Review: KATY PERRY CANDY DARLING MARY MAGDELANE at CATASTROPHIC THEATRE

KATY PERRY Candy Darling MARY MAGDELANE is a play with songs about how a musician meets Katy Perry, and how it impacts their life. It is also a comedy about a band trying to record a perfect pop song. It is a live concert. It is a stand-up comedy routine. It is a lecture on The Velvet Underground, with some brief diversions into Prince’s studio techniques. It is a proudly nerdy coming-out story of being a rock snob who loves pop and also happens to be gender fluid. It is a heartfelt plea to be seen. It is overly long, super sweet, very funny, and something that should touch everyone’s heart if they are lucky enough to see it. It has soul, and you can dance to it. There’s no point in trying to figure out how to explain this one other than to say Joe Folladori has written this show, and they are an immensely talented musician who also presents as Sophia for the entirety of the performance’s two acts. Sophia is sweet, nerdy, smart, and funny. Sophia is Joe, and Joe is Sophia. There is also a band composed of actors who are musicians, as well as an impressive technical presentation created by some of Houston's best talent. 

You may know singer-songwriter (punk pop chanteuse) Joe Folladori from their longtime stint with Houston band the Mathletes or from their work in music media. They have written for the HOUSTON CHRONICLE, HOUSTON PRESS, and have contributed work that made up the annual Tamarie Cooper Show annually from Catastrophic for over twenty years. They have released over 60 CDs and is renowned as a legitimately published rock snob. So this is really brave: coming out not only as Sophia, but also as a hardcore Katy Perry fan. Katy (aka Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson) is one of the world’s largest-selling pop artists after flopping initially as a gospel singer. She is known largely as “the queen of camp,” thanks to her performative and tongue-in-cheek productions. Yet Joe’s show certainly isn’t campy. It is sincere. It’s not drag. It’s not performance. It is identity. Katy Perry may be more purposefully artificial than the earthy Joe/Sophia on every level, but is that what really separates the two? They are both “high-femme, Christian, bisexual, Democrats.” And the whole point of the show is how different are we? All we want is to be seen for the in-between that we all occupy. 

The first act features a fictional band, Birdmurderer, trying to write the perfect pop song, with Sophia as their leader, who keeps name-dropping Katy Perry. Chris Bakos, Juan Sebastian Cruz, Jeff Miller, Cathy Power, Erin Rodgers, Alli Villines, and Abraham Zeus Zapata all have their comic and musical moments in this part. Mara McGhee gets a killer number about Mary Magdalene, which becomes a standout in act one. Sayward Anderson comes on later, and she has a wonderfully warm voice. We get the sense this is a great ensemble, used to working together as an acting troupe and as musicians. There are plenty of Catastrophic in-jokes (neophytes beware!), but nothing seems to get too deep. But once a bite of an apple happens, the stage magically transforms, the actors become the band, and Sophia starts to launch into a concert and confessional that is akin to HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY INCH. She weaves the story that we came for, the gospel of a pop diva, and how Katy Perry factors into it. From then on, it is spellbinding. 

There truly is no acting to critique, because the players are themselves, and that seems to be enough to captivate. Director Tamarie Cooper keeps the beat going, and the pace moves at a nice clip. Both acts could be shorter, but it's nice to get so in-depth into all of this. I appreciated the weird nerdy music factoids, although your mileage may vary. Alli Villines' musical direction is spot-on, and the sound levels were perfect. Afsaneh Aayani’s set lets the musicians do their thing, and it becomes only ethereal when called for. James Templeton’s whiplash video presentation comforts and causes anxiety in equal doses. One moment, it says, “You are okay!” Next, we see a gender swirled psycho killer that Hollywood has thrust on us in a toxic way. He’s making his own drama behind everyone. Tim Thomson’s sound and projections work magic as usual. Macy Lynne’s costumes are cute in a glam rock DIY kind of way. 

I can’t help but think KATY PERRY Candy Darling MARY MAGDELANE owes much to Cameron Mitchell, but where HEDWIG was pure fiction, Sophia is the beautiful truth. What makes all of this work is that we see a person who tells their tale so well, with such heart, and spins out some very cool music at the same time. You end up loving this artist, this person, and you see them, and you just want to dance with them. There is no one else who could deliver this but Joe Folladori / Sophia. There is no other theater that could present this than Catastrophic. It’s a wonder that either exists, but also a miracle. And that they are celebrating a woman who has sold 151 million albums just makes them even weirder.  Here's to all the in-betweens and the queerdos!  Anyone who feels like a plastic bag drifting in the wind... 

KATY PERRY Candy Darling MARY MAGDELANE is only at the MATCH through March 7th. Hopefully, they may add some performances, given that some were not done for this or that reason. Katy Perry is not scheduled to tour until June, so the whole gang has some time. In the meantime, I will be over here with my Velvet Underground and Prince albums, figuring out how to write a show about Courtney Love, Amanda Lear, and Lilith.