On January 7, 2025 devastating wildfires spread quickly through the Pacific Palisades, Topanga and Malibu. They resulted in the deaths of 12 people, destroyed 6,837 structures and covered 37 square miles. Here in New York, we watched the news and gasped at the carnage. But the destruction didn't have a face.

Until Billy Crystal 860.

860 Chautauqua Blvd. was the house that Billy Crystal, actor, comedian, performer, shared with his wife Janice for many years, and it was completely destroyed in the fire. His one-man play at the Imperial Theatre is his story of the loss and destruction of his home and, even more significantly, the loss of several important people in his life.

As in his last show, the Tony Award-winning 700 Sundays, Crystal traces his career and spends several sequences of the 90-minute show highlighting special friends in his career. Although much of what he says is familiar, Crystal is a charming storyteller, and the audience is captivated by him.

Before the comedian moved to California, he spent time learning his craft. During the day, he worked as a substitute teacher in Long Beach, Long Island public schools, and then would dash into New York City to perform at “Catch A Rising Star.” He regales the audience about his first experience performing before a large audience as the opening act for David Clayton Thomas of Blood, Sweat and Tears. He recounts the fear (and getting stoned) as he waited for his number to be called for the Viet Nam draft.

Veteran director Scott Ellis, (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Modern Family) sets the play in a faithful reproduction of Crystal’s “me-cave” designed by Scott Pask. It is filled with photos and memorabilia of the famous people he’s met and the awards he received over the years. On a talk show recently, Crystal praised Pask for his accuracy in replicating the destroyed office.

Over his years in show business, Crystal met and worked with many notables, including politicians and sports figures. He namedrops a few including Henry Kissinger and Howard Cosell. But he spends much stage time on those who were most important to him. Crystal shares his stories and memories of close friends, all of whom have passed away.

Crystal had a close relationship with Muhammed Ali who referred to him as my ‘little brother' and his recollections give him a chance to do his impressions of both Ali and Cosell and to show video clips. Several of the people he discusses were his heroes, like Mickey Mantle, who later became his friends. He speaks fondly of Robin Williams and his brand of improvisational humor. "If Whoopi or I said something that registered in his amazing brain, I’d see a spark in his eye, and I knew to hold on for the ride.” He mentions Norman Lear who introduced him to Rob Reiner. He and Reiner made several movies together but also became best friends. He shows episodes from When Harry Met Sally, giving the backstories.

The comic has an incredible talent for inserting humor into somber moments. He tells a serious story ,quieting the audience and then assumes a playful grin to deliver the punchline and lighten the mood. Crystal is unusual in that he’s a celebrity who has been married to the same woman for 56 years. He talks lovingly of his wife, one of the show’s producers. A doting family man, he shows pictures of his daughters and grandchildren.

He is likeable and the audience, many who paid 'big money' for their seats, obviously loves him, responding to his humorous anecdotes with hearty laughter and his sad stories with gasps and sniffles. He is like the boy next door, funny, warm and extremely personable. Even when he delivers a zinger (and he does make a few political remarks) he smiles impishly so, even if you don’t share his views, you can't be angry.

The audience adores him and he seems to feel the same way. He is happiest making people laugh. The video images created and developed by Hana S. Kim and video designer Kyler Loera bring us into the frightening blaze, and the images of the house before the blaze and after its complete destruction are heartbreaking. Crystal reminds us that, despite what he has lost, he still has so much. There may be no house, but there is still love and laughter.

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