Beck’s THE LEGEND OF GEORGIA MCBRIDE is more drag than drag show

 

 

Mathew Lopez, the author of THE LEGEND OF GEORGIA MCBRIDE, which is now on stage in the Studio Theatre at Beck Center, also wrote THE INHERITANCE, which, in 2018 was the most honored American play in a generation, sweeping the "Best Play" awards in both London and New York including the Tony Award, Olivier Award, and Drama Desk Award. He is also the writer of THE WHIPPING MAN, which also won numerous awards.

 

THE LEGEND OF GEORGIA MCBRIDE centers on Casey, a struggling Elvis impersonator working at a dive called Cleo’s in the Florida Panhandle.  

His act isn’t very good.  Jo, his wife, announces she is pregnant.  It’s great news for the sweet-natured unrealistic Casey, but his wife, a realist, realizes that they if they can’t afford to pay the rent now, another mouth to feed is going to increase the problems.

Things get worse when Eddie, Casey’s boss, announces that “Elvis” is leaving the building, to be replaced by the bar owner’s cousin, Miss Tracy Mills, a drag queen and his side-kick Miss Anorexia Nervosa. 

What’s Casey to do?  He is kept on as bartender until one evening, when Nervosa comes to work drunk, flakes out, and Casey is forced to do a quick-change into a dress and lip-sync an Edith Piaf impersonation onstage.  He protests, but then the tips start rolling in, and suddenly a lot of his financial problems are solved. 

One night he gets the inspired idea to remake his Elvis costume — and presto, the drag queen Georgia McBride is born.

For the uninitiated, drag is usually the act of a male dressing in overdone “glamorous” dresses, long flowing wigs, heavy makeup and fake eyelashes.   It is accompanied by exaggerated gendered behaviors—limp wrists, swaying hips and inflated movements.  Most drag queens don’t desire to be women.  They are not interested in transitioning.  Many are “straight” men, not homosexuals, who like to dress in women’s clothing and perform.

Drag has come into the cultural spotlight in recent years with the popularity of shows like the reality competition RUPAUL’S DRAG RACE and Broadway’s KINKY BOOTS. While these media representations have introduced many viewers to the glamorous sashaying and fierce style of drag for the first time, the roots of drag performance go back many decades.

The name an individual goes by while in drag, is usually extravagant or funny, and potentially related to their persona. 

A drag show traditionally consists of a variety of songs, occasionally a dance routine.  Performers seldom actually sing in their own voices, usually lip-syncing to another singer’s recordings.  The renditions are often those of gay icons, such as Barbara Streisand, Judy Garland or Liza Minelli.

For THE LEGEND OF GEORGIA MACBRIDE to be successful, as indicated in the reviews of the shows that have been successful, the costumes, the makeup and the performances must be “absolutely fab-U-lous.”   

In an attempt to assist director Eric Schmiedl, the Beck performance was aided by having Veranda L’NI, “Cleveland’s Tallest Drag Entertainer” as its Director of Drag. 

As evident by her presence at the opening of the show, L’Ni, encased in a gorgeous gown, a hair style to die-for, and perfectly applied makeup, is drag queen extraordinaire.  Unfortunately, even this pro couldn’t raise her “students” to be of the quality of the “Drag Bingo Queen.”

Handsome Matt Gittins has the thin body, facial bone structure and perfect legs to make for a convincing drag queen.  He just didn’t transform into the believable Georgia that would make him a real star of the show.  He was much too inhibited.  He was not aided by having to wear tacky wigs and costumes.  He was much more convincing as husband Casey.

Jason Eno, who has a physical resemblance to the late Sammy Davis, Jr., put out full effort as Miss Tracy Mills.  As with Gittins, he was thwarted by unattractive costumes and wigs.  Zak Tahsin never quite became believable in either his role as Jason or Anorexia.

Bryce Even Lewis was quite believable as the put-upon Jo.  Brian Pedaci, was effective as bar-owner Eddie.

The set caused many long delays as the scenes shifted from living room, to back stage to bar stage, many times.

Capsule judgment:  THE LEGEND OF GEORGIA MCBRIDE had the potential to be a hoot of an evening. As is, it didn’t have the pizzazz to be either a fun drag show, or an escapist comedy.  The poorly conceived costumes and wigs, the lack of the needed quick pacing, and the overly long production (almost two hours without break), left too much to be desired!  Too bad…in these days of angst…a fun escape would have been nice.

Brilliant acting and superb script make AMERICAN MOOR a must see at Karamu

 

AMERICAN MOOR, which is now on stage at Karamu, America’s oldest Black Theatre, is a compelling exploration of Shakespeare, race, and America.  It is brilliantly performed by Keith Hamilton Cobb, who is also the play’s author.

The story-line examines what happens when an experienced African American actor, who is well versed and trained in classical theater, auditions for the lead-role in Othello.  “He is met with prejudice, racism and privilege while negotiating with a young, white director who presumes to understand Shakespeare’s Moorish prince far better than the performer standing before him.” 

Certainly, the auditioning actor, as we quickly find out, has reasons to seethe.  How do you show everything you can bring to a complicated role in five minutes to an arrogant, self-proclaimed misguided “expert”?

