A little poke at City Council

A candidate for City Council took on a new role recently, putting on a satirical send-up of the Glendale board at the Luna Playhouse.

Aramazd Stephanian, who finished last in a field of 12 during council elections April 7, wrote, starred, produced and directed “The Travel Diaries of a (Former) Council Member.” In the show — which ran last Friday and Saturday — ex-Councilman Bob Yousefian takes a trip around the world with Councilman Dave Weaver.

Yousefian, who finished fourth in the vote tally, failed in his reelection bid. Weaver was not up for reelection.

Stephanian — who played both men in the show — said the show took on two issues: a satire of Weaver’s supposed lack of international knowledge and an underscoring of the significance of the arts.

Weaver disputed the idea that he is culturally deficient.

“In my family we have 13 different cultures, from American Indian to Japanese,” he said. “I don’t know who thinks they’re teaching who[m] — even in comedy.”

In the play, the pair travels to Mexico, China, Russia, Armenia and Iran, among other destinations. At each destination Yousefian’s character showed the fictional Weaver the way of the land.

Weaved in the cultural lessons were comments made by Yousefian about the city they governed.

“I must admit there’s been a lot of unwarranted and unsubstantiated talk lately that Glendale is run by philistines for philistines who do not appreciate arts and culture,” Stephanian, playing Yousefian, said. “I say what does that matter as long as Glendale is prosperous and our homeowners are happy, if not completely satisfied.”

While visiting Armenia, Yousefian’s character cracked jokes about Weaver’s familiarities between the country and Glendale.

"I didn’t tell Weaver where we were going, and he never found out,” he said. “I think because hearing people speaking Armenian wasn’t so strange to him."

The real Bob Yousefian — who attended the show Saturday night — said some of the issues presented in the comedy were true.

“It’s about a person who has lived in one city for most of his life, he hasn’t seen much outside of the country and he cannot relate to people who come from other countries. I would say that’s pretty much Dave,” Yousefian said.