Boxer Mike Tyson is set to premiere a six-night, one-man show to run next month at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. Tyson’s wife Kiki co-wrote and will co-direct “Mike Tyson: Undisputed Truth — Live on Stage,” along with L.A. playwright Randy Johnson. Tyson’s often-troubled life was also captured in the critically well-received 2009 documentary, Tyson. The Los Angeles Times report:
Video and live music will augment the evening. “It’s a theater piece, not a lecture, but a real one-man show,” Johnson said, along the lines of stage monologue evenings such as Carrie Fisher’s “Wishful Drinking” and William Shatner’s “Shatner’s World: We All Just Live In It.”
After the Las Vegas run, Johnson said, “we’ll review what happened, look at the next steps, and move forward. The hopes for this are to tour the world — the fan base is staggering.”
Don’t look for any onstage shadowboxing, the director said. “Mimicking boxing would be very cheesy. We’re keeping this authentic.”
For Culture Monster readers who haven’t brushed up on their pugilism,Tyson became the youngest heavyweight champion at age 20 in 1986, spent the next three years as one of the most feared and devastating forces ever to step in the ring, then was knocked out in early 1990 by Buster Douglas, a 40-1 underdog. Next came a 1991-92 arrest and conviction for rape, followed by three years in prison.
Tyson’s post-release comeback attempt turned into a pathetic joke in 1997 when, losing a bout to Evander Holyfield, he bit off a chunk of his foe’s ear.
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