Iron Mike Tyson.
Let me tell you a little something about me. There are only a handful of celebrities still alive that I’d like to meet, see in a show, or even bother to keep up with. The former boxing heavyweight champion of the world, Mike Tyson is one of those people. Another happens to be Eminem, who I saw in a concert at Yankee Stadium last year. Madonna and Paulo Coelho are still on the list. Last night I checked off Mike Tyson. In any event, as I shared with friends yesterday that I had purchased a ticket to see Mike Tyson on Broadway, I encountered a variety of reactions. Most were negative.
You attack Chris Brown, but you support this guy who not only beat up women, but was also convicted for rape?
That lunatic is not worth more than $100 for even the VIP/hangout option!
He’s a convicted felon, a thug, you are stupid for handing over your hard earned money.
Wow, you’d think I slapped these people in the face based on the reactions I was receiving. This is Iron Mike Tyson we are talking about. Why all the strong opinions? I have been a Mike Tyson fan since I was a young kid. Yes, his behavior has been controversial, and yes Tyson faced some really hard times, but he’s still a man that accomplished amazing feats in a short period of time. He’s still the champ.
I had started to write up a defense for my support of Tyson, but I deleted it and realized it was irrelevant. What’s done is done. Whether he was guilty or not, he served his sentence, and to some he will always be defined by those events. Research things and make your own conclusion. We won’t take on that debate in this review.
The show was a star-studded event. Say what you will about him, Tyson has plenty of supporters in the entertainment community. I was sitting about 3 rows away from 50 Cent, maybe 10 or so rows away from Puff Daddy, and I was standing next to Spike Lee for about 2 minutes. None of these people gave off the energy that they wanted to talk or be friendly, so I left them alone.
50 was walking in with one eyebrow raised, body language saying he had no interest in being approached. He ignored shouts from some tourists screaming his name. New Yorkers don’t usually get star struck. I just looked at 50 and saw a regular guy from Queens that I could be riding the train with or having a conversation with, just a regular person. The difference is that someone with resources and influence decided to give 50 a chance to succeed. He’s a talented rapper and someone gave him an opportunity, and he took it and ran with it. 50 is a frequent player on my iPhone.
Spike Lee, I noticed he appreciates respect. People kept calling out to him, and he ignored them all. He stood next to me, I looked him in the eyes and nodded. He didn’t nod back, he just stood there and looked back at me, until he didn’t. One young girl said “Good evening Mr. Lee,” and he smiled at her and nodded. So if you plan on approaching Spike Lee, start by addressing him as Mr. Lee. He seems to appreciate that.
Puff didn’t talk to anyone, we briefly made eye contact, but he just ignored all the cameras and people while he went to his seat. Apparently there were a bunch of other celebrities there too, but I don’t really know too many celebrities. As I mentioned before, there are only a handful of celebs that I keep up with. Yet as a talk site, these stars encountered last night have to be mentioned.
Personally, as a poet and a wannabe rapper, being around these guys was impressive to me. I can’t pretend otherwise. A part of me recognized that any of these guys could change my life by giving me a chance, believe me, I know this. But let me ask you, how many people do you think have approached them with the “check out my demo”? No, that’s not me.
That was the atmosphere at the show. The show itself, from my perspective, was great. Mike opens the show with “I know you are all thinking what the heck is this crazy guy going to do in a Broadway show, am I right?” Yes, you are right champ. However, the show was exactly what I expected, Mike Tyson talking about all the events we know about, and a long discussion of his overall story.
Initially I thought to myself, Tyson must be looking for new ventures to do something like this. But as a lifelong fan, I’ll pay the elevated price to sit in an auditorium and watch Mike Tyson talk. I tried to get tickets to the “meet and greet” with the champ, but those were sold out.
This show will run on Broadway for 12 days only. It starts with the champ sitting on a chair while some big band song plays, and continues with an animated Tyson walking around the stage, telling his story, dripping sweat, and ends with a sweat-soaked Mike Tyson thanking everyone for coming out to the show.
Since I last saw the champ, Tyson looks great. He’s lost 150 pounds and is now a practicing vegan. He doesn’t have a gut hanging out from his shirt, and looks quite fit and healthy. Good on you champ!
Mike spoke about his very beginnings, from Spofford, Brownsville, street life, but he also spoke dearly and emotionally about his mother, his mentor, and his family. He definitely addressed Robin Givens and shared his thoughts on that period of his life. Throughout the show there is a big screen behind Mike that he uses to reference pictures and video about the topics he’s discussing. He really did touch on everything, and when he spoke about going to prison and his charge he acknowledged 50 Cent with a light jab, noting that 50 understood what that experience was like. He then opened it up to the crowd, noting that he wasn’t alone in that experience.
I will note that Mike Tyson stated “I should have gone to jail for many things, I’ve been in detention centers since I was a kid, and I did a lot of bad things, but I DID NOT RAPE DESIREE WASHINGTON!”
For the most part, it’s Mike telling his story casually, though some parts are obviously scripted, and you can tell when he’s on those parts because he loses his natural flow and meter while speaking. Throughout the show Tyson pokes plenty of fun at himself and his circumstances. At one point a picture of him biting Holyfield comes on the screen and Tyson says “I really did that, didn’t I?” The room roars with laughter.
Tyson is a great storyteller, and he has one of the greatest stories to tell. He’s also a funny man, there were several points during the show where the audience just burst out laughing as he shared tales with us. One of the most hilarious stories was when he was talking about Mitch Green and the many encounters he had with him. He spoke about Mitch riding a bike, and that story was genuinely hilarious. He also described Mitch as relentless, noting that no matter how hard he hit him, he kept coming back. The story touched on the impact of serious substance abuse and the unpredictable behavior it can produce. I’m smiling to myself at the memory of it, it was absolutely hilarious.
As of this writing the show has about 9 days left on Broadway. I bought my tickets the night before, as soon as I found out it was open. There were only a few good seats left. If you are a fan of Mike Tyson, you have to see this show. Unfortunately all the “meet and greet” tickets were gone, but hey, you can try anyway.
Enjoy the show, I know I did!
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