''Point Break Live!'' is a parody by Jaime Keeling of the 1991
Keanu Reeves
Keanu Charles Reeves ( ; born September 2, 1964) is a Canadian actor. Born in Beirut and raised in Toronto, Reeves began acting in theatre productions and in television films before making his feature film debut in '' Youngblood'' (1986). ...
crime
In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a State (polity), state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definit ...
movie '' Point Break''.
Sometimes credited as the first-ever "reality-play", each performance features a new, unrehearsed actor in the
protagonist
A protagonist () is the main character of a story. The protagonist makes key decisions that affect the plot, primarily influencing the story and propelling it forward, and is often the character who faces the most significant obstacles. If a st ...
role of Johnny Utah, reading their lines from cue-cards delivered by a production assistant.
How it works
At the start of the show, audience members who wish to play Johnny Utah are called on stage and put through a quick faux-audition. The winner is then selected by audience Applause-o-meter. A cue card assistant (cast member) leads Utah around the stage throughout the play and shows him or her the lines on laminated cards. Some have said that the winner is frequently a "ringer," because the person chosen is often a good actor and always fits into the wetsuit. The play is an over-the-top, action-packed comedy.
History
The play premiered in a sold-out 2-month run co-directed by Jaime Keeling and
Jamie Hook
Jamie is a unisex name. It is a diminutive form of James or, more rarely, other names. It is also given as a name in its own right.
People Female
* Jamie Anne Allman (born 1977), American actress
* Jamie Babbit (born 1970), American film and te ...
at Seattle's
Northwest Film Forum
The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each se ...
and has since toured throughout the country, including extended runs at the
Bryant-Lake Bowl
Bryant-Lake Bowl, locally nicknamed BLB, is a bowling alley, restaurant, bar, and 90-seat theatre in the Uptown neighborhood of Minneapolis, Minnesota. Best known for its evening entertainment and Cheap Date Night specials (two meals, drinks, an ...
in
Minneapolis
Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...
and
Galapagos Art Space
Galapagos Art Space was an arts center that moved from Williamsburg to DUMBO in Brooklyn before moving to Detroit, Michigan where planned to operate as Galapagos Detroit. Its status is currently unknown.
Robert Elmes founded Galapagos Art Space i ...
in
Brooklyn, New York
Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...
.
The show played recently at the La Tea Theater in
Manhattan
Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...
. It previously played at Charlie O's Lounge in the Hotel Alexandria in downtown
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
, where much of the movie took place, and premiered on October 1, 2008, at the V Theater at the
Miracle Mile Shops
Miracle Mile Shops (formerly Desert Passage) is a 475,000 square foot (44,129 m²), long, enclosed shopping mall on the Las Vegas Strip in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is home to more than 170 stores, 15 restaurants and live entertainment venues.
Synony ...
in Las Vegas.
Producer-Director Eve Hars brought the show to Chicago's New Rock Theater, where it ran from March to October 2010, and reopened for a short spring run in 2011. The show's longest run to date is in LA/Hollywood, where it opened in 2007 and closed June 25, 2016.
Panama City
Panama City ( es, Ciudad de Panamá, links=no; ), also known as Panama (or Panamá in Spanish), is the capital and largest city of Panama. It has an urban population of 880,691, with over 1.5 million in its metropolitan area. The city is locat ...
,
Panama
Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Cos ...
Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border ...
.
The San Francisco production ran sequentially across 4 different venues between April 11, 2008, and June 3, 2016. (Last tickets: https://archive.org/details/DNALOUNGE-2016-06-03)
All but 2 of its performances sold out. During this period, the show closed out its first venue (The Xenodrome) and third venue (The Metreon) due to impending reconstruction projects. The final night was almost cancelled due to a bomb threat at the theater. (https://web.archive.org/web/20160615020643/http://sfist.com/2016/06/03/sfpd_evacuating_offices_rerouting_m.php)
Cast
* Notable figures who have played Johnny Utah in the production include:
Lori Petty
Lori Petty (born October 14, 1963) is an American actress, director, and screenwriter. She is noted for her roles in the films ''Point Break'' (1991), ''A League of Their Own'' (1992), ''Free Willy '' (1993), and the title role in ''Tank Girl'' ...
(who played Utah's girlfriend Tyler Endicott in the movie),
Justin Pierre
Justin Courtney Pierre (born May 26, 1976) is a singer, songwriter and guitarist originally from Mahtomedi, Minnesota, United States. He is the co-founder and lead vocalist of the pop punk band Motion City Soundtrack, and is known for his int ...
Juli Crockett
Juli Crockett is an American playwright and theater director, retired professional boxer and amateur champion,Andre Ethier (outfielder for the LA Dodgers), and stand-up comedian Jake Weisman.
* Gary Busey made a special appearance on stage at the Dragonfly production. (Se video )
* Patrick O'Sullivan from the ABC sitcom "The Neighbors" played Angelo Pappas/Gary Busey in the show from 2011 to 2013.
* Other celebrity attendees include Kirsten Dunst and Justin Long, write Peter Iliff and director Kathryn Bigelow.
Awards
* Mayor
Gavin Newsom
Gavin Christopher Newsom (born October 10, 1967) is an American politician and businessman who has been the 40th governor of California since 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the 49th lieutenant governor of California fr ...
declared April 11, 2008 "''Point Break Live!'' Day" in San Francisco.
* ''Point Break Live!'' hit the #1 spot on ''E! Daily 10'' in 2008.
*
ABC News Nightline
''Nightline'' (or ''ABC News Nightline'') is ABC News' late-night television news program broadcast on ABC in the United States with a franchised formula to other networks and stations elsewhere in the world. Created by Roone Arledge, the progr ...
aired a segment about ''Point Break Live!'' in 2009.
* WGN aired a segment of Chicago's Best with Brittney Payton, daughter of
Walter Payton
Walter Jerry Payton (July 25, 1953Although most sources at the time of his death gave Payton's birth year as 1954, reliable sources subsequently state he was born in 1953. – November 1, 1999) was an American football running back who played ...