Gender Roles Sure Ain't What They Used To Be

Long before gender studies became a course option at colleges and universities, strange images were being implanted in my memory that defied the heteronormative strictures of the 20th century. Some of the images came from classical ballet, where male danseurs performed in drag to great comedic effect.

Robert Helpmann and Frederick Ashton as the Ugly
Stepsisters in the Royal Ballet's 1948 production of
Cinderella (Photo by: Donald Southern)

In addition to the Ugly Stepsisters (as depicted in Prokofiev's Cinderella), whenever the Royal Ballet came to Lincoln Center during the 1960s I took great delight in attending performances of La Fille Mal Gardée, a charming ballet in which the Widow Simone's clog dance (performed in the following clip by Gennady Yannin in a 2006 performance by the Bolshoi Ballet) is always a big hit with the audience.


A course in Indo-European myths and legends opened my mind to the concept of non-Christian gods capable of alternating their gender so rapidly that they could impregnate themselves. Long before I ever set eyes on a drag queen, I became familiar with the concept of operatic "trouser roles" such as Octavian in Der Rosenkavalier, Cherubino in The Marriage of Figaro, Prince Orlofsky in Die Fledermaus, Smeton in Anna Bolena, Siebel in Faust, Nicklausse in The Tales of Hoffman, and Oscar in Un Ballo en Maschera.

As I was exposed to more theatre and opera, I learned how the phenomenon of men playing women's roles during Shakespeare's time was followed by the rich history of castrati in baroque opera and, centuries later, the tradition of drag roles in British pantomime. Between watching Charles Ludlam perform with the Ridiculous Theatrical Company and Les Ballets Trocadero de Monte Carlo spoof age-old traditions of classical ballet, by the time Anne Rice's 1982 novel, Cry To Heaven, was published, genderbending seemed like a perfectly natural option in both fiction and fashion.

Today's crop of countertenors (Anthony Roth Costanzo, Franco Fagioli, Philippe Jaroussky, Iestyn Davies, David Hansen, Max Emanuel Cenčić, Fernando Lima, and Yoshikazu Mera) is reclaiming some of the vocal territory taken from them by mezzo-sopranos after castration fell from favor.


Even more amazing is the emergence of transgender opera singers such as male mezzo-soprano Adrian Angelico and female baritone Lucia Lucas (who recently made her Tulsa Opera debut in the title role of Mozart's Don Giovanni).




While some people think that gender dysphoria first manifests itself in elementary or middle school, I tend to think that a child's observations of how certain behaviors are assigned to their parents' genders can either teach children to be flexible or stifle any natural instincts which may go against societal norms.

* * * * * * * * *

One of the big surprises of the 2019 San Francisco Silent Film Festival was a screening of The Homemaker, a 1925 domestic comedy directed by King Baggott which clearly demonstrates why a woman's place may not necessarily be in the home.

As the film begins, neither Eve Knapp (Alice Joyce) nor her husband, Lester (Clive Brook), are not particularly thrilled with the way their marriage has turned out. A housewife trapped at home with three children and a nosy next-door neighbor (Margaret Campbell) determined to tell her everything that she is doing wrong, Eve’s efforts to maintain a spotless home have pushed her past the point of physical exhaustion. Meanwhile, her daydreaming husband has been expecting to receive a promotion at work following his annual job review as a department store accountant. When the promotion goes to another employee, Lester receives a cruel reality check and, by year's end, has been laid off from his job. Too depressed to look for work, he contemplates suicide only to discover that he’s not very good at that, either.

With her husband confined to a wheelchair, bills to be paid, and no pride left to lose, Eve pays a visit to Lester’s old boss. After explaining the family’s financial hardship, she is given job at a lower wage than her husband's but quickly begins to impress management with her resourcefulness, organizational skills and innovative ideas. Soon she is rising up the corporate ladder, bringing home more money than her husband ever earned, paying off the family's debts, and even having enough left over for some indulgences. Meanwhile, Lester seems to have found new strength and meaning in life as a stay-at-home Dad.

One night, after noticing Lester’s paralyzed leg start to move, Eve asks Dr. Merritt (George Fawcett) to re-examine her husband. Realizing that his full recovery could force his wife to return to a miserable lifestyle (and force him to earn a living at a job that bores him), Lester convinces the doctor that his “recovery” would be better kept a secret after explaining that every single member of the Knapp family would be far better off with Eve remaining the breadwinner.

Eve (Alice Joyce) disciplines one of her children
in a scene from 1925's The Homemaker

Based on a best-selling novel by Dorothy Canfield Fisher, there was little controversy following the release of The Homemaker. Apparently, neither the book nor the film's endorsement of swapping traditional gender roles seemed to pose a threat to viewers. As Fisher suggested in her novel, if Lester had been healthy and capable of finding work, it would have been more acceptable for him to rob a bank than stay home and care for his children. In her program note, film historian Monica Nolan writes:

“The film has none of the razzle-dazzle that turned other silent films into enduring classics. There are no visual pyrotechnics, no bravura star turns, no shocking plot twists. Instead, it tells the story of an ordinary couple struggling with mundane problems: household chores, tantrum-prone children, the boredom of office routine, and the anxiety of never having quite enough money (in other words, life, as most of us experience it). And it makes these quotidian details completely absorbing."

