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| December 7, 2001–January
13, 2002 |
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| CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE |
Photographs by George
Wada
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This outrageous comedy musical,
which was Uptown Players' inaugural show, brought the house
down at every performance. In fact, the show proved to be so
popular that the run was extended by three weeks!
Cast: B.J. Cleveland; Alan Hanna; Craig Lynch; Tom Malin;
Dennis Yslas; and Jeff Rane. |
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| Lawson Taitte, The Dallas
Morning News |
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In the opening number of When
Pigs Fly, B.J. Cleveland brings to mind one of the great musical
stars. That bravely winsome but dazzling smile, the just slightly
neurotic tension, the manic energy, and, yes, those enormous
false eyelashes – who could it be but Liza Minnelli?
No, Mr. Cleveland isn't exactly in drag, though the five performers
in this gay-themed revue often are. He's a high school student
dressed up as Dream Curly of Oklahoma! (in a cowboy suit with
spangles). As the young Howard Crabtree, he's dreaming of the
day when he can be who he is and create a show for other Dream
Curlys to perform. When Pigs Fly is that show.
The late Mr. Crabtree conceived – although Mark Waldrop
and Dick Gallagher wrote – the piece, which Uptown Players
gave its area premiere at the Trinity River Arts Center this
weekend. Mr. Crabtree also designed the costumes for the original
New York production. Fortunately, the company has imported those
gloriously elaborate duds, which are half the fun of the show.
There's actually a song about two Broadway hoofers who never
get roles because producers find them light in the loafers.
Lo and behold, halfway during the number the lights go down
and their shoes light up.
This exaltation of the femme side of the gay persona isn't all
that politically correct these days. But Mr. Crabtree and his
cohorts don't care. They'll milk any stereotype for a good laugh.
Uptown Players wisely hired Linda Leonard to direct and choreograph.
She keeps the show moving, and the dance steps are as fabulously
over the top as the costumes. Too bad Craig Lynch and J. Alan
Hanna don't look as comfortable doing them as the other cast
members. Dennis Yslas III gets to wear some of the most outrageous
getups. (He's both the tree and the serpent in a Garden of Eden
number that deliberately gets aborted before it really starts.)
Mr. Yslas has some wonderful performance moments – especially
when he comes out dressed as a superannuated Annie to sing a
takeoff on "Tomorrow" and every other tune of false optimism
ever to grace a Broadway show. Tom Malin adds an elegant note
in a series of numbers in which he sings to some unlikely objects
of affection – Newt, Strom, and Rush. He also gets the
one serious song of the evening, a defense of humor even in
serious times.
But this is Mr. Cleveland's show. He turns on the Minnelli-style
hard sell again in the lead-in to the finale – and has
the whole audience in stitches over each flick of his wrist. |
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