At the 1970 premiere of “Myra Breckinridge,” which took place during the first-ever week of Gay Pride, Mae West let it be known, “It looks like the gay boys are taking over!”
Looking at the current New York theater, Mae would have to add the words “lesbian” and “nonbinary” to her proclamation. Shows like “Titanique,” “The Big Gay Jamboree” and “Oh, Mary!,” a play that is grossing over $1 million a week on Broadway, make it clear the whole LGBTQ team is taking over.
“Drag: The Musical” opened Monday at New World Stages, and for much of the show, it joins the illustrious company of those aforementioned titles. It’s only big problem: It’s too Broadway even though it’s playing Off Broadway. Clearly, the show has big-stage ambitions. Jason Sherwood’s set and especially Marco Marco’s many glitzy costumes are very Broadway quality. They dazzle! Actually, they dazzle too much. Part of the appeal of drag is its inherent tackiness, and sometimes the display of money can kill a laugh. “Titanique,” especially, knows how to use cheapness to induce guffaws.
The book and songs for “Drag” are written by Tomas Costanza, Justin Andrew Howard and Ashley Gordon, and this trio knows how to write book songs, unlike most of the people writing for the musical stage today. (We’re talking to you, Alicia Keys.) Book songs need to establish character and carry the plot. Costanza, Howard and Gordon do that with practically every song in “Drag,” giving us a splendid mix of rock, pop and disco.
It all begins promisingly. Liza Minnelli, one of the show’s producers, delivers a taped message that not only sets up the story but informs us that “Drag” will be performed in “one unnatural act.” As Minnelli tells it, two rival drag bars positioned across the street from one another harbor a most unfortunate history: Their respective headliners Kitty Galloway (Alaska Thunderf–k) and Alexis Gillmore (Nick Adams) used to be lovers and are now enemies. When Thunderf–k and Gillmore take the stage separately for the first time, they each knock it out of the ballpark’s closet. They also could not be more different. Gillmore is a real genderf–k with his bulging biceps and cut abs covered with satin and taffeta. Thunderf–k, on the other hand, is Rosalind Russell in “Auntie Mame,” only a lot taller.
“Drag” goes Broadway not only in its set and costumes. The musical also wants us to believe it has a real heart. This is a mistake that “Titanique,” “Jamboree” and “Mary” never make. They are send-ups from the get-go. They never turn sentimental the way Broadway musicals like “Kinky Boots” or “& Juliet” do with their weepy LGBTQ characters. Unfortunately, we’re meant to take Gillmore’s sad-sad-sad childhood in “Drag” seriously.
Gillmore has a straight brother, Tom (Joey McIntyre of the New Kids on the Block) and a 10-year-old nephew, Brendan (Remi Tuckman), and when they’re on stage, watch out! One can’t fault the performances of McIntyre and Tuckman, both of whom are amazingly talented, but their material is meant to, yes, tug at our heartstrings. Those theatergoers who fell in love with the humorless nonbinary character in “& Juliet” or Billy Porter in “Kinky Boots” will probably shed a tear. The rest of us can only wish that open-heart surgery could be performed on “Drag” to make it 15 minutes shorter.
As a director and choreographer, Spencer Liff knows just what to do when the drag artists are at work. Really splendid is a showstopper lit by flashlights when the power goes out at a drag club because the electric bill, among many other things, has not been paid.
Liff is far less successful when Alexis and Tom reminisce about the brother’s sad-sad-sad childhood. Scalpel, please!
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