Actors Vying To Be Bruce Stay Within the Lines

By BRUCE WEBER
Published: July 24, 1992

The stream of consciousness was oddly familiar. So was the wicked irreverence. And even the performer, restlessly stalking the stage, a compact dark young man with a shadowy beard, stirred the memory.

"What could you do to build a girl singer?" he asked. "The chick that comes out that makes them all go, 'Look at that! Gown they've done, hairstyle they've done, voice they've done. What could you do?"

The words were those of the Titan philosopher-comic Lenny Bruce, [more ...]

Photo: "I used to do all of Lenny's routines when I was a kid," said Dave Mazzeo, one of 15 men auditioning on Wednesday at the Top of the Gate for the chance to be Lenny Bruce. (Arlene Gottfried for The New York Times); A poster for Lenny Bruce's midnight show at Carnegie Hall in 1961, a highlight of his career.

In the print version Dave Mazzeo is in the lower right photo; an unidentified actor is in the lower left photo. Above those two photos is a photo of Lenny Bruce. The photos' complete caption is: 'On a wintry night in 1961, the legendary comedian Lenny Bruce gave a performance at Carnegie Hall many considered to be his greatest. An effort to recreate part of that night is bringing would-be comics to audition at the Top of the Gate in Greenwich Village. One participant, Dave Mazzeo, lower right, said, "I used to do all of Lenny's routines when I was a kid." There were a total of 15 aspiring Lennys.'