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Tragic life and wide-ranging influence of Lenny Bruce spotlighted in one-man show

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Courtesy of the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust

Ronnie Marmo plays legendary comedian and satirist Lenny Bruce in “I’m Not a Comedian...I’m Lenny Bruce.”

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Courtesy of the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust

ON THE COVER: Ronnie Marmo in “I’m Not a Comedian...I’m Lenny Bruce.”

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Courtesy of the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust

“I’m Not a Comedian...I’m Lenny Bruce” chronicles the tragic comedian’s brief life.

Who was Lenny Bruce?

According to Bob Dylan, in his 1981 ode to the comedian, Bruce “was an outlaw, that’s for sure,” and “had the insight to rip off the lid before its time.”

In his time, Bruce was a no-holds-barred comedian and satirist, taking aim at sex, politics, religion and the buttoned-up mores of the late 1950s and early 1960s. Arrested several times on obscenity charges and engulfed by legal difficulties, Bruce was found dead in the bathroom of his Hollywood Hills home in August 1966 at the age of 40. The death of the man who was born Leonard Alfred Schneider on Long Island did not gain front-page headlines – The New York Times put the story on page 32, using an Associated Press dispatch and describing him as an “uninhibited comic” who blended “satire with scatology.”

The curtain may have come down prematurely on Bruce’s life and career, but his influence has continued to reverberate through our culture to this day. Viewed in the years after his death as a pioneer of the counterculture and a tragic martyr for freedom of speech, albums of his stand-up routines continued to be released, he was the subject of the 1974 Oscar-nominated biopic “Lenny,” and his autobiography, “How to Talk Dirty and Influence People” continued to sell and remains in print. Perhaps most importantly, Bruce’s imprint was stamped on generations of comedians who followed, from Richard Pryor and George Carlin to Dave Chappelle.

Having been gone for 56 years, the number of people alive today who saw Bruce in person is small and growing smaller by the year. But the one-man show, “I’m Not a Comedian…I’m Lenny Bruce” tells his story and summons up his spirit, with actor Ronnie Marmo taking up the role of the comedian. It will be at the Byham Theater in Pittsburgh Friday and Saturday. Showtimes are 8 p.m. both days.

Marmo, whose resume includes work on the soap opera “General Hospital” and the series “Criminal Minds,” explained from Great Barrington, Mass., last week that “I’m not an impressionist,” but that he watched and listened to all the existing recordings and footage of Bruce before taking on the part. This month, Marmo played Bruce for the 400th time. Despite having done the show so many times since its debut five years ago, Marmo said there’s no problem keeping it fresh.

“It just feels like I’m in a car doing 90 mph, and I’m really high up and bugs are hitting my windshield and I’m hanging on by a thread,” Marmo said. “It really keeps itself fresh. It’s really humbling and challenging to remake these words and bring the most intense performance I can bring. I never quite feel like I’ve got my hands around it, which is a good thing.”

“I’m Not a Comedian…I’m Lenny Bruce” is directed by Joe Mantegna, the stage and screen actor who has been in “The Godfather, Part III,” and has done the voice of mobster Fat Tony on “The Simpsons.” Marmo wrote it and it has the blessing of Bruce’s daughter, Kitty Bruce.

“I was concerned about that,” Marmo said. “Lots of people have knocked off things about her dad in her lifetime, and I made sure to include her every step of the way. She loves the show and she and I are very close.”

The Amazon Prime television series “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” has had Bruce as a recurring character, and that has lured many people to his show, Marmo explained. But, he pointed out, it’s not necessary to be steeped in Bruce lore before you get to the theater.

“If you come to the show and you don’t know anything, the biggest compliment you can give me is you go home and Google all the players,” Marmo said. “People say there’s a chance if you find Lenny through my show and do your homework after, you’ll get it. (Audiences) don’t need to know anything is the short answer. They could come and have the experience and go down the rabbit hole after.”

“I’m Not a Comedian…I’m Lenny Bruce” contains mature content and explicit language. For tickets or additional information, go online to trustarts.org.

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