Frank South's solo show, Pay Attention (reviewed on preview night), is still very much a work in progress. As developed by Margaret South (Frank's wife) and Mark Travis, the piece now runs an uninterrupted and somewhat grueling two hours. No doubt it can and will be whittled down, but even in its overly long, often-repetitive state it is powerful and moving enough to make it worth seeing.
South goes deep into his own psyche in the course of the show, confronting his many demons in shockingly honest but affecting fashion -- namely Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Hypomania, Alcoholism and Issues With Authority. What helped him cope were his keen intelligence and gifts as a writer.
While working as a waiter in New York, two of his short plays came to the attention of Robert Altman, who not only brought him out to Hollywood but produced the plays there, under the title Two By South, and also filmed them for ABC Arts. That launched South's career as a successful television writer, for such shows as "Cagney & Lacey," "Fame" and "General Hospital." The money poured in, the plaudits piled up, a bigshot like Aaron Spelling took him under his wing ("you're like a son to me"). South seemed to have it all, seemed to be living the American dream. Yet deep inside, hidden from everyone's view but his own, he was undergoing the tortures of the damned, hearing voices, feeling guilt (over the crap he was writing), drinking and doping too much, knowing he was cracking up.
South looks back at his glitzy but self-destructive life in blunt, pungent but often hilarious fashion. He is at his funniest when dealing with the likes of Spelling -- even when the TV mogul makes him the fall guy in a notorious court case.
South's Hollywood rise and fall was precipitous and brutal, really. But thanks to the love of a good woman (his wife) and to his decision to give up Hollywood for Hawaii, where he now works with fellow ADHD sufferers, South has been able to put his life -- and this cautionary show -- together.
