Out in the Arts
by D.L. Groover

OUT OF THE STREETS INTO THE THEATERS

For June’s Pride Month celebrations, Houston is chock full of all things singin’ and dancin’. There are musicals, ballets, and the final performances of a pop opera. Some productions are all-out gay, some gay-inspired, and some so frou frou that they might as well be gay. So march down to a local theater and rejuvenate. Fill yourself with pride and a smattering of culture at the same time.

Psycho Beach Party
The great writer/actor/female impersonator extraordinaire Charles Busch always likes to take our most cherished icons and read their beads. He does it with what could be called loving campy bitchiness. Whatever you call it, though, his parodies always end up screamingly funny. Here, he takes those insipid and wonderful Frankie and Annette beach movies and puts them through his distinctively alternative personal food processor: Mom’s in drag, Chicklet’s psychotic, and her two beach bum macho buddies want to hang-ten with each other. It’s so far over the rainbow, you can’t get there from here. But once you’ve gone on a road trip with Mr. Busch, nothing ever quite looks normal again. And for that, we thank him.
Through June 19
Country Playhouse

Boygroove
What else can you do with a boy band but make fun of it? Aaron Macri’s musical spoof, with book by Chris Craddock, will answer all your questions about drugs, sex, and rock and roll. Jason Blagec, Quincy Starnes, Aaron Stryk, and Doug Thompson play the famous spoiled boys in the band and everyone else in this parody from Canada at Theatre LaB Houston through June 27. The show contains “adult material not appropriate for more sensitive playgoers,” which is all the more reason to see it.
Through June 27
Wortham Theater Center

La Fille Mal Gardee
In one of those great ironies that Art is so famous for, this comedy ballet about the simple folk premiered in France at the exact time of the Revolution. There are no mythical creatures, no royals, no combo of both in this gentle, humorous tale. Fille (whose English title should be “The Girl Without a Guardian”) is a tribute to lusty country life, as fatherless Lise bucks the system and her social-striving mom to marry the man she loves, not the rich nitwit who lives down the road. This classic has been re-staged so many times with all sorts of music (Bordeaux folk songs, Rossini tunes, Hertle and Herold scores) that the only thing left from the original is the charming story. Houston Ballet’s production is the justly classic 1960 version, choreographed by the English master Sir Frederick Ashton, using an arrangement of the Herold score from the 1828 St. Petersburg retelling. Look for a maypole, sheaves of wheat, Mom in drag, and the very fey “Butterfly Boy” Alain, who’s more content catching insects than paying attention to the abundant feminine charms of ballerina Lise.
Through June 20
Wortham Theater Center

Seussical
Slammed by those nasty big-city critics, this family musical based on the Dr. Seuss books nonetheless had a respectable run on Broadway and then considerable life in the hinterlands. All your favorite characters are here, singing and dancing up a storm, much like the grab bag of Peanuts in You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown. It’s not the Great American Musical, to be sure, but it’s got on a big fat smiley-face and makes you feel good when it’s over—if you can remember it.
June 17–July 18
Main Street Theatre

Always, Patsy Cline
Premiered by Stages in 1988, Ted Swindley’s tribute is a country-fried homage to the late, great Cline. The current remounting has brought a wide Cheshire Cat grin to the company’s CFO, for it’s in an open run and continuously sold out. Although the book hinges on a Houston Cline groupie (Susan O. Koozin as Louise Seger) and her weekend brush with the singer, it’s only an excuse upon which to hang the 27 Cline songs. The truly amazing feat of this production belongs to Julia Kay Laskowski, who channels the voice, the styling, and the very moves of Cline. She is, in two words, splendidly phenomenal. Even though it’s mostly an all-singing role, this is still acting of the highest caliber. If you have the smallest soft spot for the unique sound of this most popular of country/western superstars, this show is not to be missed.
Extended run
Stages Repertory Theatre

Convenience
If you hurry, you can catch the last performances of Greg Coffin’s pop opera, a coming-out story in one of its first regional productions. Vince (Scott Sowinski, so memorable a few months ago in Stages’ Bat Boy) has second thoughts about moving in with his lover Ethan (Jonathan McVay, pretty memorable in just about anything he does). He’s scared to tell his mom (Susan Shofner), from whom he’s been estranged ever since Dad walked out when Ethan was 6. Mom has her own problems. Abe (Thomas Prior), a successful contractor, wants to marry her and move to his dream job in California, but she is unduly cautious because of her unfinished and strained relationship with Ethan. The wailing ballads and patter rhythms remind us of such disparate influences such as Elton John and Stephen Sondheim, which isn’t a bad thing, but there’s no great distinction to the score and even less to the shopworn lyrics. The performances and physical production, though, are above reproach, and the overly padded musical moves swiftly under Rob Bundy’s lovingly detailed direction.
Through June 6
Stages Repertory Theatre

D.L. Groover writes monthly on the arts for OutSmart.

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