Reno sassy gay critic Oscar Ceezon reviews Bruka Theatre's muscal feat "The Wild Party". I love me some good scantily clad gentlemen callers engaging in an orgy ;)

Flapper dresses, gay characters, and a tantalizing orgy … what more could one ask for from a musical production? Bruka Theatre’s - latest theatrical piece, The Wild Party, provides audiences all that and more. Set in the late 1920s, The Wild Party explores our darkest and most intimate desires and the uncontrollable deviant behaviors that drive our lives. Queenie, a strikingly beautiful vaudeville dancer, and Burrs, a slightly creepy, possessive vaudeville clown, came together in a heap of fiery passion of love but are now unhappy in their relationship. Queenie decides to throw an epic party, with all of their friends, to put Burrs “on the rack” as she calls it. A colorful cast of quirky characters attend the party including a lesbian, an alcoholic boxer, a beautiful tap dancer with no tongue, and twin brother lovers. Queenie’s plan soon derails with the arrival of the stunningly handsome Mr. Black, who awakens within her strong feelings of love. Queenie’s flirtatious behavior toward Mr. Black causes Burrs to become mentally unhinged and mad with jealously. As the night progresses and the bottles of empty booze bottles begin to pile up, all of the characters get swept up in the chaos of and confusion of a wild party.

The musical asks the question of what it means to be the life of the party. What is the price of becoming the life of the party and what sacrifices one must make in order to maintain it? The show also explores a number of controversial and sensitive topics including incest, rape, prostitution, sex, and homosexuality.  The party becomes an insulated bubble for the characters to engage in sexual and social experimentation; a space safe from perhaps the cruel harsh reality of the world outside. Each character, burdened with unexpressed wants, spends the entirety of the night attempting to satiate their needs in some form or another. Some learn, unfortunately, the consequences of their lustful passions.

Bruka Theatre is renown for featuring boundary pushing, socially-relevant, and entertaining performances but I believe they  truly outdid themselves with his piece. The Wild Party is a fast-paced, dynamic, and musically intricate production.  The show features an all-star cast that create and maintain an engaging presence throughout the entire show. Each character had their own unique idiosyncrasies that made for rich and vibrant musical. There is always something happening on stage, no matter where audience members look. Stolen glances and playful bits shared between characters creates an genuine authenticity as well as a sensory buffet for the audience. Per usual, Bruka designed and constructed a brilliant set that enhanced the overall aesthetics and production value of the show. Finally, a cast of ridiculously attractive individuals shimmy out of their party attire, parade around in their silk boxers and hot negligee, and then proceed to have artistically sensual orgy … need I say more?  I do not profess to speak for the gays, but as a sassy gay reviewer, this receives my homo-stamp of approval. I absolutely loved this musical and plan to see it again. This is definitely a must see performance if you are in Reno area.

The Wild Party is currently playing at Bruka Theatre. Book, Music, and Lyrics by Andrew Lippa, directed by Mary Bennett, Musical Direction by Bill Quinby ,and  Choreography by La Ronda Etheridge.

List of performance dates.

MARCH 9, 10, 15, 16, 17, 22, 23, 24, 29, 30, 31
APRIL 4, 5, 6, 7, 12, 13, 14, 2012 @ 8 PM   Matinee March 18 @ 2 PM

Now, before you say anything, the misspelling of "faggot" with "foggot" was intentional and relates to the story. 

Friday afternoon, a co-worker of mine forwards me this link to a website. On the website there is an email exchange between two individuals; David Thorne, author and blog writer, and George Lewis, an arrogant and hateful man, struggling with simple spelling and grammar rules, that is using email to deface and harass Mr. Thorne for his perceived sexuality. What ensues is an email correspondence of epic proportions. I cannot tell what is my favorite part of the conversation. Could it be the part where Mr. Thorne thanked Mr. Lewis for the fan letter and sent him a autographed head shot, or perhaps the part where Mr. Thorne informed Mr. Lewis that he had created a fake facebook profile under the guide of "Oscar Wilde" and friended our secretly-gay-but-will-never-admit-it Mr. Lewis - who accepted the friendship without hesitation, or better yet, the part where Mr. Thorne said that after looking at Mr. Lewis' facebook photos he believes that Mr. Lewis' girlfriend could house a small village in the folds of her spandex pants. 

If you are looking for a good laugh read all the messages - here is the link; I guarantee that they will have you stitches. Good bless you Mr. Thorne and your scrappy wit. 

This past Saturday was a night of theatrical indulgence. First, I made my way to Good Luck Macbeth's theater to see their rendition of "Dial M For Murder". Reminiscent of an Agatha Christie novel, this play has all the good qualities of a mystery; murder, an adulterous affair, blackmail, and a charismatic inspector to put all the pieces together. I have such awe and admiration for those that write mystery novels, screen plays, and the like; there is so much detail that the author must account for. In the case of "Dial M for Murder" a perfectly well conceived and thought out plan immediately turns to rubbish all because our slimy villain happened to overlook a seemingly minute detail that ended up being the game changer in our story. 

