Gold Dust Orphans' Wizzin'

Go see it. It is hilarious. Check your homophobia and go to The Machine, a gay bar over by Fenway Park, and laugh your ass off.

It's great when all of your expectations are met in the theater. So much is crap, or it's just not right up there and you find yourself sitting in the audience making concessions for the actors or the production. And theater isn't getting any cheaper.

First, go. And when you go, check to see if the Sox are playing. I dropped Sue off at the door and went to park. There's a little lot around the corner I figured I'd shoot for if I couldn't find any on-street parking. Nothing on the street and parking was $35 because the Sox were in town. Holy Christ. Those guys are going to burn in hell, it's that simple. 

So, after driving around for awhile and it was getting late, I said to hell with it and parked at the Beth Israel Hospital. (Here's a tip: when you bail your car out, tell the attendant that you were there for a doctor's visit and you get a discount. I can't believe they bought that I had a doctor's visit at 11:00 last night, but they did. Sue was busting a gut laughing.)

I got there about a half hour late, and they let me in. The woman at the door (yes, see: it's a gay bar but women work there...sheesh) showed me where my "wife" was sitting (that's so cute, they think all heterosexuals are married) and in seconds I was laughing.

It's an original script, original music, with social commentary, the usual Orphans' sight gags like little things flying around on a wire, and some of the funniest jokes on the planet. C'mon, instead of ruby slippers Dorothy is wearing ruby panties. Glinda is a coke addict (helps when the poppers put them to sleep: Hey, it's snowing!) The scarecrow doesn't have a brain but that doesn't mean he can't keep talking on his cell phone. Lots of people do . The Tin Man doesn't have a heart and the hard drive on his laptop froze. The Cowardly Lion has gender issues. "C'mon, I'll fight you with my hair tied back." (Now that's funny.) They're all going to see the Wizard of Id and they get around in a giant vagina. I know that' sounds weird, but you just gotta see it and you'll be dying. 

It's campy and it's serious (well, seriously funny) commentary about our lives today, and you just don't see that in so much "serious" theater. I just wonder sometimes just how relevant any of the theater is nowadays. I love the theater, but I have to question why it's so hard to fill seats, at least in the smaller theaters. More and more, small theater companies play to their friends. You hear that the theater is dying and sometimes I wonder if maybe we should just let a lot of it die off and see what grows back, because we're just sort of keeping it on life support. 

A gay old time in Boston

I'm having a gay old time this week...

First, on Wednesday I checked out Love My Life at the Gay and Lesbian Film Festival...actually, the reason I went is because it was advertised for it's indie music and because it's set in Japan...Sue has sparked my interest in Japan since she lived there for so long...

And it's a completely enchanting movie...great story, about two Japanese young woman who are lesbians, and the whole cast of characters that that surrounds them--who knew there were that many gays in Japan...but it's a great story, tenderly and amusingly told, delightfully shot--it's so easy to watch, the cinemaphotorpher just lays it out for you to see...and you love and care for each and every character, rooting for them to get what they want...here's the trailer...even in Japanese it's pretty easy to see what it's all about...

and oh, the opening scene is killer...it's one of the final shots in the trailer where they are kissing and passing a piece of candy back and forth between their mouths...so sensual and playful and funny, I laughed out loud...and the ending scene to the movie is one of the hottest love scenes you'll ever see....



Then tonight I'm going to see the Gold Dust Orphans production of Wizzin'. Ryan Landry and the Orphans are up to their old tricks again, only this time it's Dorothy who flies off to the Land of Id, and the Wicked Witch is after her ruby panties.

From their site:

An adult version of the beloved classic, “The Wizard of Oz”, “Whizzin’” tells the musical story of troubled teenager Dorothy Gale, as she travels over the rainbow, far from the dull, sepia toned trailer parks of Hyannis to the deep, dark recesses of her own VERY colorful mind.

It's a musical, magical place called "The Land of Id" where all your favorite characters reside! There's a pill popping Glinda, some VERY gay Munchkins, an agoraphobic Tin Man, a painfully insecure Lion, a cell phone addicted Scarecrow ... even the sociopathic Wicked Witch of the South End flies in for a spell!

Chock full of terrific new songs, (plus a few standards!) "Whizzin'!" just can't be beat for all out entertainment!

The show boasts an all-star cast of Orphan favorites, including Afrodite, Penny Champagne, Megan Love, Olive Another, Billy Hough, Ryan Landry, Cheri Amour and returning to the Orphan stage, Boston favorite Rick Park! So grab your basket and get on board for the silliest, sexiest sensation of the season!

Enough said...I can't wait...