Dean Butler in “It’s All About Me”

It’s Mother’s Day, my wife’s first. I’m on the floor of our nursery, my daughter asleep beside me on her playmat, the TV showing a soccer match. (Women’s Professional Soccer; never too early to make an impression on Heloise!)

This post is for the family and other interested parties: it’s a short review of my cousin Dean Butler’s performance last night in his one-man show, “It’s All About Me” at Sterling’s Upstairs at Vitello’s in Studio City. Dean, my dear first cousin and fellow Bay Area transplant to Los Angeles, is widely known for his television roles as Almanzo Wilder on “Little House on the Prairie”, Moondoggie on the “New Gidget”, and — to a younger audience — his brief appearances as Hank Summers in “Buffy the Vampire Slayer.” What’s less well known is that Dean’s background in musical theater goes back to high school, when he was perhaps the youngest and WASPiest Tevye ever to bring down the house in a production of “Fiddler on the Roof.” He’s also had several stints on and off Broadway in a wide variety of theatrical and musical productions.

Dean is now principal in Legacy Documentaries, and most of his work these days is behind the camera. But his love for musical theater and the stage is still in his blood, and that passion led him to last night’s terrific show. Working with a piano and an upright bass for musical accompaniment, Dean offered just over an hour of music and light comedy, tracing his own career with charm and self-deprecating humor. From “If I Were a Rich Man” from the aforementioned Fiddler, to a medley from “West Side Story” (he played Tony in the Japanese touring production) to country standards from Collin Raye and Kenny Rogers, Dean charmed — and at times, moved — the audience of just about a hundred happy and enchanted diners. Two highlights stood out: a duet with former Gidget star Caryn Richman on “Summer Nights” (from Grease) and a powerful, stirring number from the new Little House: the Musical.

Dean offered a number of comical, perfectly timed anecdotes about his years in the “business”, many of which had the audience in stitches of laughter. Some were familiar to his loved ones; others were new and surprising. Entertainment is a capricious business, and without the ability to laugh at the setbacks and the rejections which are part and parcel of the life that he and so many others lead in this town, it’s hard to delight in the rare but glorious triumphs that come along. Dean has had his triumphs and his setbacks, and along the way he’s accumulated many wonderful stories — and far more importantly, many wonderful friends — who have sustained, encouraged, and inspired him. Last night at Vitello’s the crowd was thick with many people who have known and adored Dean, and filled with people who don’t — yet — know him well. And you didn’t need to know him or his story to delight in his perfectly-paced, masterfully produced, and immensely enjoyable show.

For my wife and I, it was our first date night “out without the baby”, who waited at home with my mother-in-law. What a perfect evening for this new milestone in our life as parents. I’m very proud of my cousin, and eager to see what the next chapter in his long and unfolding career will hold.