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Buckley’s Life Stories Give Her Extraordinary Edge

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Far too often, solo performers assume that, through some alchemical theatrical process, their ramblings about their very ordinary experiences will be magically transmuted into high drama. Conversely, there’s hearing-impaired comedian Kathy Buckley, who probably hasn’t experienced a mundane moment in her genuinely extraordinary lifetime. Buckley’s one-woman show “Don’t Buck With Me!” at the Tamarind charts her progression from soundless isolation to a successful comedy career.

Six feet tall and strikingly slim, Buckley has a speech impediment that sounds remarkably like a New York accent--a fitting cadence for her frequently edgy humor. Buckley was raised in Ohio, but her stories about her childhood--including a sexually abusive father, mocking schoolfellows and unenlightened teachers who mislabel her “retarded”--seem straight out of Dickens’ London. Adulthood isn’t much better. Bedeviled by bad luck, Buckley was run over by a jeep on the beach and spent five years recuperating--only to learn she had cervical cancer.

With the help of director Sue Wolf, Buckley offsets hints of sentimentality with polished acerbity. Yet Buckley’s uncharacteristically self-important chatter about her career bespeaks a vestigial insecurity. Buckley should rest assured that her poignant, funny play needs no further comic credentials.

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* “Don’t Buck With Me!,” Tamarind Theatre, 5919 Franklin Ave., Hollywood. Mondays-Wednesdays, 8 p.m. Ends April 2. $12.50. (213) 466-1767. Running time: 1 hour, 20 minutes.

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