Playwright: Sean Ewert
At: Nurse Agnes Productions at Stage Left
Phone: (773) 961-0849; $10
Runs through: March 30
In a time when the gay community is at the forefront of national news, being written about in top-tier newspapers and publications across the country, one has to wonder about the timing of productions such as Gary Stereo Raves On. One has to wonder about the validity of productions that make a grab for humor by resurrecting tired gay cliches and stereotypes. The fact that Gary Stereo Raves On presumably comes from one of our own makes it all the more offensive and pathetic. I'm not saying there's no room for humor in the gay community. God, no! If ever there was a time for some sparkling wit or even some good, old-fashioned belly laughs, it's now, when we are not only at the center of public controversy, but also in danger of being constitutionally relegated to being second-class citizens.
Playwright and monologist Sean Ewert has crafted his story of Gary Stereo, an aging club kid (you know the drill: dancing in the best clubs, dropping E, and chasing men) who decides that maybe there's something more to life. Good enough theme, that, and fodder for a real journey of self-actualization and an opportunity to sweep the audience up in compassion, humor, and pathos. Yet Ewert has opted to not have his character grow in any significant way. No, this Gary Stereo is stepping away from his shallow lifestyle with dreams of being a handbag designer for Bitch Bags, and attracting the amorous interest of its chief buyer, Barry. His design consists of a pre-made acrylic clutch with a glow stick inside, thus creating an unwitting metaphor for the show itself: prefab ideas lacking much reach for anything original or new.
Ewert, who performs his own piece, does have the prized thespian ability to toss out his inhibitions and inhabit a character who is a throw-back queeny femme with no depth. At least one hopes that's what he's doing. Ewert as a writer still has a lot to learn about creating a sympathetic character, what makes people laugh, and cutting the extraneous from his work (there are many tiresome trips down memory lane in the course of the 50-minute show that really do not contribute to its overall thesis or through line).
If you enjoy self-indulgent humor that takes a giant step backward for the gay community, you might get a kick out of Gary Stereo Raves On. It's the kind of thing, I think, George Bush would approve of because it marginalizes us and plays up to the worst of gay male stereotypes.
Gasp! Could it be that Sean Ewert is working for right-wing activists? Perhaps Gary Stereo Raves On isn't as dumb as I initially thought.
