SORDID LIVES, laugh filled farce at convergence continuum
Its Winters, Texas, July 24 and
25, 1998. Yes, Texas, the place of
the weird and the weirder, where fundamentalism, hidden homosexuality, rampant
twangs, death while having sex and tripping over a pair of wooden legs (of a
person, not a table), two gun toting women who think they are Thelma and Louise
of movie fame, a bar full of men forced to strip to their underwear, an
institutionalized transvestite who is the subject of a psychologist’s sexual
experiments, a country western bar singer, a body being buried in the hot
summer clothed in a mink stole, a minister who comes on to the grandson of the
deceased during a eulogy at the funeral service, and a feud between siblings.
Sound preposterous? It’s just another production at
convergence-continuum, lovingly known as con-con by its avid cult of
followers. Con-con, who is proud
to challenge its potential audiences with the artistic mission of “presenting
theatre that expands the imagination and extends the conventional boundaries of
language, structure, space, and performance that challenges conventional
notions of what theatre is.”
And, believe me, artistic director
Clyde Simon has achieved his goal of crossing that threshold with SORDID LIVES,
one of the most bizarre and funniest plays you ever will see.
In brief, the story line centers
on a small Texas town gossiping about the accidental death of an elderly family
matriarch during a clandestine meeting in a seedy motel room with a married
neighbor, and the goings on while the family copes with what can and does
become an embarrassing yet illuminating funeral.
The play itself has its own
unusual story. The script, written
by Del Shores, was first staged in 1996, won 14 Los Angeles Drama League
awards, was made into a 2000 film which opened to mixed reviews, but became a
cult film among LGBT (Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual/Transgender) audiences, particularly
in the south. A 2008 television
series, starring Rue McClanahan and Peggy Ingram, lasted one season.
Simon has crafted a production
that is long on farce and longer on laughs.
Jonathan Wilhelm goes properly
over the top as Earl “Brother Boy” Ingram, a gay transvestite who has been
institutionalized by his “mamma” because he is an embarrassment to the
family. At the institution he is
treated by an equally bizarre Dr. Eve Bolinger (Liz Conway) who has developed a
“system” to overcome homosexuality based on guided masturbation. The office scene between Wilhelm and
Conway is one of the funniest I’ve ever seen on stage. The two let loose every farcical device
to achieve hysterical mayhem.
Lisa Wiley, the bar singer Bitsy
Mae Harling, has a nice singing voice and informs us that “existence is a
bitch,”resulting in sordid lives” (gee, wonder where the play’s title comes
from?).
Zac Hudak (Ty Williamson), he of doe
eyes caught in the headlights and fluttering hands, who has gone from closeted
town homosexual to closeted well-known soap opera star, is character right,
even when flirting with the minister during his grandmother’s funeral.
Elaine Feagler (Noletta Nethercott)
is delightful as the woman whose legless husband was in the motel room with
Mamma. She is matched by Amy
Bistok-Bunce as LaVonda Dupree, Mama’s slutty short-shorts-wearing daughter.
Lucy Bredeson-Smith is perfectly
uptight as the righteous Latrelle Williamson, trying to mold the world into her
narrow view. Marcia Mandell as the
alcoholic ditzy Juanita, is riotous.
The rest of the cast, Lauri Hammer, Tyson Douglas Rand, Wes Shofner, and
Clint Elaston all, to a degree, are on target.
Capsule Judgement: The con-con production of SORDID LIVES
is a hoot. Simon has pulled out
all the farcical stops. His cast
has fun, the audience has even more fun. If you want
an evening of outlandish theatre, this is it!
SORDID LIVES runs through April 20
at 8 pm Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at convergence-continuum’s artistic
home, The Liminis, at 2438 Scranton Rd. in Cleveland’s Tremont neighborhood. Since the theatre only has 40 seats, if you want to see this
production, call now! For
information and reservations call 216-687-0074.