Poster art for The Homemaker

"Historian Diane Lichtenstein suggests the novel was also a critique of the new, ever-higher standards that were imposed on housekeepers in the 1920s by experts of all kinds. It was an era that saw the professionalization of housekeeping, with Home Economics established as a college major and ‘scientific household management’ the latest buzzword. As usual when women emerged from the home -- as they had during World War I and the following decade -- there was a media campaign to drive them back inside to scrub floors (Homemaker the movie opens with Eva slaving to eradicate a stubborn grease spill). When Lester takes over housekeeping, his first step is to relax the standards of cleanliness that have made the family miserable. In a scene that is both comic and moving, the two older children conceal dirt from their now working mother by hiding it under a couch pillow. She moves the pillow and brushes the crumbs absentmindedly to the floor, as she tells her family stories about her day at work. The two kids exchange a look of amazed relief.”

Poster art for The Homemaker

With musical accompaniment by Stephen Horne, The Homemaker (in a restored print from the UCLA Film and Television Archive) was a hit with the audience in the Castro Theatre. With today's crop of misogynistic Republicans trying to return women to second class status (where they can once again be barefoot, pregnant, and stay in the kitchen where they damn well belong), this 94-year-old film took on surprising levels of timeliness.

* * * * * * * * *

While recent years have seen protests by playwrights and actors when Asian characters have been cast in yellowface, two radical approaches to presenting beloved musical works have stunned audiences with their audacity. The Hungarian State Opera recently cast a revival of its 2018 production of Porgy and Bess with white singers. The Hungarian news website Index reported that cast members received letters in which "the singers were asked to sign a declaration stating that African-American origins and spirit form an inseparable part of their identity. At least half the group signed."

A much happier casting decision has led to a smashing success for Theatre Rhinoceros with its new production of Sister Act. Based on the 1992 movie starring Whoopi Goldberg (with Maggie Smith as her Mother Superior), the show's 2011 Broadway production ran for 561 performances and toured widely.

Branden Noel Thomas (Deloris) leads the other nuns
in a song from Sister Act (Photo by: David Wilson)

With music by Alan Menken, lyrics by Glenn Slater, book by Cheri and Bill Steinkellner (and additional material by Douglas Carter Beane), the lead character is an African American woman whose career as a nightclub singer in Reno is going nowhere. When Deloris witnesses a murder organized her gangster boyfriend, she is forced into hiding. The best shelter the police can find on such short notice is a local convent. As Rhino's long-time artistic director, John Fisher, notes:

“When you run a queer theatre company people always say to you, 'You should do Company, but with all men!' Or 'OMG, I had the best idea, wait till you hear it: do Hello, Dolly! but switch the genders!' Good luck! I have asked and asked and the license holders always say 'No!' Even Noel Coward’s estate won’t let you mess with the genders in his plays! So imagine my surprise when I asked Music Theatre International if we could do it with Sister Act and they said 'Yes!' I was in shock. Now I had to listen to the score as I didn’t even know the show. It had been one of those 'OMG, you should do...' shows. Well, I discovered that every song had a melody. A hummable tune! When was this show written? 1945? (You’re talking about someone whose favorite composers are Jerry Herman and Andrew Lloyd Webber – OMG, how sad!) I am so thrilled to present this genderfun version of this terrifically tuneful show with its friendly message that (well, I think this is the message) spirituality does not always mean religion. Friendship and love are not necessarily God ordained. And don’t ever be afraid to say to me ‘OMG, I had this great idea...' because it might just be possible!”

Kim K. Larsen (Mother Superior) and Branden Noel Thomas
(Deloris) in a scene from Sister Act (Photo by: David Wilson)

The happy result is the casting of Branden Noel Thomas as a Deloris of truly statuesque proportions who can belt out Menken's music in its original key and work a costume to death. With a cross-dressing Crystal Liu as Curtis (the gangster boyfriend determined to find and kill Deloris), a very masculine Kim K. Larsen cast as the Mother Superior, and Joyce Domanico-Huh doing triple duty as a gangster named Joey, one of the convent's nuns, and the local Monsignor, a whole new level of fun has been added to the show.

Joyce Domanico-Huh (Joey), John Charles Quimpo (T.J.),
Abraham Baldonado (Pablo), and Crystal Liu (Curtis)
in a scene from Sister Act (Photo by: David Wilson)

With set design by Erik Flatmo, costumes by David F. Draper, and lighting by Sean Keehan, Rhino's production of Sister Act features appealing performances by Jarrett Holley as Sweaty Eddie (the cop who attended high school with Deloris), Dee Wagner (doubling as Sister Mary Lazarus and a policeman), Paul Lopez (doubling as Sister Mary Theresa and a drag queen), and Lisa McHenry as Sister Mary Martin of Tours. A special shoutout goes to Abigail Campbell as Sister Mary Robert.

Rhino's production has received solid music direction from Tammy L. Hall.
Having directed and choreographed this staging of Sister Act with the kind of fierceness that does the world's oldest-existing LGBT theatre company proud, AeJay Mitchell explains why this project had such strong appeal to him:

“Where does a young black femme boy disappear when the world around them is too difficult to navigate? For some, it is the books with scandalous pictures on the front cover; for others, it is the movies where ripped ab leading men come save the damsel (a/k/a you in imaginary drag). For me, it was the pageantry of the Southern Baptist Church. The pastel suits, the shoes, the hats, the gloves, the jewelry... the Christian “camp” was found in those halls that at times felt dangerously unwelcoming and exactly like home. Our Sister Act is the realization of this truth for me. A church that is full of queer overtones (joy, desire, safety for femme bodies) as well as the dangers of queer realities: staunch belief structures and the terrors of hypermasculinity.”

The cast of Sister Act takes a bow (Photo by: David Wilson)

In short, this is the kind of production which could give Vice President Mike Pence a fatal heart attack. Performances of Sister Act continue through June 1 at the Gateway Theatre (click here for tickets). Here's the trailer: