Ocean City Tourism, "Vacation Day"

This one has been playing for a couple of months now.  It was directed by Matt Pittroff, whose work I really admire.  I've done a couple of shoots with him before -- his work is always high quality, smart, with a great dry humor to it.

 I'm with Julie Garner in the shot.  She is one of the funniest people I know, and I'd work with her again in a heartbeat.

Vin Vasive #3

Here's another video from the Vin Vasive series I did for the USDA.  My outfit consisted of shoes, pants, shirt, jacket, a neck cover with (plastic) bugs on it, gloves with bugs on them, a balaclava with a bug mouth that I could move, and a sort of helmet that covered my head above the mouth.  With the helmet on, I couldn't see and sound was muffled, though I could hear okay as long as I focused.

The helmet also had tubes running in from the back so that the designer could make the 'eyebrows,' feelers, and 'nose' move using pumped air.  But whenever he would make them move, all I could hear was pssshhhh pshhh pssshhhhh.

There were a couple of times when the director would give me instructions while the designer was testing the moving parts.  So I couldn't hear a word the director was saying or see what he was indicating, but I could tell he was telling me something important.  I would have to wait for the psshhhing sounds to stop, so that I could say to the director, "Sorry, could you repeat that for me?"

Fantastick!

 

I played Mortimer in The Fantasticks at Rep Stage, which ran from April 30th thru May 18th. Reviews treated me very favorably, and as you'll see in the quotes I'm well paired with Nigel Reed. He and I have worked together a couple of times before.

"The show’s real delight is whenever Nigel Reed appears as the incorrigible ham actor Henry and Peter Boyer accompanies him as his dimwitted assistant Mortimer, who can’t act much but sure knows how to die. There is no over-the-top for these roles, but the two veteran actors squeeze every drop of foolishness conceivable from these characters, and achieve the ultimate in comic acting: the audience begins to laugh as soon as they appear on stage." - DC Theatre Scene

"Nigel Reed as Henry and Peter Boyer as Mortimer are perfectly cast."- MD Theatre Guide

"The show is all but stolen by the two kings of comedy, as Henry (Nigel Reed) and Mortimer (Peter Boyer) take to the stage. Climbing out of the prop box as if they were little more than decorative additions to the show, Reed and Boyer share a chemistry, playing exceptionally well off one another. From the moment Reed takes the stage by struggling to climb out of the box, the laughs are rolling. His Shakespearean recitations are a scream and are topped only by the hysterically exaggerated death scenes performed by Boyer .... Rep Stage’s production is indeed ‘fantastic’!" - DC Metro Theatre Art

"This musical's two plum assignments -- droll characters who pop out to help with El Gallo's schemes -- have been particularly well-filled. Peter Boyer has the right deadpan for The Man Who Dies. And Nigel Reed walks off with the show every time he clambers into view, and every time he makes one of his finely flourished exits. A masterful job." - Baltimore Sun

The entire cast was quite good, and a pleasure to work with.  Here's a 'fantastick' promotional video Rep Stage put together:

Vin Vasive #2

Another video from the Vin Vasive series for the USDA.

When I was in the outfit, I couldn't see anything at all except a little bit of light coming through the 'eyes.'  One time the director said to me, "You're not looking at the camera, I need you to look at the camera!"  I replied, "Sure.  Where is it?"  The costume designer, who understood how completely blind I was, shouted out, "Two o'clock!"  I turned a little bit to my right, and we were good to go.

Vin Vasive #1

Here's a video from a series I shot a few months ago for the US Dept. of Agriculture.  The character is called Vin Vasive.  Not my voice, but I am the man behind the mask.  It was one of the most unusual shoots I've ever been involved on.

The 7 Reviews of Christmas

Washington Post - "It is a mighty jolly confection!"  "The show is stubbornly amusing!"

Broadway World - "A highly entertaining show!"

Maryland Theatre Guide - "A must see for the Broadway musical lover!"  "Peter Boyer is a boyish and funny John Cleese-type!"

DC Metro Theatre Arts - "Each actor has an amazing voice and personality to match, especially Peter Boyer [with a] beautiful tenor!"  "A joyous and wonderfully wrapped holiday treat!"

DC Theatre Scene - "The action comes to life thanks to three charismatic and gifted actors--Peter Boyer as Scrooge, Russell Sunday as The Man Who Isn't Scrooge and Tracey Stephens as The Woman Who Isn't Scrooge."  "A hilarious theatrical experience that's not to be missed!"

Alexandria News - "Frothy fun!"

Rich Massabny Reviews - "One show you should not miss!"

Broadway Christmas Carol.  Performing at Metro Stage thru Dec. 22.

Chili ... in da face ...

Here's a little web commercial I did.  It's fun.  And funny.  You can throw food at me.  And at a few other good folks.  My wife threw food at me repeatedly.

http://www.geappliances.com/social-food-fight/

1776 Cast Sings Anthem at Nats Park

1776 at Ford's Theatre just closed on Saturday, May 19th.  Here's a video of me and several other members of the cast singing the national anthem at Washington Nationals Ballpark.  Give it a look.  We sound goooood. --

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GGvMH2cpDvc

Images from Groucho

Groucho: A Live in Revue closed on Saturday, March 23. It was a pleasure to be there.

photos via John Westervelt

Groucho

photo via John Westervelt

It's been a wild ride over the last month-and-a-half. In the last two weeks of Beyond Therapy at Bay Theatre in Annapolis, MD, I also rehearsed Groucho at Wayside Theatre in Middletown, VA, over a hundred miles away. Beyond Therapy closed on March 20th, and Groucho opened on the 27th, only a week later.

Groucho really got positive reviews in the Northern Virginia Daily, and particularly in the Winchester Star:
     "Peter Boyer is the perfect Groucho Marx." -- FC Lowe

And then another from the Warren County Report (p. 8):
     "Peter Boyer . . . IS Groucho." -- Malcolm Barr

And then there was an interview on "Talk of the Town with Barry Lee" on Winchester's ABC station. A very fun interview, with host Barry Lee, director Warner Crocker, and me in character as Groucho. The interview is the first 7 minutes of the program, and I hope you'll give it a look, HERE.

And I've received so many compliments from folks involved with the show and folks who've seen the show that I'm quite simply stunned by it all. And I have the great fortune to be working with a bunch of generous and talented folks.

We close on Saturday, April 23rd, and if I hope you'll see it if you have the chance. For more info and tix, go to Wayside Theatre's website. And if you'd like to see some of John Westervelt's excellent pictures from the show, go HERE.

photo via John Westervelt