Tamarie Cooper’s Beloved Summer Musical Returns

Catastrophic Theatre’s annual original summer musical has returned for its 29th year, running now through August 2. Produced by Tamarie Cooper and Patrick Reynolds, this year’s show is titled Another Ding-Dang Tamarie Show and promises to take guests behind the scenes as Cooper shares production secrets.

An Iconic Gay Community Show

Cooper, 54, is a winner of multiple OutSmart Gayest & Greatest awards. She has won numerous other local awards, but says the OutSmart awards “mean so much more to me than any of the others.” Cooper is a long-time ally of the LGBTQ community, and many of her closest friends are LGBTQ . “There is lots of creativity in that community,” she says.     

Born in Chicago, Cooper moved to Houston at age 14 and started as a sophomore in what is now known as the Kinder High School for the Performing and Visual Arts. After college, she was active in progressive political causes and worked as a bartender at Axiom, a local punk rock club. Eventually, she gravitated to Catastrophic Theatre.

The theater company got its name from the idea that when a person goes through any kind of catastrophic experience, they come away as a changed person. “It forces you to look at yourself and at everything around you and re-evaluate,” says Cooper.

Cooper’s background is in dance, and she has dabbled somewhat in choreography. Her first summer show played for one weekend. It featured a fashion show with friends modeling vintage clothes and taking part in dance numbers. She even served a homemade pasta dinner.     

“None of the shows are very deep on plot,” says Cooper. “They are more like a 1970s or 1980s variety show—with a feel of vaudeville.” Catastrophic Theatre has been very nomadic—moving from one venue to another—but has now settled at the Midtown Arts and Theater Center. “It allows us to focus more on the art itself without worrying about managing a facility,” Cooper explains.    

Last year’s theme was Texas and was a send-up of all things Texas, including Whataburger, celebrities, and everything that is bigger in Texas. Planning for the summer shows starts in January. People return year after year to help write the book, the music, and the dialogue. Cooper champions new artists and playwrights.    

The summer shows now have a cult following, who feel that it’s not really summer unless there is a new Tamarie show. Though there is a group of core artists, Cooper is always looking for fresh talent, and every year new actors join the regulars. “We like to find people with a special creativity and a special charisma on stage,” she says. “People often come in through Houston Alliance auditions and from the University of Houston.”

There are usually 15–17 cast members in the summer shows, and there is a live four-piece band. “It’s a big production,” Cooper adds, “a lot of people and a lot of costumes. The costume changes backstage are frantic madness.”

The shows are often about Cooper’s thoughts and ruminations but also poke fun at what is happening in the world, including politics. “One actor has played Ted Cruz five times now,” she explains, “once he was eaten by a dinosaur. This year, there are moments of addressing politics because everything seems so heightened now.”

Cooper sees the summer shows as  sort of a ridiculous bonanza. “People just gather together and let loose—it’s over-the-top and crazy on stage. Laughter can really be the best medicine,” she says.   

Cooper smiles as she speaks about her co-star Kyle Sturdivant. She describes their stage relationship as much like Carol Burnett and Harvey Korman. “In almost every show there is some moment where one of us cracks the other one up,” she says with a chuckle.

The unexpected can be expected. Years ago, in another venue, the dimmers blew and all the power went out. Cooper spoke into the darkness, “Is there an electrician in the house?” As luck would have it, there was.  After an extra-long intermission, the show continued.

Cooper hopes the audience will take with them the collective communal joy of coming together. “That is obviously the real reason we do this,” she says.

In recognition of National Non-Binary People’s Week this month, OutSmart talked to two of the show’s cast who identify as nonbinary—Clarity Welch and Abe Zapata.

Living Beyond the Binary: Clarity Welch

This year is Clarity Welch’s fourth year in the summer show. “Some of the cast has been doing this for a significant portion of the last 28 years, so it’s really a little family,” they say.

Welch has appeared in the past as a giant cockroach and also as a sexy lollipop. Costume changes had to be quick. “I had to switch costumes and switch characters in my brain fast,” they emphasize.

Welch, 35, who identifies as pansexual, is a native Houstonian. They came out as nonbinary in 2015, after they started really thinking about it. “I knew I was under some sort of trans umbrella from a very young age,” they say. 

“When early on I came out as nonbinary, people essentially ignored it. They didn’t use my pronouns or care to know what they meant. Over the past ten years, I have seen that totally change. It’s even more important now—we’re not going away, just because of policies that may make it seem like we should.”

“My vision of the gender spectrum is that you can go to all kinds of places. You don’t have to describe yourself as masculine or feminine. There’s something else that you can be. You know you could be any of those things.”

Welch feels that the most mistaken perception people have of nonbinary people is that they should dress and present androgynously. “Nonbinary people can look and sound and dress however they want in whatever they want,” says Welch, “so I wear dresses still. I wear much more masculine clothing too. You can’t really judge a book by its cover. How someone feels inside may be quite different than how they are presenting.”

Welch says that they are very proud to have been voted Best Nonbinary Actor by OutSmart readers three years in a row. They describe the summer shows as “very, very queer-focused.”

Unapologetically Fluid: Abe Zapata

Abe Zapata, 40, who identifies as queer, is a veteran of the summer shows. Born in Harlingen, Texas, and raised in Grand Rapids, Michigan, they made their way to Houston.

They remember two particular costumes that became iconic. One was as a man dressed in white boxers with mismatched socks who flogged himself with a rubber chicken; the other was the personification of Flag Day, dressed in a Statue of Liberty-inspired robe with American flags around the crown, and a flag in each hand. “It’s summer camp for adults,” they laugh.   

Zapata uses the term “gender fluid” in place of non-binary, but the idea is the same. They began to embrace the term a couple years ago, after years of seeing how members of Catastrophic Theatre were embracing and supportive of others’ pronouns.

Also, with the passing of their father recently, they felt freed from his expectations. “My father was very macho—not in a cruel way, but he had strong ideas about what was male and what was female.” Recently, they have grown out their hair and had their ears pierced.

“I don’t see the harm in celebrating somebody’s individuality, no matter what it is. It doesn’t have to be a designated day,” says Zapata. They feel it’s just important to approach life with lots of love, understanding, and empathy. They know that most people consider them male, but they feel that it’s a wonderful thing when those close to them embrace their pronouns. 

Zapata feels that being nonbinary is just “taking yourself moment by moment.” During the day they are very masculine-presenting at work. “But when I go to the theater at night and work as an actor,” they say, “I allow myself to be the full range of whatever I am in that moment.”

Zapata feels that the most common misconception about nonbinary people is that they are seeking attention or want preferential treatment. “The majority of nonbinary people who I know personally are not trying to demand change. They just want their truths to be embraced,” they say.     

Reflecting on the current political climate, Zapata leans into their Catastrophic Theatre family and Houston’s queer community. “Being a person of color, being queer, being non-binary, this is my day-to-day life from a very young age,” says Zapata, “so this is nothing new, it’s nothing scary, it’s just another day in the life.”

When Zapata was very young, they attempted to take their own life, ultimately realizing they had the choice between living and dying. The experience made them realize that because they chose life, they should live the best that they can. “I try to show as much grace as life has shown me,” they assert.

WHAT: Another Ding-Dang Tamarie Show
WHEN: June 27–August 2
WHERE: MATCH Houston, 3400 Main Street
INFO: matchouston.org