Jumpin’ jack flash’s bastard child

By Tara DiBenedetto

Do you suffer from the knowledge that you are one of Mick Jagger’s illegitimate children? Are you having trouble dealing with it? Don’t worry, there’s help available at One Yellow Rabbit’s High Performance Rodeo.

Co-produced by Crescent Moon Productions and OYR, Jumpin’ Jack is a solo production courtesy of Lyle Victor Albert. Albert plays Jack, a man who must face up to the fact that he is the bastard child of a rock star.

His previous efforts, Scraping the Surface and Objects in Mirror are Stranger than they Appear-both award-winning one-man shows-explored his life with cerebral palsy. Jumpin’ Jack, however, is completely fiction.

"I’ve been putting on one-man shows for a number of years," says Albert. "My previous shows were based on my experiences of growing up with a ‘disability.’ I wanted to do something completely different that wasn’t about me so I came up with this idea of being Mick Jagger’s illegitimate child." Besides celebrity, Albert borrowed from other parts of Jagger’s life.

"Mick Jagger is known to have fathered a number of illegitimate children," he says. "I’m also a big fan of the Rolling Stones so I thought this would be fun-I get to use the music I love."

The music choices for the show range from some of the Stones’ greatest hits to more obscure tracks, and provide the background for the show’s story.

"I really enjoyed writing it," explains Albert. "I just had this idea that I was Mick Jagger’s kid and then where did I go from there?"

Jack, whose mother left him at a very young age, organizes a meeting of all of Jagger’s children. Through this meeting, the audience discovers his past.

"He’s the head bastard-or at least that’s his attitude," Albert says. "If I can make a comparison, it’s something like The Odyssey-Jack’s series of adventures on his quest to find his mother."

Despite the serious undertones, this play isn’t a drama.

"It’s funny!" exclaims Albert. "It has serious bits, but it’s a good mix of comedy and intensive moments. My sense of humour is pretty off the wall, slightly off-center. People can take away what they want from it, but I think that we’re all going to have a really good time."