But this actor, played by Cobb and called Keith, to acknowledge the semi-autobiographical nature of the play, has other beefs beyond the absurdity of this situation.

The white director shows little respect for the actor, by showing up late.  With no explanation of why he is tardy, his first comments are about Keith’s height: “Man! You’re tall!” (Yes, Cobb is tall, probably 6’ 5, and big.  His overly tight shirt, which is straining to cover his massive gym toned, muscle-rippling body, makes him imposing.).  Then, the director sets out to explain, in a pedantic, self-superior way, to an actor with twice his experience, exactly the psyche and motivations of black Othello. 
 
The racial tension of the situation is quickly apparent and the reality of the actor’s frustration centers on the fact that what unfolds is not only about performing OTHELLO but also, about being Othello: a black man trying to find a path to excellence in a society anxious to keep him “in his place.”
 
In a tour-de-force performance, Cobb gives a master class on Shakespeare and, through electric storytelling, explores the inequities of life as a Black actor and life as a Black man.
The set, an open stage with the brick backwall on display, contains empty chairs and several massive columns.  The lighting and underlying music help set the right moods.
 
Capsule judgment:  For anyone who wants to experience a performance that balances dynamism and lyricism with amazing skill, AMERICAN MOOR is a must-see."   This is a sensational night of theatre. Bravo!!!!

Tickets:  Call 216-795-7070 or https://karamuhouse.secure.force.com/ticket#/events/a0S5G00000IRs4sUAD

THE 39 STEPS is farce light at Great Lakes Theater

 

Alfred Hitchcock’s THE 39 STEPS, now in production at Great Lakes Theater is a farce.  Farce theatre is a script that is highly exaggerated, ridiculous, and absurd.  It contains situations that are improbable, often centering on stereotyped characters. The writing method is often referred to as producing “off the wall scripts.” Onstage there is bedlam, slapstick and overdone acting.  Well-known farce scripts are CHARLEY’S AUNT, THE PLAY THAT GOES WRONG, WHAT THE BUTLER SAW and SPAMALOT. Farce is very difficult to stage and perform.  Every action has to be overdone, but be funny because of its relationship to the script, not overdone just to get laughs.  The play must be extremely fast paced, with the schticks, gimmicks and absurdity, inciting wonder of how the ridiculous is done. The British and, to some extent, the French and Canadians seem to be the masters of farce, Americans, not quite so much.  I personally found that seeing NOISES OFF in London, with a Brit cast, was a wild ride, while seeing the same play on Broadway, with an American cast was a pleasant experience.  The former had a five-year run, the latter, a short stint.      The play, THE 39 STEPS, was adapted from a 1915 book and the 1935 film by Alfred Hitchcock.  Both the book and the film were thrillers.  The original concept and production of a four-actor farce was conceived by Simon Corble and Nobby Dimon.  Patrick Barlow rewrote the material into its current format in 2005.  With only four actors portraying 100 or more roles as heroes, villains, men, women, children and even inanimate objects, requires lightning-fast changes of set pieces, costumes, wigs and personas.    The film's serious spy story is now played mainly for laughs. The script is full of allusions to puns on the titles of Alfred Hitchcock films, including STRANGERS ON A TRAIN, REAR WINDOW, PSYCHO, VERTIGO and NORTH BY NORTHWEST that come and go so quickly that only a master of Hitchcock trivia will get them all. The style of the play is based on Patrick Barlow’s experience with Monty Python and other British farcists. In summary, the pencil thin plot centers on Richard Hannay, a Londoner who is leading a boring affluent life. While attending the theater, he meets a woman with a thick accent.  She says she is a spy.  While in hiding at his house, she is murdered. Richard goes on the run to avoid being caught by the police who think, “blimey, he did her in.”  Soon, (aghast!) not only the police, but a foreign organization called “The 39 Steps” is hot on the man’s tail.  In a nationwide manhunt, including his riding trains and cars, and falling in love with a woman with whom he is handcuffed, the story climaxes in a death-defying finale. (Told you the plot is pencil thin!) GLT newcomer, tall and handsome Anthony Michael Martinez portrays Richard Hannay, the affluent Brit, sensual Maggie Kettering is Clown 1, pert Betsy Mugavero is the woman with the accent who also portrays numerous other roles, and multi-talented Joe Wegner is Clown 2.     These are all classically trained American actors whose experiences work well for performing the traditional Great Lakes show.  Not as much so for THE 39 STEPS. They have probably had little experience in portraying farce, which requires a special skill set.    Courtney O’Neill’s scenic design works well for the necessary quick changes, as do Esther M. Haberlen’s costumes.  As the actors get more used to working with the set pieces and adornments, the somewhat languid pace of show should improve.   Capsule judgment:  Having seen superb productions of THE 39 STEPS in London and Canada, the level was high for my attending the show at GLT.  Unfortunately, though the local staging is adequate, it was not all that the staging of the clever script can be.  The pacing was much too slow and the absurdity too controlled.  Audiences not aware of what could be may be delighted by the Jaclyn Miller directed show.  Those in the know will probably be disappointed. THE 39 STEPS continues at the Hanna Theatre through May 22, 2022.  For tickets call 216-241-6000 or go to www.greatlakestheater.org