He is Mike Tyson onstage, performing the life story of Mike Tyson. But he is not that Mike Tyson, the former boxing heavyweight champion, ear-biter, convicted rapist, admitted drug addict and alleged wife abuser. The man with the infamous face tattoo, formerly known as Iron Mike.
"It's not about him no more," said Tyson, who brings his one-man autobiographical show "Mike Tyson: The Undisputed Truth" to the New Jersey Performing Arts Center on Thursday. "It's about a good guy now. It's not about that Iron guy. It's not about beating people's kids and biting ears and pushing broken bones in their nose into their brains. It's about love and happiness and understanding and education and growing and bonding with people you love that you never had a chance to bond with."
The show — directed by Spike Lee and written by Tyson's current wife, Lakiha "Kiki" Spicer — is about the life of Tyson, who plays himself but pretends that he is not.
"I'm very objective about it," he said. "I play it like I'm an actor portraying Mike Tyson's life. If I didn't do that, I'd be crying, feeling sorry for myself, thinking about my mother and how [messed] up I was. I would internalize it more than anything."
Some might consider the one-night appearance of the controversial figure to be something akin to a publicity stunt, a sideshow on the main stage. But NJPAC executive producer and vice president David Rodriguez says it has a legitimate place in the theater.
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