From the Dawn of his Downy youth, Dan struggled to get the songs inside his head outside. But when he gave up seeing “normal” as a Win and Dashed Briskly to Gain a More Bold Biz Method, he Surfed a Tide of Joy!

– Audience Choice Award 2016 Elgin Fringe Festival
– Best Portable Set Award 2017 Pittsburgh Fringe Festival

“…a real-life saga punctuated by recurring scenes of unrequited love, noisy neighbors, and a relentless flow of song ideas. Career biography, yes — but this show is all about the music!…You’ll dance, you’ll cry, you’ll laugh and wonder why.” – Elgin Review

Available in 30 min and 55 min versions.

Spotify Playlist

After having two musicals produced in college, misguided attempts to find love seemed to leave little time to record or perform. At my lowest point I gave up on conventional recording and became “Special Guest,” an over-the-top egomaniac hippie persona rocking out on small plastic toy instruments, before finally making the choice to put music first and becoming “Captain Ambivalent and the Accordion of Gold.” Then an unexpected cameo on “America’s Got Talent” put everything in perspective. The show culminates in a video-assisted duet between Captain Ambivalent and Special Guest with a little help from a giant inflatable dinosaur celebrating their common ground: polyester.

Available in 30 min and 55 min versions.

Technical Requirements

Captain Ambivalent’s self-contained portable multimedia sound system handcart is good for up to 75 person venues. Larger venues require a HDMI projection system input, vocal mic, and 1/4″ accordion pickup input at the stage. Bernie the dinosaur (not to be confused with any other purple dinosaur) requires a 10 foot cube of space to operate safely. Sound system/dinosaur require at least one grounded electrical outlet near the stage.

Musical Numbers

Production History