REVIEW: Spotlighters' "Sissies": Laughter Through Tears

So many gay-themed plays are performed now that they are as mainstream as Neil Simon and Arthur Miller. As a result, they are given a fairer critical eye, no longer poo pooed as "just another campy fag show." And because of that, gay plays presented provide a more varied and more accurate portrayal of homosexuals in society – some sharply political (Angels in America), others campy fun (Psycho Beach Party), and still others that portray gays as simply people (Love! Valour! Compassion!, Torch Song Trilogy). An unfortunate byproduct of the plethora of this genre is that they threaten to become passé or trite. Fortunately, and just in time for Gay Pride Month, Spotlighters has found a play that is a wonderful hybrid of all three types, and it ultimately flies in the face of trite and passé by giving its inevitable stereotypes meaningful and surprising twists. That play is the delightfully funny, thought-provoking, and ultimately deeply emotional Southern Baptist Sissies by Del Shores, expertly directed by Terry J. Long.

Right off the bat, I should tell you that you needn't be Southern, Baptist or a Sissy to enjoy this production. In fact, one of the most treasured memories I now have in years of theatergoing happened this past Sunday when I attended. There were plenty of gay men there to be sure, but there were also senior citizens, married couples, white folks, African-Americans, Jews, Catholics, and at least one Northerner (me). What was so remarkable was that regardless of our background, we laughed together, cried together, and made a statement together. You see, amongst the audience were people holding each other – a man and his wife sat hand in hand and arm in arm not five feet from a gay couple feeling comfortable enough to hold each other in just the same way, and not ten feet from them were two of the sweetest older ladies laughing until the tears flowed, and across the theatre from them two sisters shared Kleenex to dab their eyes. Such is the beauty and warmth that this marvelous production radiates.

I suppose in an effort to make it more accessible, the play at first dabbles in groan inducing stereotypes. It is inevitable that a gay play has an ultra femme drag queen, a twinkie club boy, a leather guy, and a jaded old queen with a cruel barb ready for any occasion. And what better villain that a Bible-verse yelling minister, or on "our side" the understanding mother, the terrified mother or the blatantly ignorant mother. And what Southern play would be without a cavalcade of trailer park jokes and loud country music. Sissies, indeed, has all of these. In a way, it sort of levels the playing field. Straight people love to laugh at the "funny gay guy", gay people can laugh at the bold types, and everyone loves a decent drag queen! But the joke is on us, because these characters are so well written and superbly acted that all of the sudden you start to realize a few unsettling things about yourself, regardless of your orientation. It also contains some sharp political observations, ponders some extremely deep and provoking religious ideas, and some blatantly honest, stinging admissions about sexuality. To say more would ruin the surprises, shocks and sorrows of this piece. Suffice it to say, that if you are REALLY honest with yourself, there is a lot of truth in each of the characters that fits everyone's lives. After all, human beings on any part of the sexual spectrum want the same basic things: to live without fear, to have the respect of others, to have dignity, and to be loved and accepted, not only by others, but by ourselves as well. You will need (and you really must) to see this play for yourselves to get anymore about it out of me!

Mr. Long has assembled the finest ensemble cast so far this year of any local production. Each and every cast member stands out, but none takes away from the others. That is nothing less than remarkable. On the keyboards, is Brother Chaffey (FUZZ Roark), church organist, choir member and remarkable under scorer for the piece. Mr. Roark, who spends much of the play tucked in a dark corner plays beautifully and is 100% in character the entire time, something a lesser actor wouldn't bother with until the spotlight hit him. John Sadowsky as Preacher is astonishing in his delivery – at first a send up of televangelists and the like, and later a chillingly bold, unbending man of the cloth who preaches with fire and brimstone that is at once terrifying and enraging. His passion makes you believe that he believes every word he says, and the fire in his eyes would make the staunchest Atheist start believing. Best of all, there are moments in his performance that are more low key, and here is where the vulnerability lies – he is also a man afraid – afraid of anything that questions his black and white world – and he hides behind the very book he professes to love. In the difficult, most stereotypical roles of jaded queen, Peanut Leroy and the trailer trash tramp, Odette Barnett, Ed Zarkowski and Tammy Kugler at first give us all the right moves for their over the top characters, and boy, are they funny! But they are also the backbone of the play, because as they and we get to know each other better, the honesty starts to flow. And just maybe we see a glimpse of how the other characters might end up – alone and scared and pretend happy. Peanut could be the future of any of the young boys we meet; Odette could be any of the mothers or sisters who reject them and spend their lives regretting that rejection. Without such wonderfully nuanced portrayals, this play would be much less powerful. Kudos to both, and particularly Ms. Kugler, who is making a remarkable stage debut with this play. Finally, in the challenging multiple roles of every boy's mother, Cathy Shipley is a tour de force. Each mother is distinct, and so expertly played that I (and I am sure everyone else in the audience) could see a little bit of my own mother in each character. She is brilliantly hilarious as the mother worried over finding her son in an old dress of hers. And in her final scene, her wails of grief are chilling and heart-breaking.

