The One Man Star Wars Triology

By Janae Tanti

You needn’t rent the Star Wars DVDS to be transported to a “time long ago, in a galaxy far, far away,” all you needed to do was head to the American Theater and watch the One Man Star Wars Trilogy, by Charles Ross.
A part of the Piccolo Fringe Festival, the One Man Star Wars Trilogy takes place on a black, barren stage, with no set, props, nor costumes. The audience cries with laughter as only Charles Ross acts out all three of the Star Wars films, playing every character as well as providing all of the sound effects.
Having been a Star Wars buff since the second grade, I had heard of Chris Ross’ show long before he came to Charleston. I had watched a few Youtube videos of his act, but I went to the American Theater skeptical, curious as to how this one man could tell the Star Wars trilogy in one hour, when it took George Lucas three plus movies to do so.
As I waited in line to be admitted inside of the theater’s doors, I evaluated my fellow theater goers. I expected to see the stereotypical Star Wars fan- middle aged with glasses, wearing a Darth Vader t-shirt or Princess Lea’s signature buns. I was surprised to be surrounded by women in pearls, men in pastel polo’s, and even children as young as seven years old.
The doors opened as the familiar Star Wars Theme, composed by John Williams, blared from the speakers overhead. Excitement buzzed in the air, almost as if we were about to enter the Millennium Falcon itself. One young boy, who later revealed to Ross that he was only nine years old, sat in the front row pretending to play a clarinet to the oh-so-familiar soundtrack.
The lights went out, the music went off, and the spotlight revealed the one man trilogy. Standing in a black jumpsuit, Ross began by singing, (if you could call it that), the Star Wars theme while miming the infamous yellow script that scrolls across the screen at the beginning of each film.
“A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away…blah blah blah, etc, etc” and before we could blink Ross was running and tumbling across the stage, shooting at droids, dueling with lightsabers, saving the princess, and spraying the audience with his spit.
While at certain times it was a little unclear as to what exactly was going on onstage, or who Ross was trying to portray, there was not a moment during the sixty minute show that the audience, including myself, was not rolling with laughter. Ross flopped around his arms while portraying Jabba the Hut and zoomed across the stage as he flew the Millennium Falcon, but the laughter turned to hysterics when Ross deviated from the script and added his own comedic genius to the trilogy- warning brothers not to kiss their sisters and fathers not to turn to the Dark Side.Saturday night was the final showing of the One Man Star Wars Trilogy, but Ross will be back next Piccolo Festival with his new act, the OneMan Lord of the Rings.

Watch video clips and learn more about Charles Ross at

www.onemanstarwars.com