Drag: The Musical
Book, Music, & Lyrics by Justin Andrew Honard, Tomas Costanza, & Ashley Gordon
Directed & Choreographed by Spencer Lee
New World Stage
December 30, 2024
Production website
💉💉 out of 5.

Produced and introduced by none other than Liza Minelli herself, Drag, the Musical centers on the rivalry of two drag clubs each facing its own set of troubles. At the Cat House—where Savannah St. James (Jan Sport), The Tigress (Jujubee) and Puss Puss DuBois (Nick Laughlin) hold court—girl boss Kitty Galloway (Alaska Thunderf*ck) is dealing with imminent eviction. Across the street at the Fish Tank, house mother Alexis Gillmore (Nick Adams, of Broadway’s Priscilla, Queen of the Desert) is in big trouble with the IRS; fellow queens Tuna Turner (Lagoona Bloo), Popcorn (Luxx Noir London) and Dixie Coxworth (Liisi LaFontaine) push her into seeking help into seeking help from her estranged accountant brother, Tom (played by Rent’s Adam Pascal). 

Merchant of Venice
Written by William Shakespeare
Directed & Adapted by Igor Golyak
Classic Stage Company
December 22, 2024
Production website
💉 out of 5.

This was just a horrible night in the theatre and it was made even more horrible in that just a few months prior to this production it was this very same director (Igor Golyak) and same company of players (Arlekin Players) that turned in for me what was the finest piece of theatre of the entire year, Our Class.  I thought that since both pieces deal the plight of the Jews and anti-Semitism, I was going to be in for a real treat seeing this fresh take on The Merchant of Venice which has long been regarded as one of Shakespeare’s so-called “problem” plays.  Classically, it is called a “problem” play in that it’s both a comedy and tragedy; and the villain, the Jew, Shylock, is portrayed with the worst anti-semitic tropes. But the “problem” in this HORRIBLE  adaptation is far more basic than anything cited by scholars. The messaging is muddied, and almost every line of the Bard’s text is just an excuse to do stupid stuff!

A Guide for the Homesick
Written by Ken Urban
Directed by Shira Milikowsky
DR2 Theatre
December 21, 2024
Production website
💉💉💉 out of 5.

The play is set in a simple hotel room near the airport in Amsterdam.  Jeremy,  a gay man white man meets Teddy a gay black man in a bar.  In that Jeremy has a few hours to kill before he catches his flight back to America, Teddy asks him back to his room.   Easy hookup – right? Pretty predictable right?  But that’s where the story just begins to take on a new twist and becomes about much more than just a tryst.   Harvard grad Jeremy has been in Uganda working for the past year as a medical assistant, and now he’s headed home to Boston.   Teddy, misinterprets the situation and makes a pass. Naturally, closeted Jeremy freaks out —