Titus Burgess. | MICHAEL SHIREY
PHOTO ESSAY BY MICHAEL SHIREY | “The Meeting*” — the monthly gathering of the International Order of Sodomites — journeyed under the sea this past weekend to pay homage to Disney’s “The Little Mermaid.” Comedian and IOS chair Justin Sayre hosted the event with music direction by Tracy Stark.
Tituss Burgess (“Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt”), who originated the role of Ariel’s sidekick Sebastian in the Broadway adaptation of the play, kicked off the night with “Poor Unfortunate Souls” — his favorite song from the movie. Fellow “Mermaid” veteran Eddie Korbich (“Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder”) followed with “Positoovity,” a dance number originally written for the stage adaptation. Marissa Mulder closed the evening with a beautiful rendition of the show’s anthem, “Part of Your World.”
Justin Sayre. | MICHAEL SHIREY
Other highlights from the evening included Sayre’s pop culture stand-up — which poked fun at everything from HBO’s gay-themed show “Looking” to Kathy Griffin’s short-lived run on E!’s “Fashion Police.” Sayre and Jenn Harris (“Silence! The Musical”) also invited audience members on stage to take a stab at imitating the Ariel’s iconic hair flip — which yielded comic results.
“The Meeting*” convenes monthly — the next meeting will be on April 19th at Joe’s Pub, 425 Lafayette Street inside the Public Theater, and tackles the Indigo Girls. For more information, visit themeetingshow.com and thepublictheater.com.
Marissa Mulder. | MICHAEL SHIREY