ENTERTAINMENT
Charles Ross has appeared on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Late Night with Conan O’Brien, and the West End in London, and now he is coming to Palm Beach. Ross’ One Man Star Wars Trilogy features the actor playing all of the characters, performing the sound effects, and singing excerpts of the John Williams score — all at once.
It might appear to be an overwhelming task, but Ross has had plenty of practice. He has watched the Star Wars films more than 400 times and began his career as an actor working in theater.
After experiencing the pains of looking for a job, he decided to create the show, which is licensed by Lucasfilm, instead. It is now approaching its 10th anniversary and still going strong.
However, the show’s success was not immediate. When Ross first began to perform it, critics were baffled. “[They] didn’t know what to make of it. It was fascinating but a voyeuristic thing to witness,” he said, recalling early reviews. Ross’ father was also skeptical, not taking the show seriously until four years later.
After gaining critical success, Ross also branched out and developed a One Man Lord of the Rings show. While that show has not been as popular as its predecessor, it is being performed later on this year at the Sydney Opera House in Australia.
After almost 10 years, Ross is still in awe of the response. “It’s just cool that I still get to do this. Amazing that this is still going on,” he said.
With all of that experience, he still finds one issue he is unable to overcome — his Yoda impression, which he thinks sounds like a “goblin sucking helium.”
Ross plans to continue performing the show, but don’t expect a musical version. “I hate them,” he said. “What I’ve realized is people take anything and turn them into musicals. I do like My Fair Lady and Mary Poppins, however.”
Interested?
The One Man Star Wars Trilogy comes to the Jupiter Maltz Theater Feb. 5 at 8 p.m. Tickets are $30. FAU students can buy them for $15 when they use the password “owl.”
To purchase tickets for the show, visit www.jupitertheatre.org or call (561) 575-2223. Tickets are also available at the Jupiter Maltz Theater box office.
For more information on Charles Ross, visit his official website at www.onemanstarwars.com.
The Jupiter campus is also hosting a Star Wars costume contest Feb. 2, 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. The winner will receive two free tickets.
