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It's been awhile since we've harkened back to the 1980's. Valley girls. Psychedelia...80's style. Neon. Punky Brewster. Shudder. But Yellow Tape Construction Company has pulled the best, loudest, most obnoxious parts of our formative years into one busy, energetic romp with I Love My Dead Gay Son: The Musical!. If you haven't been paying attention, the show is YTC's take on the dark comedy Heathers, with added music, lots of retro references, and an extensive homage to the film's alternate ending. We caught opening night, and while the resulting flashbacks might still have us buggin', here are a few things we noticed.
First, you can't miss the cast. The large cast. Twenty-three of 'em in all. With so many warm bodies there were plenty of lead players, all of them good, but we're quickly becoming fans of what appears to be YTC's core: Juliane Taylor, Breanna Stogner, and Tim Doyle -- Veronica, Heather C, and JD, respectively (Heathers on IMDB, in case you need a reference). Taylor is all arms and legs, and throws herself around the stage with the reckless abandon required for great physical comedy. Stogner, with her verbal acrobatics and ability to create a fully formed, rich character in the span of about five seconds, is a force to be reckoned with. And Doyle brought his own take on JD's special type of stupid cool to the role, but smartly left behind Christian Slater's more annoying (and too-easily mockable) traits. These three moved the show along at exactly the right pace, and we look forward to seeing them in the further adventures of Yellow Tape.
With such a huge cast, it's tough to call out particular performers without feeling like someone is being slighted. Even people with only a few lines were so damn funny. Case and point: Michele Williams had us in stitches as Betsy, an impossibly geeky little Poindexter of a girl, doing an "interpretive dance" for the school talent show. Errich Petersen and Douglas Rutherford, as Kurt and Ram, had a repeat gag mocking the gayness of jocks that never got old -- because they were fully committed and on target every single time they did it. Holding down the bulk of the "straight man" bits, Valoneecia Tolbert voiced Veronica's thoughts with a clever mix of smirk and aplomb. Similarly, Andre Meadows' Janitor -- subtly present throughout the performance, largely there at the end -- was quietly strange and very, very funny. These were some of the scads of high points created by a cast that clearly works and plays well together.
And dances well together, too. A big round of applause for choreographer Amanda Butterfield. We were continually wowed by the movement in this piece. Constant, purposeful, with practically every 80's dance move ever invented thrown in at just the right time, we had a blast watching the 23 players take the smallish stage. Other production values were frustratingly off kilter: working against the fine house band, The Baby Jessicas, the sound was mixed such that lines were either dropped altogether or overpowered during key songs; similarly, the lighting design was rudimentary and at counter purpose with the actors, confusingly leaving them in near darkness, and not infrequently. But dance brought everything back up where it needed to be, with a never-ending stream of clever little catches and unexpected, delightful surprise moves, layered on top of a larger, coherent theme of controlled frenzy. When you add Kendra Williams' spot-on costume design (uh, we sported at least half of those looks from middle school to college), you get a stage picture that will make your eyes water...in a good way. As our hubby said, "Wow! There's so much going on!" Dance is definitely an underpinning of DGS, and the cast served it up right.
For this and much more, kudos also go to director Jonathon Morgan. His choice to keep the pace frenetic, while still easy to follow, was a perfect fit for the script (a cooperative effort from Doyle, Taylor, Stogner, Butterfield, and Morgan). Morgan has an impressive pool of talent at his fingertips with this production, and for the most part he makes great use of it. Our only complaint was that a few characters -- most notably Nicole Trumble's Heather D and Rebecca Robinson's Mom, though they weren't alone -- were directed to use one volume: very loud (the actresses' voices even sounded strained at the outset of the performance), and one characterization: very tightly strung. It's tough to appreciate a high without a referential low, and we can't help but wonder how Morgan overlooked this. Nevertheless, it was a minor issue that didn't detract from the overall fun of the show.
All in all, the cast and crew of I Love My Dead Gay Son: The Musical! present a hysterical night of witty, well-performed theatre that you sure as hell won't see anywhere else. If you're in the mood to relive the 80's (whether you lived through them in the first place or not), you should not miss this show. Hell, even if you've never seen Heathers (or, uh, don't remember it) and don't give a whit about the 80's, you should not miss this show. It's a crazy, fun, unique experience that is well worth admittance. Oh, and call early for your tickets because opening weekend was almost entirely sold out.
I Love My Dead Gay Son: The Musical! runs thru July 1, Th-Sa @ 8pm at the Off Center, 2211-a Hidalgo St. Tickets: $15, contact Yellow Tape for more info & group rates.
Image (c) Yellow Tape Construction Company; photo taken by Wylie Maercklein at Castle Photos.
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woops, forgot to mention Jonathan Morgan is a staff writer for the austinist. full disclosure is always appreciated. can't wait to see the show.
Indeed he is! I kinda thought everyone knew that by now, but your point is fair 'nuff.
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