Fast forward to today, where RuPaul is a major celebrity, Drag Queen Story Hour is a popular attraction at public libraries, the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence are celebrating their 30th anniversary as powerful fundraisers in cities around the world, adolescents are building their brands as drag personalities on YouTube, and musical adaptations of Hairspray and La Cage aux Folles are enthusiastically performed by regional and community theatre companies. Meanwhile, the Stonewall National Museum & Archives is located in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, same sex marriage is legal in the United States, and Pete Buttigieg is running for President as an out and proud gay man of faith. The Stonewall Inn was entered into the United States Register of Historic Places in 1999, designated as a National Historic Landmark in 2000 and, in 2016, President Barack Obama dedicated the small park across the street as the Stonewall National Monument (the nation's first LGBT National Park).
Unlike the advertising slogan "You've Come A Long Way, Baby" that was adopted by Philip Morris in 1968 to push their Virginia Slims brand of cigarettes, Carol Channing's anthem ("Diamonds Are A Girl's Best Friend"), which she introduced in 1949's Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, seems more appropriately performed in drag as "Rhinestones Are A Girl's Best Friend."
Drag plays a major role in two dramas currently being performed by small theatre companies in the East Bay. Although the use of drag in each production differs, its power to lift the spirits of an audience never fades. As playwright Matthew Lopez notes: “Drag, as it’s practiced in small Southern gay bars, enables a sense of transgression, a sense of rebellion, a sense of resistance, and it’s also a hell of a lot of fun.”
* * * * * * * * *
Town Hall Theatre in Lafayette is celebrating its 75th season and 300th production with The Legend of Georgia McBride. Lopez's 2014 dramedy begins with Casey (Andrew Mondello) struggling to perform his Elvis Presley impersonation for a handful of drunks in a tacky bar in Panama City, Florida. The proprietor, Eddie (Tom Reilly), is painfully aware that business sucks. Casey, however, is living in a complete state of denial. An affable man-boy who has been in a relationship for several years with a waitress named Jo (April Deutschle), he's been chasing his dream while Jo busts her ass for a diminishing number of tips. |
| Andrew Mondello begins The Legend of Georgia McBride as an Elvis impersonator in Panama City, Florida (Photo by: Stu Selland) |
Part of Casey's problem is that he has no concept of how to manage money. In addition to using his ATM card to pay for things he cannot afford, his lack of attention to the balance in the couple's checking account (as well as the price of his recent purchase of a new Elvis costume) has caused their rent check to bounce -- yet again. Meanwhile, he's commuting nearly 80 miles a day to and from a job that costs him more than it pays. Although his close friend Jason (Hector Ramon Zavala) is married to Casey's landlord, Jason's wife is on the brink of threatening eviction at the same time Jo learns that she is pregnant.
 |
| Andrew Mondello (Casey) and April Deutschle (Jo) in a scene from The Legend of Georgia McBride (Photo by: Jay Yamada) |
In an odd way, Casey's plight is similar to Louise Hovick's at the moment when she discovers that her vaudeville act has been booked into a burlesque house. Both characters are flat broke with nowhere to go but up. So when a seemingly ghastly opportunity offers a temporary solution, there's no time to resist. Desperate times require desperate measures.
In Gypsy, Louise's big break comes when the lead stripper, Tessie Tura, walks out in a huff. Casey's is a little bit slower to materialize. Unbeknownst to him, Eddie has invited a distant cousin to perform at Clio's as a replacement for Casey's failing Elvis act. When Eddie's cousin turns out to be none other than Miss Tracy Mills (Greg Lynch) -- who arrives with her drunken sidekick, Rexy (Hector Ramon Zavala) in tow -- Casey's only option is to tend bar until he can find another chance to impersonate Elvis.
 |
| Greg Lynch (Miss Tracy Mills) and Hector Ramon Zavala (Rexy) in a scene from The Legend of Georgia McBride (Photo by: Jay Yamada) |
On the night when Rexy passes out backstage in a drunken stupor, Casey's first instinct is to warm up his old Elvis routine. However, the near-hysterical Eddie (who suffers from migraine headaches) insists that the bar's sold-out crowd is expecting a drag show and they'd damned well better get one. Following the old theatrical tradition that "the show must go on," Georgia McBride is born out of little more than panic and burning necessity.
