13th Street Rep to Hold 'Teach-In' on Gay Theater After MAD ABOUT THE BOY, 4/26

The 13th Street Repertory Theater will present a teach-in on the history of gay musical theater, and gay songs in pop music, following the performances next Sunday (April 26th) at 2 pm and 7 pm of its current hit musical "Mad About the Boy." The presentation will be moderated by ASCAP Award-winning writer/director Chip Deffaa (creator of "Mad About the Boy"), and will feature members of the cast, joined by a special surprise guest.

Deffaa, who's written eight published books (mostly on music) and 16 published plays, comments: "We'll talk a bit about the little-known history of gay musical theater, and gay songs in pop music, and then open it up to questions from the floor. This is certainly the right theater for a discussion of gay musical history."

Edith O'Hara, the legendary 98-year-old founder/artistic director of the 13th Street Repertory Theater, has noted with pride that she produced the very first hit gay musical in New York City--"Boy Meets Boy"-- at that very same theater, 41 years ago. The show ran for more than a year in NYC; productions in LA and London followed. And other producers took note of the commercial viability of gay musical theater.

"Mad About the Boy"--Deffaa's latest success at the theater--is a celebration of gay songs, past and present. Jimmy James, who performed in an earlier workshop version of the show and has assisted with production behind-the-scenes this time, commented, "There's never been a show like 'Mad About the Boy' before; it's an overview of gay musical history, bringing together gay songs from so many different times and places. And audiences love it. We've had wonderful people coming to see it--from terrific actors like Seth Sikes and Ray DeMattis to successful producers like Carol Bradshaw and Dale Joan Young. Deffaa has a rare knowledge of the history and the music; I don't know anyone else who could have put this all together. He created the show to educate as well as entertain, and the teach-in is intended to add to what the show offers." When Deffaa presented the first festival tryout of "Mad About the Boy," nine-time Tony Award-winner Tommy Tune came in to see it; his encouragement prompted Deffaa to develop the show further.

Gay songs have been around a lot longer than most people realize, Deffaa notes. "The late ragtime piano master Eubie Blake told me he first heard the song 'The Bull-Dyke's Dream' back in the 1890s. All of the oldtime ragtime players knew the song; but record companies wouldn't allow it to be recorded under that title. When Blake recorded it, the title was changed to the more innocuous-sounding 'The Dream.' Ma Rainey, the famed 'Mother of the Blues,' sang boldy of lesbianism way back in the 1920s. We'll show people the way the her 'Prove it On Me Blues' was advertised back in the 1920s, with unmistakable lesbian imagery--I have rare ads in my collection--but the record remained somewhat 'underground,' marketed only to black audiences. And sometimes singers sanged in coded language, only understood to those in-the-know. When Bessie Smith sang of a 'buffet flat' in the 1920s, it's doubtful that record executives knew what she was actually singing about." Deffaa, who proled Smith in the book "Harlem Speaks," will explain more on Sunday.

Joining Deffaa in the teach-in and question-and-answer session will be members of the cast and crew of "Mad About the Boy," including Amanda Andrews, Joris de Graaf, Katherine Paulsen, Michael Czyz, Toby Medlyn, Cody Jordan, Michael Knowles, Shinice Hemmings, Mark Blowers, Maite Uzal, John Brady, Michael J.C. Anderson, Al Roths, Luka Fric, Kate Solomon-Tilley. Megan Ulana, Rayna Hirt, Peter Charney. Filmmaker Max Galassi plans to create a promotional video about the show.

Two members of the company who will NOT be participating in the teach-in (unless one of the regular cast members takes ill) are Deffaa's perennial understudies/swings, Ken Adams and Tony Medlyn. They've been picketing the theaters, early mornings, demanding that understudies in New York theaters be guaranteed opportunities to perform.

"This is the third show of Deffaa's for which I've served as an understudy," notes Adams, "and I've yet to go on for any of the cast members; they're healthy as oxes. At every rehearsal, I'm told, 'Just shadow Michael Czyz. Be ready to go on for him, if he ever goes on vacation.' It gets frustrating."

Tony Medlyn, who's also been chafing at the bit to go on, comments: "It's not as if we're chopped liver. Back home in Minnesota, I won the 'Youri Spindler Artist-Deserving-Greater-Recognition Award' for my dancing and acting. I trained with Lance Jonathan. I never knew how tough theater in New York could be."

Deffaa doesn't mind their picketing. "Any publicity is good for the show," he says.

Tickets are $30; readers of Broadwayworld.com can use the promo code "promomatb" to get an exclusive discount. For more information, www.13thstreetrep.org.