Billy Crystal’s new one-man show, 860, is a love story. The 78 year old comedian has a lot of love in his life: his wife Janice to whom he’s been married for 56 years, his two daughters, Jenny and Lindsay, and his grandsons. But beside the family, his other great love was his house in Pacific Palisades which perished in the devastating fires back in January 2025. He took the loss very hard because, as he said, everything in it marking all the cherished remembrances over his 47 years in the house was gone. As heartbreaking as it all was, who else but Billy Crystal could tread that fine line between comedy and tragedy, evoking tears and laughter in equal measure.
860 is named for the street number of his house on Chautauqua Blvd. The play begins as the fires are raging and Billy and Janice are preparing to evacuate. It takes about two minutes before Billy finds a laugh line in that fraught moment: Janice said, Let’s gather some things. She’s the more practical one: She’s thinking about medicines and prescriptions. I’m thinking about the half of a veal parmesan hero that’s in the refrigerator.
Then he turns to his office (tastefully resurrected by Scott Pask) where his memorabilia is kept, and he can’t bear to think it could all be decimated. As he singles out individual photos and awards that carry special meaning (projected on an overhead screen), it triggers the stories that frame his own life.
[Read Frank Scheck’s ★★★★☆ review here.]
Anyone fortunate enough to have seen Crystal’s earlier solo show, 700 Sundays, will recognize some of those stories populated by the colorful characters from his family and early career growing up on Long Island. But the new material traces his journey from struggling actor and standup comedian to his film work and lifelong friendships with such iconic figures as Muhammad Ali, Robin Williams and Rob Reiner over the past 5 decades. Speaking of Reiner who directed Crystal and Meg Ryan in When Harry Met Sally, he regales us with some fun anecdotes from the classic comedy.
Through it all, he demonstrates why he was invited to host the Oscars nine times and the Grammys three times. He is an endearing presence with a gargantuan talent; and his brand of humor is universal. Audiences younger than 50 may not recognize some of the names he mentions but he still manages to make it LOL funny. His impersonations of Ali and sportscaster Howard Cosell are hysterical; and when he imitates Martin Scorsese, his fast-talking NYU professor, he’s spot on, describing the great filmmaker as sounding like a hamster on steroids.
The 95-minute production directed by Scott Ellis moves seamlessly with a strong assist from video designers Hana S. Kim and Kylee Loera, providing wall to wall imagery. And a big shout out to sound designer Dan Moses Schreier, with key sound effects that go off with split-second timing.
860 is a wonderful gift to audiences in need of a reason to celebrate life in all its wild incarnations – the good, the bad and even the ugly. Perhaps Billy Crystal’s singular appeal is the ease in which he can shift between sentimentality and satire. Some may find his material dated; but now, nearing his 8th decade, Crystal’s brand of humor never seems to get old. If home is where his heart is, he makes us feel like very welcome guests.
860 opened October 21, 2026, at the Imperial Theater and runs through January 3. Tickets and information: www.billycrystal860.com
