by Mark G. Auerbach
Samaria Nixon-Fleming and Austin Thomas in The Legend of Georgia McBride. Photo by Lanny Nagler.
Entertainment has mined a lot of laughs from female impersonators and drag queens for decades. Think the original movie and subsequent Broadway musical La Cage Aux Folles, the movies Some Like It Hot, Tootsie and Hairspray, RuPaul’s Drag Race, or the recent Broadway hits Priscilla, Queen of The Desert or Kinky Boots. When a man steps out in heels and a wig, there’s nothing subtle about the laughs that follow.
The Legend of Georgia McBride, Matthew Lopez’s charmer of a comedy with music, is the fetching tale of Casey, a down on his luck Elvis impersonator going nowhere in a seedy Florida Panhandle town. His partner is pregnant, and he’s about to be evicted. So he turns to drag, in order to pay the bills. Lopez, author of Reverberations, which had its world premiere at Hartford Stage, has created some endearing characters, and the over-the-top drag queens with hearts of gold, are real people making the best of their personal tough times. Casey’s transformation from a theatre geek to a self-assured performer; his desire to make things right for his pregnant girlfriend, and his fears and self-doubt are the perfect character to be juxtaposed with Miss Tracy Mills, a drag star mentor, and Rexy, an out-of-control and over-the-top performer.
Jamison Stern in The Legend of Georgia McBride. Photo by Paul Tate dePoo III.
Beneath the ongoing laughs and Lopez spectacle, there’s a strong message about tolerance. Lopez’ play and Ruggiero’s production never preach, and no one apologizes for their behavior or for who they are.
Rob Ruggiero, TheaterWorks’ versatile director of mostly comedies and dramas, who does his top-of-the-line musicals most often at Goodspeed, gives The Legend of Georgia McBride a fast pace more often seen in musicals. With the help of choreographer Ralph Perkins, who partnered with Ruggiero on Goodspeed’s La Cage Aux Folles, they give the audience one showstopping drag number after another.
Paul Tate dePoo III’s multi-location set fits TheaterWorks’ small stage like a glove; Leon Dobkowski’s costumes and Mark Adam Rampmeyer’s wigs are superb. John Lasiter’s lighting and Ed Chapman’s sound are top notch.
Austin Thomas and Jamison Stern in The Legend of Georgia McBride. Photo by Lanny Nagler.
Austin Thomas is a delightful Casey, transforming from the awkward drag novice into the slick Georgia McBrie, and Jamison Stern as drag goddess Miss Tracy Miller offers a hysterically funny series of impersonations. I could not stop laughing at Stern, who played Albin/Zaza in Ruggiero’s production of La Cage Aux Folles, as he imitated Judy Garland, Patty Duke as Neely O’Hara in Valley of The Dolls, and Bette Davis. Nik Alexander was one outrageous laugh after another as the trashed star Rexy, but in a scene where Rexy shares her background, is poignant and touching.
The audience gave The Legend of Georgia McBride a well-deserved standing ovation. The actor Jim Parsons is slated to star in the film version of The Legend of Georgia McBride, but I suspect no film adaptation can rival the live production at TheaterWorks.
It’s another well-deserved hit for TheaterWorks.
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TheaterWorks presents The Legend of Georgia McBride by Matthew Lopez. Directed by Rob Ruggiero. Scenic design by Paul Tate dePoo III. Costume design by Leon Dobkowski. Lighting design by John Lasiter Sound design by Ed Chapman. Wig design by Mark Adam Rampmeyer. Cast: Nik Alexander, Samaria Nixon-Fleming, Austin Thomas, and Jamison Stern. J. Tucker Smith. Through April 22.. TheaterWorks, 233 Pearl Street, Hartford, CT. For tickets: 860-527-7838 or www.theaterworkshartford.org
Mark G. Auerbach studied theatre at American University and the Yale School of Drama. He’s worked for arts organizations and reported on theatre for newspapers and radio. Mark produces and hosts ArtsBeat Radio on 89.5fm/WSKB Radio.
