The Audacity of Nope or How I Fell for a Pansy Scheme
Playwrights: The Ensemble At: Strawdog Theatre, 3829 N. Broadway. Phone: 800-838-3006; $20 . Runs through Dec. 5
Snow White and the Drag Queen Who Stole X-mas
Playwright: Tony Lewis . At: MidTangent Productions at Hydrate, 3458 N. Halsted. Phone: 773-975-9244 or tix.com; $10. Runs through Dec. 12
Gay theater for its people, by its people and of its people. That's how some casual theatergoers might write off GayCo Productions' new comedy revue The Audacity of Nope or How I Fell for a Pansy Scheme and MidTangent Productions' Snow White and the Drag Queen Who Stole X-mas.
But why ghettoize shows that both have abundant talent and irreverent humor? Whether or not you belong to the LGTBQ community, both shows succeed with plenty of universal wit and performance panache.
Under Sean Cusick's astute direction, GayCo's The Audacity of Nope or How I Fell for a Pansy Scheme serves up plenty of prescriptive laughs for those unhappy with the speed of gay rights legislation or annoyed by Chicago parking, the H1N1 virus and culturally backward Fox News commentators.
But GayCo doesn't stint on critical ribbing for its own people, and it more than dishes out laugh-out-loud humor on the shallowness and rampant political correctness that can sometimes thrive within the LGTBQ community.
The whole cast is great, but Andy Eninger particularly stands out as a gay brunching guy who hypocritically freaks out when his straight roommate ( Kathy Betts ) finds happiness. Jim Bennett is another bright spot, particularly when he sticks it to those in master/slave relationships as a submissive who also has a prominent City of Chicago job.
MidTangent's Snow While and the Drag Queen Who Stole X-Mas serves up more in this sequel to its hit production of Snow White and the Seven Drag Queens. Instead of mostly lip-syncing, the entire cast now sings out their songs in a show that runs longer than its predecessor.
But like most sequels, this Snow While pales when it comes to plot continuation. Director/playwright Tony Lewis serves up a mélange of Brothers Grimm catch phrases mixed with elements of Christmas favorites like A Christmas Story and the The Grinch Who Stole Christmas. He then tops off with Christmas and pop-song parodies ( like Lady Gaga's "Poker Face" and Journey's "Don't Stop Believin'" ) .
All this doesn't always mesh together cohesively, causing a lack of focus and not enough material for Emily Rogers' super-talented Snow White. But as a trade-off, more drag queens get to sparkle, particularly Eric Bond's beautifully sung Sleepy Pillowtalk ( "Walking in a Homo Wonderland" ) , Aaron Michael Amakiewicz's dunce-like Dopey Dupree and Omicah House's bitchy Grumpy Hangover.
Once again stealing the show is Madame X, who is exquisite with her comic timing and fantastically tailored costumes as the villain Madame Grinch. Madame X truly is a drag queen that others should aspire to emulate.
GayCo and MidTangent's holiday shows clearly cater to LGTBQ audiences. But they're both packed with enough impressive talent and naughty humor that they should appeal to anyone.
