Stevie's show's on... Stevie shows off

Stevie Jay may be Charlottesville's most loveable, pot-stirring show-off. As I walked with him on the Downtown Mall last week, we couldn't go more than a few feet before someone stopped him for a hug or a kiss or a peek at his ripped abs. He always obliged, spinning out a quick-witted "Stevie Jay-ism," offering an embrace or a peck on the cheek, and lifting his shirt for inspection.
He's known all over town for his souped-up cleverness, his heart-driven honesty, and for his mischievous grin. If you haven't yet experienced the phenomenon that is Stevie Jay, you have your chance this weekend. He brings back his enormously popular one-man performance piece, Life, Love, Sex, Death, and Other Works in Progress, for a short run at The New Dance Space.
Stevie Jay is, simply put, an exquisite storyteller— simultaneously hilarious and provocative. That's clearly part of his signature charm: the ability to make us laugh and ponder in the same moment. And that's clearly part of the reason people return to see this performance again and again.
The show is a collage of life experiences, including episodes from his days as head massage therapist at Keswick Hall, spiritual encounters at the gym, and his perceptive takes on sex and relationships. To this mix of story-worthy material, he adds, among other things, a crash course on chakras, piercing ruminations about love, death, and the grief process, and— yes, it's true— dance moves that would make an oak tree blush. It's a winding trip through dense and sexy terrain, but Stevie Jay leads the way like a shirtless shaman. He compels his audience to follow along, and they do, laughing all the way.
"This is not just a show. It is more like a relationship," says Kate Copstick, in her review of the play for The Scotsman, when it ran for a month in London last spring. "You simply feel as if you have a new best friend who is the funniest, warmest, nicest, and most fascinating man you have ever met." I agree.
So, go, meet this man, see his play. You'll know why people can't get enough of his comic wisdom. You'll want to go again; I'd bet on it.

Life, Love, Sex, Death, and Other Works in Progress plays Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights at The New Dance Space above Hamiltons’ on the Downtown Mall. March 21- 23, 28-30, and April 4-6. 8pm. Thursdays: "Pay-as-your-heart-dictates." Friday-Saturday: $10. 980-4315 or www.steviejay3.com