Afterward, we traversed the block and a half to Bruka Theater to see the last installment in their "Late Night TV Show" run; No Sex in the Biggest Little City. Inspired by an episode of Sex in the City, this TV episode was re-written a little bit to apply to Reno. When Carrie's - played by the masterful Mary Bennett - first voice over came on over the speakers I about peed my pants. The impressive cast of talented ladies - Stacey Spain, Kristin Moffitt Steedman, and La Ronda Etheridge - made this production come alive. It also didn't hurt that they had a ridiculously gorgeous man - Jason Burk - in a baseball uniform ... I'm just saying. 

The show brought up many fond memories of college. Three of my gay friends and I use to get together once a week at a local coffee shop in Wisconsin called Fair Trade, where we would talk about our lives, families, relationships, school, work, etc. One day we decided that we were going to title our rendezvous sessions "Four Gays in a Relatively Small Metropolitan Area". For the longest time I had aspirations about creating  show with that name; then I realized one already existed, "Queer as Folk". One of these days one of my ideas for a television show will pan out. 

Have a wonderful Memorial Day!!!

Yesterday, I was on the elliptical at the gym – which is an experience in and of itself. Imagine a very flaming, plus-sized girl, drag queen with her pink mini IPOD jamming out to NSYNC and Lady Gaga. While at the gym I like to zone out and loose myself in a daytime soap opera, an episode of Jeopardy, or the Price is Right. Really anything that is going to distract me from the notion that I still have 35 minutes left on my “fat burner” course on the elliptical and my thighs are already burning.

So I look up at the TV and it's one of CNN's affiliate channels and the news headline for the day was the controversy over STARZ new program – Spartacus: Blood and Sand. Spartacus tells the classic story of a man who was betrayed by the Romans, subjected to slavery, and rose to prominence as a gladiator. The show features an impressive – and ridiculously hot – cast of actors and actresses including Lucy Lawless [Xena Warrior Princess], John Hannah [The Mummy Movie Series], and Peter Mensah [300, The Incredible Hulk]. The show also features an impressive production staff including Steven DeKnight – who has written and directed for Buffy, Angel, Smallville, and Dollhouse – as well as the dynamic team of Sam Raimi & Rob Tapert - Dead By Dawn, Army of Darkness, The Gift, and The Quick and the Dead. Apparently according to some critics, this new television series – which pulled in over a million viewers at it's premiere – has some of the most graphic sex scenes and fight scenes to ever hit television. This has stirred a world of controversy and has once again ignited the old and tired debate of graphic elements influencing the young impressionable minds of the youth of America … or some bullshit like that.

The show will be shot in the stylings of a graphic novel, similar to 300 and The Spirit, using computer generated imagery to paint the expansive and elaborate backdrop to ancient Rome. The show also features a number of scenes with full-frontal nudity which the producers state is reminiscent of the “carnality of the mighty Roman Empire”. According to head writer of the show Steven S. DeKnight “ "It is beautifully shot. It is steamy, but it is not pornographic. The sex is always about power, love or loss. It is not sex for sex's sake”. Apparently this has caused quite the uproar among the parental units of America. They claim that Spartacus is another example in the long line of shows that serve to corrupt the family unity and encourage young children to be violent or do drugs. Whatever. First of all, the show is on the STARZ channel – which I always thought was a soft core porn channel to begin with – a premium cable channel that you have to specifically order. Similarly, the show airs Friday nights at 10:00pm on said premium cable channel that I thought was a porn channel. With all of that taken into consideration I would really like the parents of America who are outraged to remove the pole from your sphincter and get the fuck over it.

Are you kidding me with all of this? Take a look around. Television shows are increasingly featuring more violence, more sex, and more foul language; a reflection of our society which as of late has more violence, more sex, and swears a hell of a lot more. Also, this is the Roman Empire we are talking about here right? The Roman Empire that fed people to lions and burned prisoners like candles in the Coliseum. The same Empire that promoted slavery, orgies, general hedonism, and personified the word excess. A culture where entertainment consisted heavily of going to an amphitheater and watching muscle bulging men fighting each other to the death. So we should sugar coat historical moments and eras because they make you uncomfortable? Because, one day your child might ask you what a slave is or what sex is? Well guess what, one day I am going to have to have the “hi honey, your mom is a drag queen”conversation and if I can do that, then you can certainly sit down and talk to your children about all of these topics so they are not forced to turn to TV and the internet for all sources of information. As it usually happens, the controversy surrounding the show has gotten my attention and because there is the promise of action and hot sex scenes with full frontal male nudity it will probably become my next favorite show in life.