Jeff Greenwald's "Strange Travel Suggestions"

In a world where TV, film, and the Internet give us access to anywhere in the world, it’s nice to get out of the house once in a while and explore something in real life. You don’t always need to get on a plane to travel the world. Sometimes, you just need to get in a car and travel to a little known venue in West Los Angeles, located beneath a piano store, called Steinway Recital Hall.

Tonight, Parlor Performances at Steinway Hall hosted award-winning international travel writer Jeff Greenwald, whose books include Shopping for Buddhas, The Size of the World and Scratching the Surface: Impressions of Planet Earth from Hollywood to Shiraz. Greenwald’s show, “Strange Travel Suggestions” is pretty much that. He has his audience members spin the “Wheel of Fortune.” Where it lands determines which story he will tell.

In the course of the evening, Greenwald had an unfortunate food mishap in Nepal (Meals of Misfortune), which lead to his becoming a travel writer—he figured such stories should have a purpose, an audience. He also discussed Star Trek with the Dalai Lama (Bird Bath of Memory)—yes, that Dalai Lama—and traveled the Atlantic in a cargo ship (Dark Waters). He capped off the evening with Left Luggage (Full of Complaints), where in Calcutta they have a truly inconvenient (understatement!) system for storing luggage.

It’s not just the subjects of the stories that are engaging, it’s Greenwald’s way of telling them. He has a command of the language—the English and I can only guess how many other languages—that few can claim. Greenwald is witty and intelligent, and his tales unfold in an easy and effortless manner.

Sometimes the best travel stories are the ones from someone else’s experience.

Live performances seem like a dime a dozen in Los Angeles—musicians, performance art, open mike. Quality presentations, like the one I saw tonight, not so much.

For more information on Jeff Greenwald, go to http://www.jeffgreenwald.com/.

For those who live in the area, Greenwald will be performing tomorrow night as a part of Parlor Palooza Mega Showcases, which will benefit disaster relief charities. For more information on this and other Parlor Palooza events, go to http://www.frankentertainment.com/.

Steinway Recital Hall at Fields Pianos is located at 12121 W. Pico Bl. (one door W. of Bundy under Fields Pianos, level P2).

(Pictured: Jeff Greenwald, Jeannine Frank of Frank Entertainment, and Jeff's Wheel of Fortune.)