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A CurtainUp Review

I Love Paris
By Jenny Sandman

It's hard to think about much other than the Republican Convention right now. But I Love Paris, now playing at the Blue Heron Arts Center, is worth braving the hordes of wandering delegates.

Broadway veteran Kevin Shinick, NOT in drag, plays socialite Paris Hilton, of blue movie and Fox sitcom fame. Paris, never afraid to babble endlessly, is waiting to be interviewed for the fifth co-host seat of ABC's daytime talk show, The View. While waiting, she delivers a long, meandering stream-of-consciousness monologue running the gamut from Cher's plastic surgery to her therapist to her acting class ("I'm not an actress, I'm a media whore.") to her love life ("I love sex…This time, I'm keeping the tape at my house"). Paris, never afraid to show off her tact and intelligence, says of host Barbara Walters, "Pick me, you skanky bitch! Give the show some class." Rob Lowe raises the question "Weren't you in the Rat Pack?"

Kevin Shinick is a marvel. His characterization of Paris is bare bones at its best. He's not in drag, but neither does he camp it upr. In white briefs and black socks, and with no Paris-ian gestures or physicalizations, he makes her come alive solely through Doug Field's script.

Paris has a lot to do, between getting dressed, fixing her hair, looking at magazines and nibbling on almonds; yet director Timothy Haskell keeps the pace swift.

The show combines-a versatile and engaging actor, a very funny script, topicality. Add the short running time (fifty minutes) and in n the immortal words of Paris, "Now, that's hot."

I LOVE PARIS
Written by Doug Field
Directed by Timothy Haskell
Starring Kevin Shinick
Lighting Design by Tracy Goodsmith
Sound Design by Keith Oqueli
Running time: Fifty minutes with no intermission
Blue Heron Arts Center, 123 East 24th Street; 212-868-4444
July 26th through September 28th; Monday Aug. 30 at 8 pm; Tuesday Sept. 7, 14th, 21st and 28th at 8 pm. All tickets $20.
Extended to 10/25/04 Reviewed by Jenny Sandman based on August 23rd performance
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metaphors dictionary cover
6, 500 Comparative Phrases including 800 Shakespearean Metaphors by CurtainUp's editor.
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©Copyright 2004, Elyse Sommer, CurtainUp.
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