The most enjoyable solo shows are those that manage to juxtapose private revelation with crackling stagecraft—and that is precisely what character actor Leslie Jordan does in his wonderful one man tour de force. Jordan approaches the audience like we're old friends, and then he holds us spellbound with droll revelations about his twisted childhood, his career, and his checkered romantic life. The soft-spoken, gentlemanly Jordan at first seems at least part elf: He's petite and mild-mannered, with feathery white hair, sparkly eyes, and a dapper seersucker suit. Before long, though, it's clear that he's an elf who's as foul mouthed as he is lovable, with an astonishingly colorful yet vituperative vocabulary that's flavored from a childhood growing up in the Deep South.
The show opens as Jordan toys with the idea of coming on stage in drag. But he decides against donning the gown. "I have enough trouble getting work in Hollywood as it is without parading around like a woman," he mutters. From there, the play takes off into a tautly honed yet sidesplitting "Greatest Hits" portrait of Jordan's life, from an early boyhood unnerving his soldier father with his inevitable homosexuality to his days as a young actor exploring his sexuality during the wild and free Disco Era. He recalls his first crush—a thug kid from his Tennessee high school—and poignantly points out that the young man represented just the first step in a long line of unsuitable lovers. Jordan's also quite upfront about having lived about 20 years in a daze of alcohol and drugs before finding peace and clarity in his middle age. "Oh, this story does not have a happy ending," Jordan warns more than once, before launching into a tale that is as uproarious as it is sad.
There's nothing not to like here. Jordan is a wonderfully polished performer, who has the audience eating out of his hand from the first to last, and his assured script engrossingly balances revelation with the ability to entertain. Under director David Galligan's tight staging, the show feels intimate, without ever descending into self indulgence. But also genuinely fresh and enthralling is how the show offers a warts-and-all portrait of a compellingly talented Gay Man of a Certain Age and how he approaches the latter part of his life.
"Like a Dog on Linoleum," presented by Joe Spotts at the Elephant Asylum Theatre, 6322 Santa Monica Blvd., Hollywood. Thu.-Sat. 8 p.m., Sun. 7 p.m. (Sun. 8 p.m. Oct. 3.) Oct. 1-Nov. 7. $25-30. (323) 960-1083.