Review: Desert Rose's Gay Heritage Production - VAMPIRE LESBIANS OF SODOM, presented with SLEEPING BEAUTY OR COMA, is Non-Stop Insanity and a Great Deal of Fun.

I guess I ought to be worried about my sanity, because I'm beginning to understand playwright Charles Busch's humor - I laughed my head off at the lunacy in Desert Rose Playhouse's excellent production of a set of Busch one-acts, SLEEPING BEAUTY OR COMA and VAMPIRE LESBIANS OF SODOM.

I suspect that few community theatre companies could pull off this combination of visual humor, fast flying double entendres, and choreography, but Desert Rose's director (Jim Strait) and its performers are up to the task. The double bill is the company's annual Gay Heritage presentation, which consists of seminal work in the history of gay theatre. Producer Paul Taylor, Mr. Strait's husband, considers these plays a modern form of vaudeville.

Playwright Charles Busch is, among other things, a nightclub performer specializing in drag, a novelist, a director, and an actor. In much of his work, including SLEEPING BEAUTY OR COMA and VAMPIRE LESBIANS OF SODOM, the actors must check their dignity at the door. They must also learn to walk around in six-inch stiletto heels - at least the males. The result is a side-splitting few hours, thanks to the comic chops of Mr. Strait, choreographer Robbie Wayne, and the cast.

Eight performers - seven men and one woman - play twenty-two characters. The sole woman is the versatile and accomplished Adina Lawson, who dances, does accents, simulates a coma, and somehow keeps a straight face throughout the antics. Loren Freeman and Kam Sisco have the juiciest parts, hilariously portraying women dressed to the nines in clothing from various eras. Desert Rose veteran Terry Huber, who can switch between serious roles and meshugas with ease, also uproariously plays women, but he does not get to wear beautiful outfits; his are the character roles - the dried-up old prunes with the pursed-up lips, who look down their noses in disdain at the lower classes. Richard Marlow portrays men in both plays - sort of. As King (or is it queen) Carlisle, in VAMPIRE LESBIANS OF SODOM, he wears garish clothing and makeup reminiscent of Joel Grey's CABARET maquillage. Jacob Betts, Steven Ciceron, and John Fryer play both gay and straight roles, but the "straight" roles are anything but in terms of their characters' oddball behavior. Why does Hujar, guard of the monstrous vampire succubus, keep tugging at his nipple? Whatever the reason, this bit of stage business is priceless, albeit squirm-inducing.

The ensemble cast has mastered the timing intricacies, both in movement and verbal delivery, that are key to success in vaudeville. Although these are straight plays (i.e., non-musicals), there is plenty of dancing. Choreographer Robbie Wayne, a relative newcomer to Desert Rose, is a big gun in Jim Strait's arsenal, as is the deep bench of talented dancers in the cast. These accomplished performers are the reason that Desert Rose can successfully present these plays, when many community theatres would probably not dare try.

A drag show needs brilliant costume design, and Allan Jensen is up to the task. It is impossible to describe his concoctions, which range from the sublime to the ridiculous. Wig designer Toni Molano and the uncredited makeup designer make Kam Sisco beautiful, Loren Freeman and Richard Marlow outrageous, and Terry Huber's females VERY ugly. (Mr. Huber is not at all ugly in real life, and no one would mistake him for a woman).

There is a brief male nude scene that takes place during a heterosexual threesome, with one actor completely naked and one wearing a modesty shield. Although the show is definitely for adults only, this scene and the nipple-tugging are the sole visual gags likely to unnerve squeamish audience members.

Those who appreciate Charles Busch's offbeat humor should not miss this top-notch Desert Rose production.

The rest of the front office and crew consists of Edward Monie (executive producer); Steve Fisher (stage manager); Phil Murphy (lighting designer), who has created excellent strobe effects without a strobe light; and Walter Lab (scenic painting), who, along with director Jim Strait, created an excellent piece of art depicting someone dressed in 1960's "mod" style.

SLEEPING BEAUTY OR COMA and VAMPIRE LESBIANS OF SODOM will run through Sunday, February 12, 2017. Ticket prices for Friday and Saturday evening performances (at 8 p.m.) are $35 each; and $32 for Sunday matinee performances (at 2 p.m.). Tickets can be ordered online at www.desertroseplayhouse.org or by calling the box office at 760-202-3000. There is no service charge for Internet or phone orders.

The Desert Rose Playhouse is located just north of Frank Sinatra Boulevard, near the Emperor Buffet, at 69-620 Highway 111, Rancho Mirage, CA 92270. The Box Office opens at 4 p.m. before evening performances and at noon on Sundays.

The rest of Desert Rose's 2016-17 season consists of:

SOUTHERN BAPTIST SISSIES by Del Shores, March 10 - April 2, 2017.
Storyteller Mark Lee Fuller tries to create a world of love and acceptance in the church and clubs of Dallas, Texas, while desperately trying to find a place to put his own pain and rage. The world Mark creates also includes two older barflies, Peanut and Odette, whose banter takes the audience from hysterical laughter to tragedy and tears. Contains adult material and brief nudity.

Clark Gable SLEPT HERE, by Michael McKeever, April 28 - May 21, 2017.
One of the silver screen's brightest action stars charms his way through the Golden Globe Awards ceremony accompanied by his wife. Meanwhile, back at the Chateau Marmont, his staff tries to figure out what to do with the naked dead male prostitute on his bedroom floor. A jet-black satire on what it means to be a "man" in the make-believe world of motion pictures, where nothing is ever what it seems and closets are used for so much more than hanging up your tuxedo. Adult material and nudity.

Desert Rose Playhouse will hold its annual party fundraiser on Sunday, February 12, 2017, including dinner and entertainment, with musical direction by Wayne Abravanel.

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