I loved it, but you have to be in the mood... The play is completely insane, a pastiche of the "women's prisons" movies of the late 50s and early 60s – hard to believe Tom Eyen went on to write DREAMGIRLS! But he was a far-out counterculture expert in his youth.
This new production played the Montalban Theatre in Los Angeles, late January-early February 2020, just before the plague came roaring down the tracks. The performers include a bevy of popular performers from RuPaul's Drag Race, etc., including Eureka O'Hara who went on to have her own show on HBO. Miss Coco Peru is one of the highlights (isn't she always?) Former adult film performer Wesley Woods plays the single male in various roles, and top-lining are Traci Lords and Mink Stole, veterans of their work together in John Waters' "Cry-Baby."
There was originally a brief off-Broadway production in the 70s, followed by a 2nd one which starred Divine (that's the one that put the play on the map.) An LA production starred Adrienne Barbeau (I think in the early 80s). It's usually produced on a fairly minimal scale, small-off-Broadway-style; this new one from 2020 was produced on a much larger scale. Scott Thompson (Austin Musical Theatre, HBO's "Cathouse: The Musical") directed; Fred Barton wrote a new title song to frame the play as the credits roll. |
