New American Musicals
He has been “The Official Little Tramp Impersonator Of The Chaplin Estate,” the voice of Roger Rabbit for The Disney Channel, the voice of “Paul from the Purple Planet” on Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood, and a slapstick street performer, but his most satisfying theatrical role to date has been as a theatrical writer-director-producer, scripting his own musicals with a group of very talented collaborators.
Librettist/Screenwriter
As a playwright, Buster co-wrote a massive madcap comedy, ROCKENSTEIN a Monster of a Musical, and is developing three more: the retro-pop musical comedy Werewolves in Teentown!, The poignant multi-dimensional, end-of-life story, The Lucky Land of Luscious Love, and … The Life and Death of Show Business Starring Don DʼCarlo. As well as, Trouble in Teentown. Mr. Maxwell's two comedy screenplays, Mummy in Manhattan and Valentineʼs Day, have also made the rounds of readers in Los Angeles.
Singing Impressionist
In the decade before he retired from performing, Buster spent many happy hours singing and dancing his way through the casino, theater, retirement community and corporate event markets.
Favorite tributes: Johnny Cash, David Bowie, The Temptations, Neil Diamond & Louie Armstrong. He also co-starred as Sammy Davis, Jr. in his own “Pittsburgh Rat Pack” group, plus “Bo Wagnerʼs Rat Pack,” with their 10-piece swing band. In 2015, he was commissioned by D&K Productions in Palm Desert CA to develop a Paul Anka tribute, which toured California and Arizona with three dazzling co-stars for 33 shows in 60 days. Buster’s solo Vegas-style work also included the creation of cult hipster and singer-entertainer "Dr. Vinnie Vegas, Professional Lounge Lizard."
Film & Broadcast
Buster was honored to play a critical scene with Russell Crowe for his 2015 “Fathers and Daughters” film. For the Winter Morning Pictures indie film “Since I Donʼt Have You” (2012), Buster portrayed Joe Rock, the famous lyricist of the title track, and manager of Pittsburghʼs legendary Skyliners vocal group. Buster has also performed in hundreds of commercials and corporate films as a voice-over and on-camera talent.
Beginnings as a Producer
Buster began scripting, directing and producing original works for the stage at the age of sixteen. In a suburban Pittsburgh high school he described as a “creative incubator," he fronted various rock bands and co-created an improv comedy group, but starring as wise guy Nathan Detroit in Guys and Dolls literally changed his life: “I would practically float offstage at curtain.”
Upon graduation, he toured with three funny classmates in various comedy groups, a profound early influence.
Throughout multimedia studies at CMU and the U of Iowa, Busterʼs extracurricular “homework” included scripting and performing in every realm of show business from street theater and radio to elegant nightclubs and seedy strip clubs.
After years of intensive physical training, Buster created and toured Silent Motion Pictures, a one-man show of original silent comedy. His slapstick impression of Charlie Chaplin for a “new vaudeville” review resulted in his engagement by the Chaplin estate as their official impersonator. This led to his stage and video portrayals of Stan Laurel, Rod Serling, Groucho Marx and other performing legends.
In 1981, Mr. Maxwell co-founded Musical Komedy Company, which created and produced “corporate theater” events for international companies, and over a dozen “comedy concertos” for various symphony orchestras, including Pittsburgh, Phoenix, Toledo, and Toledo Opera.
Buster’s theatrical aesthetic, cultivated in the rarefied atmosphere of the concert hall, is complimented by a streetwise sensibility sharpened from years of experience in pop music, improvisational theater and cabaret. His “illuminating experience” scripting the monstrous ROCKENSTEIN revealed what he calls “an entertainment epiphany.” Combining his seminal influences “with every cheap comedy trick I know,” Buster brings a entire lifetime of theatrical experience to bear on every project he creates.