BWW Reviews: Theatre Out's BOYS WILL BE BOYS, A New Musical

Theatre Out, Orange County's sole gay-and-lesbian theater company, has certainly put on, in its short history of existence, a candy-colored selection of campy, outrageous productions through the years. Perhaps its most overtly homo-celebratory yet is its latest offering, the so-gay-it-bleeds-rainbows original new musical BOYS WILL BE BOYS, with performances continuing at the Empire Theater in Santa Ana through November 20. The intermission-less, 75-minute musical revue-a mixture of Broadway parodies, over-the-top high-jinks, funny tunes with an endless pride parade of double-entendres, and even a few touchingly melancholy moments-is a fairly entertaining musical showcase delivered by an ensemble cast of really talented, strong voices.

Filled with the fun you might get from a gay, underground sketch comedy troupe, the show's musical set list is packaged within the go-to crutch of musical revues... a paper-thin plot. Here, a gaggle of gays and their fabulous anatomically-female gal pal have decided to put on a benefit cabaret-style concert on behalf of Ishmael Gonzalez, one of the many young gay men who suffer from GAY-D-D...Gay Attention Deficit Disorder. It's a condition which plagues the afflicted with an inability to focus on any current trends for more than a few weeks. Originally, the plans called for the show to take place at a larger venue in West Hollywood. But due to circumstantial constraints, they have settled for a basement cavern in, uh, lovely Santa Ana... that is also, at this moment, hosting a bar mitzvah upstairs.

Led by their self-professed resident theater maven Bobby (Dustin Thompson), the friends press on to mount a concert that featuring a steady stream of gay-centric tunes that celebrate (and sometimes expose) the complexities, the joys, and the disappointments of living the modern gay life. Along the way, egos are bruised, costumes are bedazzled, spotlights are stolen, confessed truths are revealed, and maybe even a few hearts are opened.

Singing side-by-side with the, uh, overly-expressive Bobby, the colorful performers present-through song and dance-a mild variety of archetypes in the gay world (well, more behavioral diversity rather than ethnic). There's the cute twink-next-door Luke (Jared Ryan Kaitz); his shy, more butch close friend Tyler (BRyan White); their witty, less emaciated buddy Willson (Alex Mohadjer); and, of course, their beautiful lady hanger-on Jane (the terrific Andrea Dennison-Laufer). Each gets a chance to solo and duet on specific songs to really express their personal situations and attitudes.

With book and lyrics penned by Joe Miloscia and music composed by Kenneth Kacmar, BOYS WILL BE BOYS portrays the unabashedly unapologetic nature of being gay, peppering the show with the expected gay stereotypes and lingo, but twists them to be less of a criticism, but rather more of a celebratory acceptance of their unique lifestyle. Subtlety is thrown out the window the minute the lights go up on these rainbow-hued boys (and girl). Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Gay-stravaganza!

There's plenty about gay life that's lovingly skewered here: from a gay kid's expected awkwardness with sports activities (the euphemism-laced "Balls") to, among other things, the universal need for equal marriage rights ("A Gay-Fashioned Wedding"). Sexual innuendo gets quite pun-y in "Our Opening," a musical thesaurus for, well, that word; "Someplace Obscene," an ode to fetishes; and "You Lift Me Up" a, uh, stimulating tribute to Viagra. Meanwhile, Jane, the lone female in their midst, not only sings acceptingly about her place in the gay world ("Where There's A Will, There's A Grace") but also frustratingly about the gay world's perceived monopoly on attractive men ("All the Cute Ones").

Though the show suffers from a slightly awkward start-where some of the jokes fall a bit flat-it certainly improves markedly as it moves along. On the surface, BOYS WILL BE BOYS, though quite good mostly, still feels much like a work-in-progress. Not unlike any freshly-baked show still finding its footing, this show has every potential to be even more hilarious with a bit more polish and tightening-specifically with Miloscia's book. The inclusion of brief vignettes highlighting "Great Moments in Gay History" are definitely amusing. However, the introduction of an audience-participatory bingo game is, though certainly cute, can at times feel merely like an inserted time-filler (though, to be fair, the audience finally laughed up the surprising game results... even though their offered explanation felt a bit hurriedly dismissed).

