Buffalo Theater: Actor Patrick Gallo collaborates with pianist George Caldwell on one-man+ show

By Elmer Ploetz
(Image above: L-R, George Caldwell and Patrick Gallo; all photos by Elmer Ploetz)

When you walk into George Caldwell’s home, the first thing you notice is — no surprise — a piano, sitting against the wall in the quiet North Buffalo house. There’s a poster for the groundbreaking Calumet Club on the wall, an impressive array of other artwork on the walls, as well, and a Royal manual typewriter.

But the question is what is Patrick Gallo doing there? Gallo, the actor who left Buffalo’s West Side for an acting career in New York City years before Caldwell landed in the city after years with the Count Basie Orchestra?

The answer will be on stage at The Caz on June 19 and 20 when Gallo brings a revised version of his one-man (and pianist) show, “How to Be an Artist!” to the stage.

It seems an odd pairing at first. Caldwell, the tall, tasteful, understated jazz piano player from Mississippi by way of Memphis and New York City, and Gallo, who gives the impression of a brash improv guy at first glance — despite a resume that includes some deadly serious acting roles with Robert De Niro and and Al Pacino in Martin Scorsese’s “The Irishman.” Just how is this happening?

The answer is a combination of fate and synchronicity.

Gallo grew up on Lancaster Avenue, between Delaware and Elmwood, in Buffalo. He was a teenaged jazz fanatic, putting in a cassette tape every night in the late 1980s to record the jazz programming on WBFO-FM, back when the public radio radio station had jazz all through the overnight.

He was also a family friend of Mark Goldman, who jumpstarted the Chippewa Stree party district with his redevelopment of the Calumet building in the 1990s. Goldman’s son was Gallo’s best friend, and the Goldmans introduced Gallo to New York City. Goldman is also been the producer for “How to Be an Artist!”

George Caldwell’s wife, Connie (known to many as Zelda on the Off Beat Cinema syndicated TV show) worked at the Calumet at the time and remembered Gallo was a kid.

So when they saw an early rendition of “How to Be an Artist!,” a one-man show featuring Gallo, tracing his journey from Buffalo to New York and 30-plus years in the arts. The show was at the Alleyway Theatre, George and Connie Caldwell went. They were impressed.

“George and Connie came to those performances, and then recently we wanted to do another iteration of the show,” said Gallo. “I was a fan of George’s, and so I wanted to do it with him and figure out a new version of it. That’s how it elbow came about, and Mark Goldman is producing it.”

The monologues will be largely the same as in the previous limited-run presentations of the show, but the music brings a new dimension.

“We’re exploring a different way to present it, and certainly in a different venue,” Gallo said. “It’s usually an intimate theater venue, and this is more of a concert space, so we’re exploring how to present it differently. Each monologue was selected as sort of moments in my life that were pushing me toward the art life and the creative life.”

Gallo said the musical approach is still evolving, and probably will be until showtime.

“The sound design of the original show were sound effects, subtly laid into the show. George and I are now trying to figure out, ‘OK, so how do we create those nuances in the show with the piano, … We’re trying to figure out, like, how do we speak to each other? How do we create a dialogue while telling stories, right? And not sing, so that’s kind of the zone that we’re trying to figure out.”

Caldwell said his general approach is “to kind of establish a general form for whatmusic is called for. And then you can improvise from that. … (We’re) pretty much working from the feel of what the feel of the music is, and have that either juxtaposed or have it in concert with that feeling, to underline that. It’s pretty challenging, but I’ve been doing it off and on for a large portion of my life.”

It’s a rare chance to see two highly successful artists collaborate. Caldwell, who has been teaching at the University at Buffalo since 2014, has a resume that includes performing with major jazz artists such as Dizzy Gillespie, Wynton Marsalis, George Benson, Art Blakey, Ruth Brown, Manhattan Transfer, Diane Schurr, Al Jarreau, Max Roach, Tito Puente and Toots Thielmans. He’s been an anchor of the Buffalo and Western New York jazz scene since landing here.

Gallo, meanwhile, has done almost everything in the film and TV world since graduating from Lafayette High School and going to New York City to study at the American Musical and Dramatic Academy. He has produced, directed, shot and edited productions as well as acting and doing voiceover. He has worked on over 50 episodes of the “Ghost Adventures” series (producing, directing and editing). According to his IMDB page, he was the winning” contestant in an award-winning Holiday Inn Express “Jeopardy” commercial with Alex Trebek.

He played gangster Anthony Giacalone in “The Irishman,” alongside De Niro and and Pacino, and served as author Mario Puzo in “The Offer,” about the creation of “The Godfather.”

Now he splits his time between Buffalo, where he has a house, and wherever his work may take him.

“I try to stay here as much as possible,” he said. “I travel a lot to do gigs all over, and I think I’ve established my career enough to where now I don’t need to be in the Meccas. I can go to the Meccas and come back.”

For Caldwell, one challenge with the show is figuring out what music fits the show.

“Music is built on are things that have evolved over thousands of years,” he said. “Western music, tonal western music, is built on physics, but over time, because of the changes that have gone on and how people approach it, certain sounds move us in a certain way,” he said. “It speaks to us no matter who we are, because it’s a human thing rather than a cultural thing. Culture has a lot to do with it, but like, when I hear ‘Moon River,’ I think it’s one of the most beautiful songs I’ve ever heard, and it’s so, so crazy simple. But it has this thing about it that is so very American.”

So what will it sound like at The Caz? Caldwell said he’ll be trying to match his playing with the tone of the narrative, with what is going on in Gallo’s life during the monologues and trying to capture that. The playing will be complementary with the spoken word and somewhat minimalistic. As the promo materials say, they’re shooting for “an immersive experience where jazz and narrative move as one.”

It’s quite the challenge, but one that Gallo and Caldwell are taking on.

RELATED MEDIA: Promo video.

The show will be running two nights, June 19 and 20, at the Caz (which, the producers note, has plenty of free parking). It’s at 2221 Seneca St. in South Buffalo. You can buy tickets HERE.

Elmer Ploetz is editor-in-chief and executive director of The Buffalo Hive.