Displaying items by tag: PrideArts Center

Sweet is the best word for GIRLFRIEND for several reasons. First, it showcases the songs of Matthew Sweet, and the book is by Todd Almond, to get another flavor in the mix.

‘Sweet’ also describes the era that GIRLFRIEND is set in – 1990’s: pre-9/11; before cell phones and PDAs; the decade of HAART and hope; and drive-in movies!  This last is crucial in GIRLFRIEND, as Mike and Will spend a considerable amount of time there.

‘Sweet’ is a good descriptor for the cast of two: Joe Lewis as Will, who narrates the story between songs, and Peter Stielstra as Mike, the boy of Will’s dreams who makes those dreams come true. Both actors and characters are totally toothsome. And Matthew Sweet’s songs invoke the bittersweet stage of adolescence, with all the routine adolescent trauma magnified for queers by isolation and too-well seasoned with desolation.

Lewis as Will does a particularly good job of portraying the excruciating emotional turmoil of being eighteen years old and queer.  We all remember the awkwardness and self-consciousness of that age, and the mortification when we say or do the ‘wrong’ thing, particularly when it relates to courting and things carnal. I recall only too well just how urgent and significant everything was. It’s exhausting when every action, every word, is so meaningful! I hate when people tell teens, “These are the best years of your life”.  I tell them “This is the worst time of your life. Once you ‘re into your twenties everything gets much easier.”

Mike’s conflicts are more externalized, worrying about ‘what people think’, especially peers. When Mike spots a carload of teammates while at the drive-in with Will, his furtive response is both hilarious and heartbreaking.

And, oh yeah! GIRLFRIEND is a musical!  Both Lewis and Stielstra have excellent voices, backed by Robert Ollis and Kyra Leigh on keyboard, Berkett Shertok and Bob Potsic on Bass, Cesar Romero and David Kelley on guitar, and Anthony Scandora on drums. Robert Ollis is Music Director and Kiera Battles Sound Design/Engineer.

Jay Espano directs, assisted by Stage Manager Hannah “Blue” Morris; Megan Hoppe is Costume Designer. Isabella Noe (Scenic Design), Kael Meno (Props Design), Maggie Meyer (Lighting), and Magdiel Carmona (Projections) devise a spare set, adroitly constructed to roll out a bedroom at one end, the seat of a car at the other. This design frees most of the space for the performers’ revels, choreographed by Hannah Greenfield (Movement) and Kayla Menz (Intimacy). Production Support Staff include Taylor Pasche (Asst Director),Keira Leigh (Asst Music Director), Megs Flannery (Asst Stage Manager), Isabella Noe (Tech Director) and Emily Blanquera (Master Electrician).

I just have to interject here that when I began reviewing theatre for WBEZ in the 80’s, half of those jobs didn’t exist!

Lewis and Stielstra are both talented vocalists but it was difficult to hear them over the band at times – due to the acoustic challenges of the space, and auditory challenges in the elderly [me!]. However, I do think the sound could use a bit of fine tuning, 

“Sweet” is the word for GIRLFRIEND. It’s cotton candy, light and airy without much substance. It’s flavorsome, but not nourishing.

You know what they say: The only cure for homosexuality is to issue him a Screen Actor’s Guild card.

Tommy on Top takes this old saw a step further: Tommy Miller (Ryan Cason), closeted Hollywood hunk, has been nominated for an Oscar. Super-swish boyfriend George (Patrick Gosney) and vodka-swigging sister Molly (Theresa Liebhart) join Tommy to discuss the eternal question – in or out? – with an Academy Award and a career hanging in the balance. Gay Trump-loving [huh?] agent Eddie (Chris Sylvie) is adamantly in favor of the closet – a good thing, as he spends a great deal of the show stuffed into one. Why? Well, it seems evil columnist Kiki (Blythe Inanna) wants to out Tommy with some compromising photos, and celebrity talent manager Judy Jensen (Beth Johnson) wants to be Tommy’s new agent … over Eddie’s dead body! Almost.

That’s pretty much the story in a nutshell (which is arguably where it belongs).

Written by British playwright Chris Woodley, Tommy on Top was a hit in London, and is now premiering in the US at the PrideArts Center Theatre.  The British provenance is very apparent and, unfortunately, a problem with the production.

I’ve never been a fan of British humor: it simply makes too much of too little. A quip that originally is droll (e.,g. ‘every sperm is sacred’) is belabored until it’s just boring. The humor in Tommy is simply not funny. I do not find any humor in drunkenness, a theme that repeats throughout the show. I’m not amused by violence, and the gunplay is completely tasteless (though the juxtaposition with the Highland Park massacre could not have been predicted). I don’t laugh at defenestration (isn’t that a great word?!), and the anti-Irish theme may be funny across the Pond, but in Chicago it’s baffling. And a Trump-loving gay Hollywood agent? Maybe in London, not so much here.

The cast do an extraordinary job. Patrick Gosney sparkles as George; and Ryan Cason is as adorably hunky as a Hollywood leading man should be. Director Jay Espano does a great job knitting all the actors’ excellent work together, and kudos to Garrett McCann and Jack McElroy for intimacy and fight choreography. A special shoutout to Chris Sylvie, who stepped in at the last minute as Eddie. And Tommy’s final monologue is lovely, revealing the show’s heart at last. Too bad we had to sit through 90 minutes to get to it. Comedy is a fine instrument for social commentary. The problem is that this script isn’t very funny.

BUT WAIT: as I said, I’m not a fan of British humor, and farce is not my favorite genre. If, however, you happen to like preposterous premises, cumbersome one-liners, outrageous over-acting and senseless physical brawling, Tommy on Top is for you. If you still giggle at the 3 Stooges, this show will make you LOL.