The four title characters are of course the real meat of the play, no pun intended. Ok, so just as the stereotypes are portrayed as described above, so too are the gay stereotypes also portrayed, to the delight of everyone there who came expecting that and nothing more. There is the hilarious drag performance of Iona Traylor (David C. Allen) who does a pretty nice Dolly Parton 9-to-5, the beefcake of TJ (Alex Peri), the young blonde twink Andrew (Andrew Syropoulos), and the thoughtful, angry gay man, Mark (Tony Viglione). Yes, you see plenty of skin, lots of hot guys in underwear, a sex scene or two, even simulated masturbation and a few pretty hot kisses. But if you think you are seeing Naked Boys Singing or La Cage aux Folles, you couldn't be farther from the truth. And shame on you, if that disappoints you. All of the sexuality is poignant, honest and reflective. None of the nudity is gratuitous, and is in fact germane to the plot. And all of it is so powerful and real, you'd have to be made of stone not to relate to it. It is all there, warts and all. The joy of first love, the confusion of being "different", the struggle of feeling that you are right when the rest of the world tells you you are wrong, the fear of being caught, and the devestation of rejection. The final scenes of acts one and two masterfully put all of those conflicts together in stunning tableaus juxtaposing religion and family and friends and homosexuality. The desperate pleading of a young man who has lost his first love and the anguished cries of a mother at loss, and the fervent preaching of the Gospel against the powerful shouts of the righteous are images and sounds that this reviewer may never forget. Those two scenes alone show what a completely masterful director Terry Long is. But his job was made all the easier with the casting of those four men named above. Each is no less than brilliant every single moment they are on stage. And that is no easy task, for they must age from about 8 years old to adulthood, and not necessarily in chronological order. Mr. Allen has the unenviable task of not only playing a troubled "sissy", but a convincing drag queen as well. And he does so with excellent form – he is funny as hell camping it up, and harshly honest when his bitterness comes to the fore, and poignantly touching when his act comments upon the sorrows of his lifelong friends. Mr. Peri also faces quite a challenge as the boy who so fears his gayness that he completely runs from it, using God and a woman or two to cover his true feelings. Peri is never better than when he finally confronts his best friend and his demons in a powerful scene in act two. Mr. Syropoulos has done what so many other actors in similar roles never seem to. He has made the twink/club boy more than a pretty face with a great, lean body and cute ass (he has all three, for those of you who must know); he has created a real well-rounded character, whose fear of looking less than perfect as he runs around the club circuit is only overshadowed by his fear of getting caught and rotting in Hell. His performance is uniformly strong and affecting. Lastly, Mr. Viglione gives a brilliant performance, as the smart, questioning self-aware gay man. His is the character who never doubts who he is, but doubts the world around him – what he is taught, what he thinks of God, and more importantly, what he thinks God thinks of him. Ultimately, the character is on a universal quest for the truth about his place in the world both here and in the afterlife. Viglione acts this role with his very soul – he portrays the inner conflict so well, and makes such compelling arguments even a Republican might think twice. It is he, in the final scenes of both acts, who is absolutely riveting. His anger and loss are tangible. He embodies the perfect union of character, words and direction. His performance is one of those that passionate theatergoers live to see. It is a rare, fine thing. Congratulations to all four young men – you make me not only proud of who I am, but of all the possibilities the gay community has.

Throughout the show, the narrator character, Mark says, "Sometimes I close my eyes and create a world of acceptance, understanding and love." For a lightning-fast 2 hours, this group of strangers – audience, cast and crew - shared that dream world. Let us all pray that some day that world will be real.

Spotlighters offers this advisory: No one under the age of 16 will be admitted due to content, language and partial nudity. PHOTOS:

Top: (L-R Benny (David Allen), Mark (Tony Vigilone), Andrew (Andrew Syropoulos) and TJ (Alex Peri)

Bottom: (L) Tony Viglione as Mark and (R) Andrew Syropoulos as Andrew in Southern Baptist Sissies. Photos by Amy Jones.

SPECIAL DISCOUNT FOR BROADWAYWORLD.COM/BALTIMORE/WASHINGTON READERS! CELEBRATE GAY PRIDE MONTH AT SPOTLIGHTERS!

Spotlighters and the Baltimore/Washington pages of BroadwayWorld.com have teamed up to offer you a 33% discount on tickets to this fantastic production. Mention BroadwayWorld.com when you make a Will Call (Phone) reservation or at the Box Office at the Spotlighters' Theatre and get your tickets for $10.00 each! That's 1/3 off the $15.00 ticket price! Don't forget – tell them you read about the Sissies on BroadwayWorld.com and get your tickets for just $10.00 each! Performances are Fridays and Saturdays at 8PM, Sundays at 2PM through July 1, with a special Pride performance Thursday, June 15^th at 8PM. There are no performances on June 17^th or 18^th. Call 410-752-1225 or go to www.spotlighters.org for more information.