By Daniel Holmes

“You’ll never go broke underestimating the taste of the general public.” P.T. Barnum

Occasionally a show comes along that makes you think about the difference between talent and showmanship. In The Music Man, Robert Preston couldn’t sing, but floored audiences with his charisma as a canvasser selling a dream. P.T. Barnum wasn’t a performer, but was touted as the greatest showman on earth, once making a huge profit selling tickets to view a rare Buffalo migration in New Jersey that never materialized. This month, in Across From Cindy’s Corner, Gene Bua takes a crack at a one-man show about his life and his dreams. As a talent, Bua falls flat, but as a showman, he plays to sell-out houses every weekend. Is it church, is it a holistic seminar, or is Gene Bua the Valley’s master showman?

Across From Cindy’s Corner is a musical revue, not musical theater, as there is no real script, plot, character, or theme. There is, however, a charismatic man selling an idea: Live your dreams. As owner/teacher of the Gene Bua Acting For Life organization, and after an admirable career as a soap opera celebrity for CBS, there is no doubt that Bua believes this idea himself, and he’s not shy about selling it to others. However, his show is not always aesthetically pleasing, nor does it elevate its audience to a higher awareness. At best, it’s a bad lounge act, made worse by a lack of direction.

There is no doubt Gene Bua’s good looks and personable stage presence enjoy a wide appeal, but his talents as a singer are limited. Often he chews the lyrics or growls a phrase to get through it. The music Bua composed for himself is vocally challenging, but without the tools of a polished singer, he hinders his own work. The compositions range from bad Broadway fare, to music by Neil Diamond’s third cousin, to Up With People on Valium. The fifties tunes, “Golly Gee” and “Red Bottom Blues,” barely give us a hint of the four-chord playfulness that made the music of that era famous. The backup singers (Donna Kei Benz, Eveie Peck, and Toni Bull Bua —- Gene’s wife and lyricist), known as the Desparadas, sing Doo-wop with mediocre, church-choir voices that never blend. “Man and Beast” and “Maybe Someday” have a more contemporary feel, but lack a musical line that hasn’t already been done in by Diamond or Manilow. The rest of the tunes sound like campfire music. The lyrics, by Toni Bull Bua, work OK in the fifties tunes, but lack significance, on the whole. It’s not that the pieces don’t convey feelings, they’re just trite.

This show was loud. The sound blared first at the stage, losing its qualities by the time it bounced off the set and back into your face. Bua’s booming voice continually washed out the piano and guitar accompaniment, played by Jimmy Avalcian and Derek Dodge, respectively. The poor lighting consisted of cheap effects, saturated color washes, and Gobo silhouette effects of stars and patterns, allegedly to heighten the mood.

The show is not all bad. This audience seemed to enjoy Bua’s performance and was oblivious to the travesties performed on stage. A portion of the proceeds of Gene and Toni Bua’s shows are always donated to worthy causes, and they are commended for it.

If Bua were an evangelist, you might join his non-preachy quest for hope. If he were a multi-level marketing whiz, you might buy into his dream, but what Gene is selling in this glorification of his life is not for everyone, and above all else, is not good theater.