Review: JURASSIQ PARQ at SF Oasis

There’s a strong history of outrageous drag performance art in San Francisco. Born of necessity as a weapon against homophobia, discrimination and vile hatred, the gay community developed an all-inclusive, often comic, in-your-face style of theatre that includes nudity, sexual innuendo, and social satire. They’ve taken the Shakespearean gender bending roles to the extreme and what producer D’Arcy Drollinger and writer/director Michael Phillis pull off with their spoof of the highly popular Jurassic Park franchise of films follows on the respected traditions of troupes like The Cockettes and the Thrillpeddlers before them. Utilizing just enough of the film’s plots, but adding some ridiculous elements, over-the-top performances, and a jukebox of pop hits from Britney Spears to the Backstreet Boys, Jurassiq Parq scratches the itch for bawdy, silly fun with a message.

The production levels are exceptional with the beautiful dinosaur costumes, hilarious video elements and wild staging with characters appearing from all over the space. The three main stars deliver juicy performances: Trans actor Vanilla Meringue (Colonel Sanders Hammond) in the Richard Attenborough role, Elenor Irene Paul as Dr. Laura Dern, and Marshall Forte in the Jeff Goldblum role. Hammond is a lecherous femme, Goldblum a sexy lothario obsessed with chaos theory, and Dern becomes a feminist hero who delivers the show’s message of the dangers of tinkering with genetics.

The huge supporting cast includes anthropomorphic velociraptors, Triceratops, and a Fegosaurus. There’s Hammond’s outrageous grandchildren, Samuel L. Jackson and B.D. Wong all running rampant through a wild and crazy plot from the wildly creative mind of Michael Phillis (Baloney, Sqream, The Nanny, Buffy). Kudos to the creative team of: Rory Davis (Choreography), Steve Bolinger (Music), Jerry Girad (Sound Design), Kypper Snacks (Costumes), Dave Haaz-Baroque (Puppets), Evian (Sets and Props), and Maxx Kurzunski (Lighting).

Producer Drollinger says, “The dinosaurs running our government aren’t funny, but thank God the ones in Jurassiq Parq are.” Those that dismiss drag as a serious art form do so at their peril. There’s high quality audience immersive entertainment going on here.

Jurassiq Parq: A Musiqal Parody runs through August 2nd,  Tickets available through sfoasis.com

Photo Credit: Nicole Fraser-Herron