Critic’s Pick: Rinde Eckert Eclectic

Rinde Eckert -- singer, composer, writer, actor, director – is not the voice of reason. We need a name for the kind of character he creates. Call them Rindes. They’re losers for sure. A little odd. Not bad guys at all but a little out of whack.

They sing strange songs in a strange high tenor. The Rinde has emotions we might recognize but not want to acknowledge. He can’t help himself, though, and his voice rings out with clarion discomfort -- beautiful, lovable and deeply disturbing.

In his brilliant “And God Created Great Whales,” which reached REDCAT two years ago, Eckert played a composer in a race against Alzheimer’s to complete a “Moby Dick” opera. Constantly forgetting what he is writing, the composer is in a state of continual invention.

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Eckert’s latest project, a work in progress, is a one-man show with the autobiographical sounding title of “Becoming Unusual...The Education of an Eclectic.” It is a work in progress of songs, dramatic monologues, lecture and video from, as Eckert describes it, his “anthology of theatrical loners.” The Segerstrom Center in Costa Mesa has made it a highlight of its “Off Center” Festival with performances in the Samueli Theater Friday and Saturday.

A month later, on Mar. 1 and 2, UCLA will import another Eckert production, “Schick Machine,” which had its premiere at Stanford University in 2009.

In this show written by and directed by Eckert, the spectacular percussionist, Steven Schick (who was just announced as the music director of the 2015 Ojai Festival), makes music from the world around him, be it bicycle wheel or teapot. Buddhists say you can find the soul of an object by hitting it and releasing it sound. “Schick Machine” is an essay in soul searching that must be heard to be believed.

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‘And God Created Great Whales’ at REDCAT