Biographical sketch of Las Vegas Mayor Goodman serves-up humor at Theater7

Inside the confines of a non-descript space about the size of a small apartment but immediately adjacent to the large boulevard that bears the name “Las Vegas,” is where a handful of actors from Theatre7 consummate – in “Oscar: A Good Man” – a humorous sketch of the man whose popularity among locals as mayor rivals even some prominent Strip entertainers.

Oscar Goodman’s 12-year tenure as mayor of Las Vegas has provided ample material for the show’s scriptwriters as nary a city head has exhibited quite the Liberachesque flamboyance, joie de vivre or standard bearing staunchness in defense of this desert community. Indeed: time was when the Goodman defense was limited just to the courtroom as legal representation for some bad guys from Chicago.

And when a little Oscar Goodfella, the production’s principal character, is given the parental advice to “Fight with your words, not with your hands,” during a well-executed scene that incorporates live acting with professionally shot and edited video highlighting Goodman’s early childhood in Philadelphia, we understand how the school of hard knocks may have helped shape an interest in scholarship or even governance. An older and more mature Goodfella, played by Derek Stonebarger, the show’s producer, co-writer and lead actor, has clearly left the fisticuffs behind in favor of more intellectual repartees.

Wife Carolyn Goodfella, played by Paige Billiot, exerts a heavy influence on the attorney-in-making and somewhat bumbling Goodfella as a “life and career coach” and provides sufficient reason to believe that behind every good man there is a Carolinian woman.

It is unsure whether “Oscar: A Good Man” could play outside of Clark County, where the real Goodman’s antics and influence are known but whose rock star following – clearly on display during any of his regular outings along Fremont Street in downtown Las Vegas – is less storied.

Yet in the waning days of the Goodman administration and given Carolyn Goodman’s polling leads as mayoral successor of Las Vegas, this enjoyable comedy within the municipal boundaries of Las Vegas certainly provides a delightful, tongue-in-cheek tribute and remembrance of a notable local politician.

By Jay Barber, Catalina Media Group