Mike Daisey gets crazy over the world banking crisis

Monologue artist brings his newest rant-fest to the Public Theater

BY MICHAEL SOMMERS

NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM

OFF BROADWAY REVIEW

Mike Daisey is a gonzo monologist who travels hither and yon and comes back with wild real-life stories reflecting upon our cultural obsessions and changing times.

Last year, Daisey regaled audiences with his "If You See Something Say Something" account of a visit to the Los Alamos atomic testing site; a monologue twisting into observations, humorous and otherwise, concerning terrorism and homeland security.

Daisey now returns to the Public Theater with his latest gabfest "The Last Cargo Cult." This time Daisey talks about money and mind-boggling higher finance.

In fact, along with the program, the usher hands you money — I got a fiver; others received bills ranging from one to one hundred dollars. Daisey says the total represents his performance fee and if we don't think his show is worth it, well, we should just keep the cash.

An unlikely traveler, Daisey begins the show with his recent journey to Vanuatu, a remote island out in the south Pacific where the locals stage an annual festival worshipping American stuff — cargo — left over from the U.S. military's temporary occupation there during World War Two.

This bizarre travelogue, complete with funny anecdotes about his sleeping with a pig and a bad trip on fermented yam paste, is actually the launching pad for Daisey's sardonic tirade regarding the current international financial crisis.

Eloquently flailing his arms and sweating profusely — the furiously flushing storyteller at times appears to be courting a seizure — Daisey spits out a seriocomic accounting of the many ways the banking system has messed up the world. The finer economic details of Daisey's rant on financial terrorism bounced off my liberal arts brain, frankly, but even I could tell he definitely scores strong points off the system.

As Daisey raves on, director Jean-Michele Gregory bathes the performer and a mountainous background heap of boxes and packages in deep shades of color. Since the rotund, black-clad Daisey never rises from his chair, the shifting intensities of light lend extra drama to the static stage.

Absorbing as his timely material and volcanic performance may be, Daisey rages away excessively — clocking in at nearly two hours, "The Last Cargo Cult" represents too much of a good thing, especially for anybody who tends to skip the financial pages. Still, when the show is over, most viewers are likely to return Daisey's cash to a punchbowl placed on the stage for that purpose. This guy really does put his money where his mouth is, and deserves every dollar he gets for opening it so eloquently

"The Last Cargo Cult" continues through Dec. 13 at the Public Theater, 425 Lafayette St., New York. Call (212) 967-7555 or visit www.publictheater.org.