Austinist Theatre Review: Keepin' It Weird
Ah, Austin. Quirky, quaintly subversive, and highlighted by outlandish old hippies with a hankerin’ for the demon weed, our fair city is cutely characterized in Zach Scott Theatre's wildly popular Keepin’ It Weird. The show isn’t perfect (towards the end especially – it gets downright hokey), but dag gummit if you’re not having fun in the first five minutes, chances are you’re dead, you’re Pat Robertson, or you’re from Dallas. This show should be required viewing for all Austinites – whether you’re nostalgic for the good-ol-days, new and needing indoctrination in local lore, or have simply lost perspective and could use some sound advice from centered folk.
Dave Steakley, Writer/Director (and Zach Scott Artistic Director) created the show in the style of documentary theatre, interviewing over 200 residents (everyone from Mayor Will Wynn and Clarksville Christmas enthusiast Willis Littlefield to Leslie, our thong-ed town mascot) about their experiences in the capitol city. The result is a fast-paced, well-placed evening full of warmth, laughs, and hometown pride, carried on the shoulders of some talented performers. Lee Eddy is – not surprisingly – unilaterally hysterical in every character she inhabits (even, and maybe especially, as a can of SPAM); Doug Rutherford manages to look manly in heels, thongs and even hot pants; Robert Newell is highly engaging – most notably as The Soup Peddler in the midst of entrepreneurial growing pains (and as the aforementioned mayor); and Dante Dominguez brings an earnestness to all his characters that elicited “aww” after “aww” from the enraptured audience.
But the show isn’t all good times and self-congratulation. The third act focuses on Austin’s problems – namely racism and segregation. While we were pleased to see the play sidestep smugness, (and completely agreed with the production’s sentiments) this was – dramatically speaking – Weird’s weakest segment. The campy characterizations that made us laugh at the outset just weren’t real enough to make serious statements with the kind of honesty needed to be compelling. Forced dialogue and some After School Special staging, unfortunately, undercut the power of an otherwise well-crafted message.
However, don’t let that stop you. Keepin’ It Weird is well on its way to becoming Austin’s next hometown tradition.
Keepin’ It Weird
Through Sept 17
Zach Scott Theatre
(Pictured: Carla Nickerson as a Sowpreme. Photo by Kirk R. Tuck)