 |
| Greg Lynch (Miss Tracy Mills) and Andrew Mondello (Casey) in a scene from The Legend of Georgia McBride (Photo by: Jay Yamada) |
Thankfully, Miss Tracy Mills has guided lots of aspiring gay boys down the yellow brick road to fulfilling their dreams of becoming successful drag queens. The difference here is that Casey is straight and much too embarrassed to tell Jo about his new persona. As he blossoms and begins to thrive in his new drag identity, the income he and Jo so desperately need starts to materialize and grow. Even as Georgia McBride gains a loyal following, Casey retains a slight awkwardness in drag (like a white basketball player who can't jump or a straight man who lacks any sense of panache when wearing a dress).
 |
| Tom Reilly appears as Eddie (the owner of Clio's Bar) in The Legend of Georgia McBride (Photo by: Jay Yamada) |
Directed by Cindy Goldfield on Deanna L. Zibello's unit set (with lighting by Delayne Medoff and costumes designed by Shelby Pujol), The Legend of Georgia McBride is filled with delicious surprises, including such suggestions for tacky drag names as Etta Mommy and Freida Slaves. In a scene where Rexy lectures Casey about needing to know and understand why gay men get up in drag (as opposed to just putting on a dress as a way to earn money), the audience listens to a sobering account of the night a young Rexy was the victim of a brutal fag bashing.
 |
| Hector Ramon Zavala as Rexy in a scene from The Legend of Georgia McBride (Photo by: Jay Yamada) |
Later, as Casey tries to convince Jo that performing in drag is not such a bad thing, he explains how it has led to so much more than just the cash he's been bringing home to support his family (which will soon include twins named Elvis and Priscilla). For a man who had been chronically irresponsible with money, working in drag has helped Casey to find a better part of himself. In fact, Georgia turns out to be the person with integrity that Casey would like to become. It's a beautiful monologue for Andrew Mondello, who delivers it with convincing sweetness and a self-awareness that Jo's husband/man-child is finally growing up.
 |
| April Deutschle (Jo) and Andrew Mondello (Casey) in a scene from The Legend of Georgia McBride (Photo by: Jay Yamada) |
While Greg Lynch tears up the stage as Miss Tracy Mills, Hector Ramon Zavala (who doubles as Jason and Rexy) offers an impressive performance notable for its slapstick drag moments as well as his tender proof of friendship as Jason confesses to Casey that he's, um, "known" a few drag queens in his life.
 |
| Andrew Mondello (Casey), April Deutschle (Jo) and Hector Ramon Zavala (Jason) in a scene from The Legend of Georgia McBride (Photo by: Jay Yamada) |
I was especially impressed by Mondello's portrayal of Casey (which obviously benefited from his lean athleticism and dance training). Both Greg Lynch and April Deutschle shine as their characters evolve toward a happy ending which sends audiences home with goofy smiles on their faces. The musical numbers are aided by Michael Kelly's sound design. In her program note, director Cindy Goldfield is careful to point out that:
“On the surface, The Legend of Georgia McBride is the story of a small town boy with big dreams, but it’s also a story of community, acceptance, inclusion, and celebration of life despite its challenges. The Bay Area has long been at the forefront of the LGBTQIAA+ Civil Rights Movement. From the Compton's Cafeteria riot to the first Pride parade to the local drag scene, we have seen acceptance and celebration become more commonplace.”
 |
| Greg Lynch (Miss Tracy Mills), April Deutschle (Jo), and Andrew Mondello (Casey) in a scene from The Legend of Georgia McBride (Photo by: Jay Yamada) |
"Although here in the Bay Area bubble and on mainstream television drag has become more commonplace and accepted, it’s important to note that crimes against the LGBTQIAA+ community, and in particular trans individuals, continue to be a horrific fact. In the years between 2013 and 2018, 136 violence-incurred deaths of trans individuals occurred in the United States. In 2018, there were over 1,000 hate crimes toward LGBTQIAA+ in California alone. It is my hope that shows like The Legend of Georgia McBride can bring about a deeper understanding and compassion toward individuals who live their life out loud.”
 |
| Andrew Mondello stars in The Legend of Georgia McBride (Photo by: Jay Yamada) |
Although I did not attend the show's opening night, the hearty audience response at the performance I caught was, without doubt, partially due to two of the production's "Community Show Partners" (Rainbow Community Center of Contra Costa County and Drag Queen Story Hour) and the fact that it was National Coming Out Day. Performances of The Legend of Georgia McBride continue through October 19 at the Town Hall Theatre (click here for tickets).
