Marla Mindelle is back with another bonkers show that, despite being a textbook case of dramaturgy gone horribly wrong, is about as much fun as you can have in a theater these days. (That is, if you haven’t seen Mindelle’s other off-the-rails hit, “Titanique.”)
It’s safe to say that almost no one in the audience at “The Big Gay Jamboree” gives a rap about dramatic structure and probably loves musicals. Therein lies the mega meta charm of this show; it’s a musical that satirizes musicals, and no one really expects that classic musicals make that much sense.
The book by Mindelle and Jonthan Parks-Ramage tells the story of Stacey, who went to bed drunk one night and woke up in the world of a 1945 musical. (We only find out very late in the game how this came about.) Obviously quite upset, Stacey has to find her way out and back to the present where she gave up her acting career to be with Keith, an annoying but very rich tech bro. (The conflict between her not-great life and the supposedly perfect world of musicals is a central plot point.) While the premise echoes the Apple TV series “Schmigadoon!,” Mindelle has cribbed from “The Sound of Music,” “A Chorus Line,” “Seven Brides for Seven Brothers,” “The Wizard of Oz,” “Les Misérables,” and many others, and a big part of the fun is seeing where the show will go next. Wherever it goes, you can be sure it will be delivered with a healthy amount of profanity, and if you don’t find yourself regularly thinking, “wow, they really went there,” you may not be paying attention. That’s the kind of fearlessness that animates many contemporary comedies. For example, “Titanique” and the excesses of “Oh, Mary!” are both in this vein — shocking and shockingly funny. It feels deliciously naughty to laugh as much as you do.
So, stuck in Bareback, Idaho, the setting for the musical, Stacey teams up with Flora, her nymphomaniac sister, Clarence, a Black supporting actor relegated to singing gospel music, and Bert, the “scary” gay guy who lives alone in a cave on the outskirts of town. They’re off not to see the wizard, but to get to the enchanted castle that will be their portal back to the present. None of this really matters or makes any sense (see the comment about dramaturgy above); it’s just a premise on which to hang a lot of bits and boffo numbers…kind of like, well, a musical.
So, even as he complains about his second class status, Clarence delivers a rafter-shaking gospel number. Flora recalls Marilyn Monroe in “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes,” in a production number that’s a paean to her unquenchable sluttiness. Bert bemoans his outcast fate in an elaborate dance that echoes “The Music and the Mirror” from “A Chorus Line.” The original score with music and lyrics by Mindelle and Philip Drennen, is partly pastiche, but that’s intentional.
Director and choreographer Connor Gallagher has done an impressive job pulling together the cavalcade of tropes the piece requires, and the cast is superlative.
As Stacey, Mindelle, as she did in “Titanique” shows just what an extraordinary comedienne she is, in her delivery, her physical comedy, and her fabulously flagrant disregard for the fourth wall. (There is a whole bit with a phone and an audience member that’s hilarious and changes with every performance.) She’s got a powerful Broadway belt as well, and combined with her talent to amuse puts her on a rarified plane with performers like Nancy Opel, Ana Gasteyer, and Sutton Foster. Stacey’s biggest hit may have been as a zucchini in a health pageant, but as a musical star, Mindelle is no small potatoes.
As Clarence, Paris Nix stops the show with his big number, as does Natalie Walker as Flora. Alex Moffat as Keith is very funny, and delivers the plot twist that (sort of) brings the narrative together. (My advice: Just go with it.) Constantine Rousouli (also a “Titanique” alum) eerily channels Donna McKechnie (from “A Chorus Line”) in his big number, and it’s beyond impressive. The ensemble, who could have wandered in from “Oklahoma” (except the recent Daniel Fish revival) or “Carousel” is sensational, too, taking on all the ancillary roles and seeming to fill the diminutive stage at the Orpheum.
This looks like a much-bigger-than-Off-Broadway show. The set by dots is drop-heavy like shows from the 1940s and looks like a children’s book illustration… with a dark side. Sarah Cubbage’s costumes are exceptional, too, particularly Stacey’s dress, allegedly from Rent the Runway — which, from its alarming fuchsia color to an awkward semi train, is all wrong — and just right.
It would be ridiculous to try to list all the theater references, gay jokes, and cultural digs here, but suffice it to say that nothing is off limits, from the steam rooms at Equinox to an unabashed penchant for a particular sex act. Because, as noted above, “The Big Gay Jamboree” is always willing to go there. You’d be well-advised to go there, too.
‘The Big Gay Jamboree’ | Orpheum Theatre | 126 Second Avenue | Tues-Fri, Sun 7 p.m.; Sat 5 p.m. & 9 p.m. | $50-$80 at Ticketmaster | 1 hour, 40 mins, no intermission
