BOOMERS on BROADWAY

Spirit of the '60s alive in Stockton's entertaining 'Are We There Yet?'

They say if you remember the '60s, you weren't there. But don't say it to Richard Stockton.

The longtime stand-up comic, monologist, and chief perpetrator of the Planet Cruz live comedy revues not only remembers the 1960s (and the postwar decade that spawned them), he traces the influence of that era on the popular and political culture of today in his entertaining one-man comedy extravaganza, Are We There Yet? at the Broadway Playhouse.

Three years in the making (not counting the lifetime of experience distilled into the show), Are We There Yet? is a multi-media celebration of the Baby Boom generation. While the show is mostly storytelling, Stockton has also composed a handful of songs to highlight certain themes (like the title tune, which metaphorically refers to the Boomers' progress through life, and "Things We Had Then We Don't Have Now"), which he sings con brio, accompanying himself on guitar or banjo. He also employs a video projector which sets the tone with newsreels, pop culture montages from the era, and a reel of vintage TV commercials.

The resulting show is a sort of Boomer Hit Parade of cultural touchpoints from the '50s, '60s, and into the '70s. And even as the Boomers age (Stockton salutes our generation's collective passage "from Hi-Fi to WiFi...from Jonathan Livingston Seagull to crow's feet"), he traces the ways that the seeds sown in our youth have borne fruit in the socio-political landscape of today. There's plenty to resonate with people of a certain age; on opening night, audience members were shouting responses like "Amens" in a Baptist church. (Read more)