Theater: “Eddie and Dave”’at Atlantic Theater Company
Did you know Eddie and Alex Van Halen were born in Holland and trained as classical pianists? No? Or how about that big fight Eddie had with David Lee Roth at the 1996 MTV awards?
If these questions keep you up at night, might as well jump over to Atlantic and see “Eddie and Dave,” a surprisingly hilarious, very entertaining look at the stadium-band Van Halen. From its heyday in the 1970s to their reunion in 2014.
The twist here is that all the hyper-macho band members are played by women: Amy Staats nicely underplays Eddie (she’s also the playwright) and the fabulous Megan Hill (who gives Roth the idiotic flash he’s famous for). Even more gender-bendingly, Eddie’s wife, Valerie Bertinelli (yes, her) is played by a man (the very hairy-legged Omar Abbas Salem).
Sheer nonsense, although making the point that fame is short (and hair is long). Run with the Devil and go.(Friday)