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<\/p>\nRead our review of Lost in Del Valle off Broadway, an autobiographical solo show written and performed by Ned Van Zandt, now in its second run at SoHo Playhouse.<\/p>\n
It once took the yowls of Ned Van Zandt’s cat to summon lifesaving help following his heroin overdose, the writer\/performer shares in his one-man show Lost in Del Valle at SoHo Playhouse. At 60something, Van Zandt has survived many underworlds of decadence and debauchery. Bearing his cowboy hat and arsenal of character work, he takes us through drugs, arrests, and celebrity chaos in director Amir Arison\u2019s no-frills production.<\/p>\n
When charged with possession of meth with intent to distribute in 2006, Van Zandt found himself incarcerated in Texas Travis County Correctional Complex, the titular \u201cDel Valle,\u201d in Austin. With no family willing to pay bail, he needed protection. Discordant, staccato guitar notes (by live guitarist Mike Moore, playing music co-written by JR Atkins) punctuate the chilling introduction of the Aryan Brotherhood leader Donnie Haynie, an influential inmate whose mother did laundry for the actor\u2019s family. He looms as a swastika-tattooed monster that Van Zandt imbues with menace. Yet, the actor marvels, \u201cHe\u2019s fucking gorgeous.\u201d<\/p>\n
And Van Zandt\u2019s resume (including an Iceman Cometh Broadway revival) makes him qualified to provide something Donnie covets: acting lessons. In their first spellbinding session, Donnie mimics Van Zandt (Van Zandt-as-Donnie mimics himself?) like a shapeshifting demon swallowing its prey. Van Zandt’s lopsided dynamic with Donnie, who demands sexual favors in exchange for protection from prison gangs, is a trigger for intense memories that include his drug dealing at NYC\u2019s storied Chelsea Hotel, where a 24-year-old Van Zandt saw the arrest of Sex Pistols’ Sid Vicious and the body bag containing Vicious\u2019s girlfriend, Nancy Spungen.<\/p>\n
To conform to chronological storytelling would be too safe for Van Zandt\u2019s memoir on the slipperiness of addiction and the thrall of society’s seedy underbellies. He toggles back and forth between his 2006 incarceration and the defining points of his past, which he divulges to impressed inmates. Even if you get lost in the twists and turns, his self-assured characterizations reorient you to the time and place. Additionally, Moore functions not just as a gritty underscorer for Van Zandt, but as a phantom co-star whose suave and shrill guitar work telegraphs horrors and adrenaline.<\/p>\n
He brutally honestly plays an array of corrosive souls \u2014 not sparing himself \u2014 who seem to live in a Martin Scorsese crime film. Among them are his ally Belinda, who runs a cockfighting ring with her abusive meth-lab boyfriend; his cellmate, Jesus, who built an enterprise of tracing lewd magazines; the chatterbox, comic-relief inmate Jimmy; the erratic, mysterious murderer Nancy; and Michael Morra, the flamboyant heroin dealer whom Van Zandt regrets he didn\u2019t report as a probable killer. The actor conjures his most unstable players, even those seen only in glimpses, as seekers of stimulation and purpose. Even though Van Zandt has outgrown his underworld, you sense him looking back at the ghosts with a forlorn smile.<\/p>\n
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Lost in Del Valle summary<\/p>\n
Actor Ned Van Zandt\u2019s one-man show Lost in Del Valle is framed by his 2006 incarceration in the Travis County Correctional Complex, known as \u201cDel Valle\u201d outside of Austin, Texas. Van Zandt tells stories about his acting career, his fellow inmates, the heartbreak that spiraled into addiction, drug dealing at NYC\u2019s Chelsea Hotel, and his encounter with Sex Pistols’ Sid Vicious and his girlfriend Nancy Spungeon before the latter was found dead by knife wounds.<\/p>\n
Lost in Del Valle premiered at the 2025 Edinburgh Festival Fringe, and it returns to SoHo Playhouse after its first limited run there earlier this year.<\/p>\n
What to expect at Lost in Del Valle<\/p>\n
As you enter the venue, Mike Moore is strumming the electric guitar to set the underground ambience. Billed as a \u201cA true story of sex, drugs, rock n\u2019 roll, and redemption,\u201d the 75-minute Lost in Del Valle contains content about drug use, murder, and sexual misconduct, as well as racial and homophobic slurs.<\/p>\n
The seating in SoHo Playhouse is level with the stage, so sight lines may vary depending on your height and that of the people in front of you.<\/p>\n
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What audiences are saying about Lost in Del Valle<\/p>\n
As of writing, Lost in Del Valle has an 88% audience approval rating out of 14 reviews on the review aggregator Show-Score. The reviews encompass both of the show’s NYC runs at SoHo Playhouse.<\/p>\n
\u201cFascinating show exploring addiction, the prison system and human fears and desire. Lots of New York history, especially centering around the “club kid” era. It managed to offer a compassionate perspective towards people who may outwardly seem irredeemable. Wonderful performances and great use of music as a theatrical mechanism.\u201d – Show-Score user Andrew Rosselot
\n“This is an intensely personal and brave performance. Incredible storytelling from a
\ngifted actor. Shocking, sad and funny often at the same time.” – Show-Score user Steven Scheiner
\n\u201cThis show is a harrowing look into the showbiz world that so many people dream to be a part of. What\u2019s the cost of fame?\u201d – My +1 at the show<\/p>\n