“The Rub”

[NoHo Arts District, CA] – A NoHo Arts theatre review of Anzu Lawson’s “The Rub” written and performed by Anzu Lawson and directed and developed with Jessica Lynn Johnson at Whitefire Theatre’s Solofest. 

I first saw Anzu Lawson when she performed her incredible show “Dear Yoko” at the Whitefire Solofest in 2019. I loved it! She magically channeled Yoko and the show was a fascinating window to another world. A truly beautiful portrait of a much-misunderstood person with intriguing parallels to Anzu and her own life. 

Anzu has been ready to perform her new solo show “The Rub” for quite a while now, waiting, like the rest of us, for the ‘all clear’ from the universe. So now, finally, “The Rub” has its brilliant debut! And it was an absolutely packed house full of her friends and her fans and the insanely curious, all eager to see what all the fuss was about!

“The Rub” is a very different show from “Dear Yoko.” Anzu has been a professional working actress and singer for most of her life. But like all of us,  she has had her highs and lows in her career and, to make a living during the in-between times, she became a massage therapist. A great job for someone who has to be ready for an audition or to be on set at a moment’s notice, but still needs to pay rent and eat occasionally.  But as an Asian American, becoming a massage therapist couldn’t  be less ironic, or, at least as far as her mother is concerned, less embarrassing. But America is not Japan…

Anzu felt a bit of a failure, as those actors around her, who she trained with and befriended began to rise in their careers. There are far far fewer roles for Asian Americans in film and TV, and if she was cast it was often as a hooker or even a masseur.  Hollywood is famously unbalance in casting. Only recently have they been forced thankfully to reflect the world around us and to cast actors in a broad variety of colors and ethnicities. 

“The Rub” is a play about Anzu’s life.  Her childhood, her mother, her early career as a famous teenage singer in Japan. Her unique insight into the lives and psyche of the Hollywood elite she found her way to through her unmatched talents as a massage therapist and her music, writing and acting. 

She playfully dangles the possible identities of these characters, using not-so-subtle nicknames and incarnations. But she’s not here to mock them, not at all. Rather she is grateful that they support her, encourage her and pay her!

Anzu is wickedly funny. But she’s also a warrior woman. Fiercely independent, wildly creative and full of the kind of wisdom that only comes with a life such as hers. 

In this hilarious and often moving show, Anzu shows us who she truly is.  Her strength and her vulnerabilities. Her humor and her sadness, her vulnerabilities and her huge successes.  She also shows off her formidable skills as a stand-up comic, which are pretty impressive! No wonder she appears all over the city as a regular at comedy clubs. 

She’s a born storyteller and this story of her life, the first of many I hope, is as bold and funny and beautiful as she is.

There’s something about Anzu Lawson that belies words. But I’ll try…She is incandescent and electrifying and fearless and why is this woman not a super star???

Please let this show be at the Hollywood Fringe this year so we might have another chance to see Anzu being totally Anzu…

Meanwhile you can find out more about Azu, her music, comedy and the show on her website: https://www.anzulawson.com/