will play the drums. Adrienne Truscott is choreographing a dream ballet and she will dance it in the show.

It sounds like a big show.
It’s another of the sort of overblown pop-song operas that I’ve been making, but this is the biggest one yet.

Anything else?
There’s a lot of video. Carmine and I have a video design for the show that incorporates a bit of Prince on stage. Also, I shot some video in Minneapolis (Prince’s hometown) this past winter. We’re trying to have the contrast of the Minnesota cold with the opulent purple world that all these characters live in.

And naturally there will be Prince songs?
We’re going to do all Prince songs, plus one that he had written for somebody else.

Do you “do” Prince?
In some ways. I definitely incorporate some of his moves and stage performances. But I also really just end up being myself, trying to be that character. I’m playing these other characters too, like the Messianic libertine who has fallen in love with him (my) self.

What’s with you always doing these other-self characters?
My other name is Jerry. Neal is my middle name. When I was a kid, I used to pretend I had an evil twin who did all the bad things I was blamed for… And the interesting thing is that Prince has a character like that, Camille. This was who wrote the songs that came from his darker side. Bu then Prince decided to go in a different direction. So we melded Prince’s split identity with my own as a child.

P.S. 122, 150 First Ave., (212) 352-3101. July 9-20. Wed.-Sun., 8 p.m.; additional 11 p.m. show on Sats., $15-20.