Steve Budd Reflects on Family Life Unrealized

by Robert M. Gardner

“Seeing Stars” is 60 minutes of interstellar and introspective exploration under the sure hand of master storyteller Steve Budd. Besides being multi-talented as writer, actor, and director, Budd is an experienced teacher. In “Seeing Stars,” Budd is vibrant and excited to take us on a trip through his childhood. He eagerly shares what he has learned.

A dynamic, energetic actor, Budd commands our attention. Budd is talking about his own life and we empathize as he recounts memories of a painful childhood. By joining him 30 years back in time, we are also able to revisit our own pasts. We can learn to see those early experiences through Budd’s comic lens.

With three chairs and a video screen above, Budd uses spotlights and movement to create dialogues and shifts in time. The screen displays stars, reminiscent of his days teaching astronomy at Boston schools. He delights in pointing out the constellations and the Greek and Roman gods for whom they are named. Stars have formed a big part of his life.

As he relates his childhood, he wittily imitates typical conversations around the dinner table with his father and mother. After the show, a friend who knew Budd’s mom told me that he got her voice and mannerisms perfectly.

Unfortunately, Budd’s Dad was distant and so depressed that he offered no lifeline to his confused son. His remote father could not connect with his children, seeming almost to resent them. Budd recalls his father reading the paper and eating silently—never really talking to them, He evokes a sad reality that in Budd’s hands becomes comic gold.

Budd bravely reflects on the lack of connection in his family—that caused him so much pain. It’s almost like a group therapy session, with a trustworthy, lighthearted guide.

After Budd moves back home from Israel at age 31, at first his father is the same man he remembered—critical and bitter. But then his father makes a radical change and suddenly becomes friendly and outspoken. In a startling turnaround for the man who would not play catch with him as a child, he even takes his son to see Ibsen’s “Ghosts.”

Here’s the father he always wanted but the new dynamic does not last. There are medical issues and a newfound uncertainty that overtakes his Dad. His mind declines rapidly, a stark warning about our own vulnerability to mental disorder.

Budd’s search for the perfect father-son relationship quickly collapses with the onset of serious dementia, which he handles with sensitivity and caring, yet with a sense of fatalism. To realize his dream so briefly and then to have it fade is moving.  Steve missed the reality while searching for the impossible. He provokes thoughts about what is important in life.

“Seeing Stars” succeeds as a thoroughly enjoyable play and a resounding triumph for a remarkable storyteller and actor. Budd provides a thoughtful, inspiring look at his life and I highly recommend taking the time to see a superior show.

“Seeing Stars” –written & performed by Steve Budd, directed by Mark Kenward, at The Marsh, Berkeley. Info: themarsh.org – to July 13, 2024.

Cast: Steve Budd

Banner photo: Steve Budd as his father. Photos: Cheshire Isaacs