Playwright: Tony Lewis and Michael Elm. At: Hydrate Nightclub, 3458 N. Halsted. Phone: 773-835-0420; www.tix.com; $10. Runs through: May 26
MidTangent Productions is at it again with more fairy tales at its homo home, Hydrate Nightclub. The same company that penned Snow White and the Seven Drag Queens as well as Twinkie and the Beast now dreams up its version of Alice In Wonderland, with a few things falling down the rabbit hole.
A parody of Enrique Iglesias' "Tonight (I'm Loving You)" provided a shaky start to the show, but things picked up quickly. Max Bever, as Alex Kingsley, has the thankless task of playing the "straight" man but seems a little stiff at times. The White Rabbit arrives and delivers some slick lines, as does stage diva Katerina Papadatos, performing in a duel role of Alex's mother and the The Queen of Hearts, taking a cue from Joan Crawford and camping it up.
Singer Natalia Kills' Wonderland track is tailor-made for the show and carried the plot forward. However, an ABBA tune about money could have been left at Mamma Mia.
The Cheshire Cat is a lesbian in this version—with her lover, Dinah—and really has a sweet voice. At times she need to "sing out, Louise" because there was a loud party backstage during much of the show, making it hard to hear her dialogue or vocals at times. The stage manager was not quieting the troops down from the dressing room, at least during the April 13 performance. With such a large cast, maybe that is easier said than done.
The Mad Hatter was hilarious, sounding much like a cross between Paul Lynde and the honey badger's Randall voice on YouTube.
A trio of drag dream worms had strong highlights as caterpillars; however, they weren't always easy to follow.
The characters Tweaker Dee and Tweaker Dum had some nice moments throughout the show, with over-the-top theatrics. Speaking of which, a few simple tweaks could really help, such as enunciating (for many of the cast). Placing glow tape on the stairs would have saved The Queen of Hearts from falling in the dark.
The fun is figuring out where some of the tunes are inspired from, whether it is Pink's "Raise Your Glass" or Katy Perry's "Firework," complete with glow sticks. Lady Gaga somehow deserved two songs.
Things could be cut (as the show is a little long to sustain in a bar atmosphere), running two hours. Also, where were the Alex in Wonderland drink specials?
That could be easily fixed for the future and will keep everyone wondering what this group will do next as it continues improving over past productions.
What's next: Cinderfella or The Little Merman? It's a whole new world for MidTangent Productions to parody and there are many more fairy tales ripe for the gay picking.
