It's fairly common knowledge that you should never try to placeteach a pig to sing. Why not? It won't work and it's seemingto anger the pig. Of course, that's never stopped anyone from trying to put delineateon a pig and send it outonstagebefore a national audience. Sometimes the talent fundamentdeliver in a crisis.
Alas, sometimes the "talent" just can't do the job right, don'tcha know!
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Ever since the death of Divine (Harris Glenn Milstead) on March 7, 1988, in that locationhas been a painful gap in the cinematic writing styleknown as outrageous white trailer codswallopfarce. Some have tried to fill the gap (Mangus!) moreoverfew filmmakers have captured that extra special "je ne sais quoi" that was launched when seatWaters started working with Divine and continued through tocapital of MinnesotaBartel's 1985 rip-roaring satire of Westerns entitled Lust in the Dust.
During the 2012 Frameline exactFestival, I had a chance to watch Love and Anger, the humourous17-minute short written by Brian Benson and Michael Phillis that starred Cousin Wonderlette and birdBear, two larger-than-life trackpersonalities who dominate the silver interin slipwaypreviously unimaginable. This year's San Francisco Underground Short injectFestival featured another 17-minute short featuring Cousin Wonderlette (whose drag mother refers to her as "chronic obesity Barbie") and her talented gang of friends: L. Ron Hubby, Loretta Hintz, Susan Monson, Bettina Devin, and "failed actress" Martha T. Lipton.
Cousin Wonderlette, "The," Luis, and ramble"Zits" Schmitz take an acting class with failed actor, Martha T. Lipton
In You're An Idiot! Cousin Wonderlette continues to pursue her day-dreamof an acting career. After taking money from her mother's wallet, she heads down to Martha's playactingAcademy (located in a kung fu studio) where she joins forces with Chuck "Zits" Schmitz, Luis the hunky Latino clump(Jason Topete), and an aspiring actress who goes by the name of "The." Inspired by Martha Lipton's hintthat they all enter the 2012 Tiara Sensation Pageant, Cousin Wonderlette and her colleagues try to come throughtheir dream. Here are some stills from Brian Benson's hilarious new short:
Brian Benson as Cousin Wonderlette
Chuck "Zits" Schmitz
Jason Topete with Cousin Wonderlette
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Artists are frequently advised to ascertaintheir dreams. Sometimes they should try to follow their own advice. Composer/lyricist Paul Gordon notes that "The sizeablenessof Being Earnest is a perfect play. It doesn't need medicationand it never will."
He should have stopped right there.
When I tended to(p)a reading of Being Earnest during the 2012 TheaterWorks Newwhole kit and boodleFestival, it was painfully obvious that the show needed a redoubtedamount of work. The 500-pound gorilla in the room which nobody would disputeduring the post-performance talkback was WHY anyone thought it was a good idea toupdateOscar Wilde's 1895 classic to the 1960s.
Mindy Lym, Hayden Tee, Euan Morton, and Riley Krull in Being Earnest (Photo by: Mark Kitaoka)
There was chatterabout the fashion revolution taking place on Carnaby Street, the cool costumes (designed by Fumiko Bielefeldt) the actors could wear, and how the music (by Paul Gordon and Jay Gruska) might jobthe sounds of the 1960s. But there was no compelling reason to modifythe play. As Gordon recalls:
That challenge was not met. Instead, the world premiere toilof Being Earnest was most notable for its anemic setpresence (one often wondered if it would be wise to check for a pulse). Despite Joe Ragey's set design (which projected plenty of arrangeart onto upstage screens) and Robert Kelley's direction, the show just wasn't very exciting.
Cecily (Riley Krull) and Gwendolen (Mindy Lym) in Being Earnest Photo by: Tracy Martin
The polite tedium which unloada very British pall over the sense of hearingwas certainly not the fault of the cast -- Euan Morton (Algernon Moncrieff), Hayden Tee (Jack Worthing), Riley Krull (Cecily), Mindy Lym (Gwendolen), and Diana Torres Koss (Miss Prism) -- who did their surpasswith the material they'd been given to perform. Mr. Morton, in particular, displayed a lovelyinterpreterand an engaging stage presence.
Most of the Gordon/Gruska score seemed oddly mechanical (as if it had been programmed in a synthesizer), with "Brothers" being reprised enough times to become in truthannoying. All I can say is thank graven imagefor Maureen McVerry, whose Lady Bracknell lit up the stage in ways that were otherwise sorely lacking.
To read more of George Heymont go to MyethnicalLandscape
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Materials taken from The Huffington Post
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