With its stellar performance of Del Shores’ classic comedy, “Sordid Lives”, Larry Buzzeo’s ArtBuzz Theatrics has packed a Broadway-level performance into the tiny space at Empire Stage.
With a strong ensemble, led by Dalia Aleman and Francine Birns as Latrelle and Sissy, respectively, and Kevin Veloz as a touching and vulnerable Ty Williamson, this show sails through its two-hour running time. Even the long blackouts during set changes, made necessary by the small space, are entertaining, thanks to the solid singing and performance by Lisa Braun as wanna-be country singer Bitsey Mae. Larry Buzzeo as Brother Boy makes the role his own, a difficult task since so many of us have seen the movie and/or TV series with the late, great, Leslie Jordan in a career-making role. I could just as easily rave about the entire ensemble, as there isn’t a weak point in the chain.
For the few people out there who haven’t seen the play, a staple of LGBT theaters across the country, the movie or the television series based upon the play, “Sordid Lives” is a black comedy about white trash. Peggy, a good Christian woman, hits her head on the sink and bleeds to death after tripping over her lover’s wooden legs in a motel room. The fact that her lover is the husband of her daughter’s best friend only ups the chaos. As the family and friends gather, including Peggy’s gay grandson, and her “gay transvestite” son who thinks he is Tammy Wynette (whom Peggy has had locked away in a state mental institution for 20 years), emotions erupt in Winters, Texas.
The set makes wonderful use of the space, evoking Sissy’s living room with cheaply paneled walls and what appears to be years of nicotine build-up on the painted surfaces and then transitioning to a bar, a therapist’s office in a state mental asylum, and a church. Even the wigs, usually the downfall of smaller theater productions are spectacular, perfectly evoking the “bigger the hair the closer to heaven” tenant of Texas hairdressers.
The only weak point in this show, and it’s a minor one, is the script. Shores’ jokes and witty patter hold up after all these years, but the agonizing over coming out for an actor in New York feels dated, even though we know the show is set in the 1990s. The fact that Ty’s mother, Latrelle, accepts his coming out so quickly is also a problem, but Aleman and Veloz still manage to bring warmth and realness to the scene. All around a triumph!
Empire Stage
1140 N, Flagler Dr., Ft. Lauderdale
954-678-1496
Running through 10/22
You know it’s a Ronnie Larsen production when there is a well-endowed naked body on the stage. This time it’s there as soon as the curtain opens, a dead body face down on the rug. If he’s face down, how do we know he’s well-endowed? Well, to explain that would give away too much of a plot that has more twists and turns than a car speeding down I-95. Suffice it to say that Jeff Brackett more than fills the role.
Michael McKeever’s script is funny and as tight as Brackett’s glutes and it is well-served by a great cast without a weak link in the chain, from Tom Wahl as the flummoxed hotel manager, and Emma Garcia Seeger’s Latina maid (channeling a bit of Lucille Ball and Penny Marshall) to Lela Elam as the tough as nails Morgan Wright. McKeever himself as the lead, a smarmy, yet charming Hollywood agent, is a delight. He was born to wear a tuxedo, sip scotch, and fire off bon mots. Stuart Meltzer’s direction is smooth and snappy and makes the 90-minute farce fly by. The only bad thing about the production was Elam’s ill-fitting dress, which wouldn’t even be a big deal if everyone didn’t talk about how good she looked in it.
The plot of the play, which focuses on megastar agent Jarrod Hilliard trying to handle a crisis for one of his clients, has more than skeletons in the closet and when you’re in Hollywood, everyone's acting, and nothing's what it seems, including this play. “Clark Gable…” makes a social comment all the while seeming to be an entertaining piece of fluff. This play is a must-see!
If you haven’t been to The Foundry in a while, you’re in for a surprise. It’s doubled its size, has the most comfortable seats in the area, and looks like a legit theater. Which it turns out to be!
The Foundry
2306 N. Dixie Hwy., Wilton Manors
954-826-8790
Running through 10/15