The Devil and Billy Markham

The Devil and Billy Markham is a 90-minute solo play written by Shel Silverstein, author of such beloved works as The Giving Tree and Where the Sidewalk Ends.

The play consists of six tall-tales about Billy -- a songwriter, good-ol'-boy, and ne'er-do-well -- and his misadventures with the Devil. The text is entirely written in rhymed couplets, punctuated here and there with song, mostly in the vein of blues or country genres. The tone of the play is raucous and raunchy, full of bumptious humor alternating with thrills of spiritual dread and pathos.

Prospective clients should be warned that this play is not Silverstein's typical family fare. While the Mirror believes that the the themes of the piece are sacrifice and redemption, it is also unapologetically and joyously profane. Parental guidance is advised for audience members under the age of 17.

As with The Great Divorce, The Devil and Billy Markham can be performed in any space from a theatre to a living room. No special lighting, space, or sound considerations are required. The play can be performed with as little as one day's notice.

Go. It's that simple, really. And call now. If you don't get your tickets fast -- it's only being performed Saturdays at 10:30pm, and Sundays and Mondays at 7:30pm -- you'll miss on of the most entertaining and uproarious performances in all Philadelphia (and probably New York, for that matter). The Devil and Billy Markham, a comic monologue in rhymed couplets, is that rare and remarkable union of dazzling writing (by Shel Silverstein) and acting (by Tony Lawton ) that makes you feel the shiver of theater down to your toes.

The Devil and Billy Markham is the Faustian tale of a small-town musician who loses a sucker's bet with Satan. Billy gets bounced to hell, heaven and back again to sort out the mess he's made and enact a fitting revenge. Along the way, he gets roasted on a spit and basted with spider's blood; plays 8-ball with God for a ticket to glory; and crashes a wedding party where Gertrude Stein hits on Grandma Moses while Vladimir Nabokov and Errol Flynn argue over the same teenager. And so on -- to reveal any more would risk spoiling the fun of Silverstein's wicked scheme.

The Devil and Billy Markham is not a stand-up act. Lawton inhabits each of his characters -- a narrator, Billy, the devil, God, an "agent" named Scuzzy Sleezy -- with such precision and truth that it is impossible to imagine another actor ever performing the piece. His frequent shifts in character appear effortless; his focus is razor-sharp. When the laughter subsides, Lawton finds drama, suspense, and tragedy in Billy's hapless, hilarious journey. He simply owns it.

First seen in last year's Fringe Festival, The Devil and Billy Markham has been revived at he Second Stage by the Fictitious Theatre Company. There's barely a set, and there's only one prop (if this was a couplet, you'd call it a mop). But Lawton and Silverstein make quite a pair, and they conjure their magic with devilish dare.