* * * * * * * * *
Over in Berkeley, Central Works is presenting the world premiere of Cristina García's new play entitled The Lady Matador's Hotel. Adapted from her 2010 novel of the same name, the production has been directed and lit by Gary Graves with costumes by Tammy Berlin and sound design by Gregory Scharpen (who also provides the voice of a parrot named Che who spouts poetry and revolutionary quotes). The promotional blurb for Garcia's play claims that:"The Lady Matador’s Hotel follows the denizens of a luxurious hotel in the capital of an unnamed Central American country in the midst of political turmoil. There is the matadora in town for a bullfight. There is an ex-guerrilla now working as a waitress in the hotel. And there is a colonel who committed atrocities in the country’s long civil war. Each day, the pull of revenge and desire draws them closer and closer together."The cast of six includes:
- Rudy Guerrero, who juggles multiple roles as a journalist, a television psychic of questionable gender and credibility named Pajarita, and a soon-to-be-divorced ex-pat Cuban poet named Ricardo who has arrived from New York City to claim his adopted daughter, Isabelita.
- Sylvia Kratins doubles as the slick television news reporter, Victoria Bell, and the evil Gertrudis Stuber (a predatory attorney who has become wealthy by trafficking orphans and unwanted infants on the black market).
- Neiry Rojo portrays Aura Estrada, a waitress and former guerrilla who is trying to avoid Miguel's amorous advances and avenge the murder of her brother, Julio.
- Gabriel Montoya does quadruple duty as a thug, a bellhop, a restaurateur named Miguel who has a crush on Aura, and the ghost of Aura's dead brother (who craves an orange soda).
- Steve Ortiz portrays the lecherous and loathsome Colonel Martin Abel, a fascist military leader who wants to possess the titular Lady Matador.
- Erin Mei-Ling Stuart stars as Suki Palacios, a half Mexican, half Japanese female matador from California who is about to compete in the first Battle of the Lady Matadors in the Americas. When asked if she fears death, Suki replies, “Tell me how you die and I’ll tell you how you’ve lived.” Just days before the competition, after learning that she is pregnant, Suki wrestles with the knowledge that her mother died while giving birth to her and worries what will happen if she goes into the bullring while pregnant. Will she end up killing her child if she gets gored to death by a bull?
 |
| Erin Mei-Ling Stuart stars as Suki Palacios in the world premiere of The Lady Matador's Hotel (Photo by: Jim Norrena) |
Last year, when Central Works presented the world premiere of Garcia's adaptation of her 2013 novel, King of Cuba (a complex tale which couldn't seem to get out of its own way), her play struck me as a textbook lesson in why not every novel should be adapted for the stage by its author.
 |
| Erin Mei-Ling Stuart stars as Suki Palacios in the world premiere of The Lady Matador's Hotel (Photo by: Jim Norrena) |
Since there's no nice way to say this, let me be blunt. The first act of The Lady Matador's Hotel is a crashing bore. Knowing that second acts can often be stronger -- and contain a few surprises -- I waited to see if I might get a clue as to why The Lady Matador's Hotel is such a hot mess.
When I least expected it, the answer was revealed to me during Aura's monologue and I was shocked by its simplicity. When writing a short story or novel, an author has complete control over painting a picture for her readers of each character's face, body, clothing, mannerisms, circumstances, and inner dialogue. Whatever narrative structure the writer uses to craft such images, they are usually enhanced by the reader's imagination.
Unfortunately, what seems great on the page does not always transfer to the stage. During Aura's monologue, as she tried to resolve an internal conflict while taking breakfast orders from the hotel's guests, the limits of Garcia's playwrighting technique become sadly evident as the critical reason why her play is not working.
And that's where a drag queen comes to the rescue. Dressed in a series of outrageously colorful caftans and bedecked in a treasure chest's stash of costume jewelry, each appearance of Rudy Guerrero's Pajarita stopped the show cold. Though taken on their own, these moments have seemingly little to do with Garcia's story, their presence was a breath of fresh air for the audience which, if nothing else, would probably have loved to try on Tammy Berlin's outrageous costumes.
No comments:
Post a Comment