With a bit more tinkering, this new musical could be just as good as another gay-tinged cult musical, Zanna Don't (which, coincidentally, was a previously presented musical at Theatre Out some months ago). Many of the songs are already playful and clever... much of them hilarious enough to elicit well-earned laughs. And, as silly as this show is, it also has a lot of tender moments... as in the male quartet's quietly understated ode to love ("Happy and Gay") and in Luke's heartbreaking solo on "Giant" (though this song has no direct connection to any of the recent tragic gay teen suicides, the mood of these real-life deaths certainly hovered in the theater during Jared Ryan Kaitz's incredibly moving performance).

As in many cases lately, a talented, hardworking ensemble cast can do so much to elevate the material. BOYS WILL BE BOYS' quintet is no exception. Kaitz and Mohadjer both possess incredible vocal talents, while Thompson's purely manic outrageousness provide many of the show's memorable sight gags. White, too, is excellent and his timidness affirms a vulnerability that's downright adorable. Even the silent facial expressions of the show's corner-planted piano accompanist (Stephen Amundson, who also serves as this show's musical director) works really well juxtaposed with the rest of the cast.

Ironically, in a show supposedly about BOYS, it's the sole female in the cast that steals much of the show. Once again, Dennison-Laufer-lately a delightful frequent presence in the Theatre Out Acting Company-is utterly sublime, both as a bawdy song stylist/diva belter, and as a no-holds-barred comedienne. In perhaps the show's funniest, most gut-busting moment, the brave young actress attempts the longest, most arduous-and ultimately, funniest-piano mount ever dramatized. The audience, helpless under her charms, erupts in a non-stop avalanche of laughs. It was a welcome explosion of unbridled hilarity that this show really needed at that exact moment. No wonder the gays love her. Bravo, Ms. Dennison-Laufer!

Directed and choreographed by Frankie Marrone (himself a frequent actor in the Theatre Out production pool), BOYS WILL BE BOYS' best offerings are its appealing song parodies-melodic homages that hint at various popular musical compositions, most from other Broadway musicals. Listen carefully and you'll hear transposed musical signposts in most, if not all the songs. Right away, you'll hear bits of "Somewhere That's Green" from Little Shop of Horrors in the similarly wishful "Someplace Obscene." "An Old Fashioned Wedding" from Annie Get Your Gun is queer-ified in "A Gay-Fashioned Wedding" (complete with wedding gown)! Even Josh Groban's "You Raise Me Up" becomes a Viagra jingle in Willson's solo number "You Lift Me Up."  Bobby's declarative "Some Gay Boys" has more than a passing similarity to "Some People" from Gypsy. And even the show's penultimate ensemble number "Look What's Underneath" sounds curiously like "You Can't Stop The Beat" from Hairspray.

Musical theater, unsurprisingly, is a genre of entertainment that has attracted a huge gay following for many, many decades. So it seems, then, fitting that BOYS WILL BE BOYS, a boastful celebration of gay life, comes in the form of a charmingly sassy musical comedy... that with a bit more editing and work, could be something really, really great. To that, I say, "Sing out, Louise!"

Photos by Bill Boland/Theatre Out. Top: Jared Ryan Kaitz & BRyan White.
Middle: Dustin Thompson & Alex Mohadjer. Bottom: Andrea Dennison-Laufer with Stephen Amundson.

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Performances of BOYS WILL BE BOYS, An OUT-rageous New Musical continue through November 20. Tickets are priced $25 (adults) and $15.00 (students with valid student ID). Special prices are available for select performances.

Performances on Fridays, Saturdays and select Thursdays are at 8:00 pm and select Sunday matinees are at 2:00 pm. Dates are Oct 15-16; Oct 22-23; Oct 29-30; Nov 4-7; Nov 12-14; Nov 18-20.

Approximate Running Time: 1 hour 15 minutes with no intermission.

Theatre Out's home is The Empire Theatre in the Artists' Village in downtown Santa Ana, located at 202 N. Broadway, Santa Ana, CA.

Tickets are available online at www.theatreout.com or by calling the Theatre Out Box Office at (714) 826-8700. Visit www.theatreout.com for more information.

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