Reno sassy gay critic Oscar Ceezon reviews Bruka Theatre's muscal feat "The Wild Party". I love me some good scantily clad gentlemen callers engaging in an orgy ;)

Flapper dresses, gay characters, and a tantalizing orgy … what more could one ask for from a musical production? Bruka Theatre’s - latest theatrical piece, The Wild Party, provides audiences all that and more. Set in the late 1920s, The Wild Party explores our darkest and most intimate desires and the uncontrollable deviant behaviors that drive our lives. Queenie, a strikingly beautiful vaudeville dancer, and Burrs, a slightly creepy, possessive vaudeville clown, came together in a heap of fiery passion of love but are now unhappy in their relationship. Queenie decides to throw an epic party, with all of their friends, to put Burrs “on the rack” as she calls it. A colorful cast of quirky characters attend the party including a lesbian, an alcoholic boxer, a beautiful tap dancer with no tongue, and twin brother lovers. Queenie’s plan soon derails with the arrival of the stunningly handsome Mr. Black, who awakens within her strong feelings of love. Queenie’s flirtatious behavior toward Mr. Black causes Burrs to become mentally unhinged and mad with jealously. As the night progresses and the bottles of empty booze bottles begin to pile up, all of the characters get swept up in the chaos of and confusion of a wild party.

The musical asks the question of what it means to be the life of the party. What is the price of becoming the life of the party and what sacrifices one must make in order to maintain it? The show also explores a number of controversial and sensitive topics including incest, rape, prostitution, sex, and homosexuality.  The party becomes an insulated bubble for the characters to engage in sexual and social experimentation; a space safe from perhaps the cruel harsh reality of the world outside. Each character, burdened with unexpressed wants, spends the entirety of the night attempting to satiate their needs in some form or another. Some learn, unfortunately, the consequences of their lustful passions.

Bruka Theatre is renown for featuring boundary pushing, socially-relevant, and entertaining performances but I believe they  truly outdid themselves with his piece. The Wild Party is a fast-paced, dynamic, and musically intricate production.  The show features an all-star cast that create and maintain an engaging presence throughout the entire show. Each character had their own unique idiosyncrasies that made for rich and vibrant musical. There is always something happening on stage, no matter where audience members look. Stolen glances and playful bits shared between characters creates an genuine authenticity as well as a sensory buffet for the audience. Per usual, Bruka designed and constructed a brilliant set that enhanced the overall aesthetics and production value of the show. Finally, a cast of ridiculously attractive individuals shimmy out of their party attire, parade around in their silk boxers and hot negligee, and then proceed to have artistically sensual orgy … need I say more?  I do not profess to speak for the gays, but as a sassy gay reviewer, this receives my homo-stamp of approval. I absolutely loved this musical and plan to see it again. This is definitely a must see performance if you are in Reno area.

The Wild Party is currently playing at Bruka Theatre. Book, Music, and Lyrics by Andrew Lippa, directed by Mary Bennett, Musical Direction by Bill Quinby ,and  Choreography by La Ronda Etheridge.

List of performance dates.

MARCH 9, 10, 15, 16, 17, 22, 23, 24, 29, 30, 31
APRIL 4, 5, 6, 7, 12, 13, 14, 2012 @ 8 PM   Matinee March 18 @ 2 PM

Reno's Favorite Improv Comedy Show, 3/8/12, 7:30pm

You can still catch Reno's favorite comedy troupe Thursday March 8th, at Pioneer Underground. Doors open at 6:30pm, and SHOW NOW STARTS AT 7:30pm. Tickets are still available online at www.renotahoecomedy.com or you can buy them at the door. Show is recommended for mature audiences. There is a full bar for our 21+ crowd.

The Utility Players - Reno's Favorite Improv Comedy FamilyDoors: 6:30pm

Show: 7:30pm-9pm

Theater: The beautiful, Pioneer Underground, 100 S. Virginia St.

With: The Utility Players, Reno's best improv comedy show.

Hosted by: Jessica The-Jester Levity

Produced by: Homeslice Productions with Reno Tahoe Comedy

Sponsored by: Wayne's Automotive in Sparks, and Taxcrafters

Insight Magazine at UNR interviewed me about an article they were drafting about drag queen culture and life. I think the author, Jessica Voss, did an excellent job with the piece. I think she was able to transform a dynamic and complex topic as drag queenary and allow audiences to relate to it. Also she starts the article with a quote from the one Miss Noxema Jackson from the movie "Too Wong Foo, Thanks For Everything! Julie Newmar" Here is an excerpt from the article

By the end of the night, Ginger is usually feeling the pain that most women are all too familiar with after a night out. The torturous high heels, the smeared makeup, and the restricting clothing (not to mention the corsets) all make a woman or a drag queen feel like she did her best to end her evening in pain.  All of the work seems to be worth it, though, because drag queens are “very beautiful and extremely well-dressed,” according to Pat Ponder, a sixty-seven-year-old Renoite. Others seem to feel similarly; many people say that they find drag queens to be beautiful and confident. Daniels’s female friends often tell him it’s unfair he makes a prettier woman than they do.

Here is a link to the full article. Thank you Jessica for allowing me to be a part of the article.  

For me, when I'm driving I need a constant playlist of grade A jams. Most of the time I rely on the familiar and formulated playlists of my iPOD. Sometimes though, I decide to add a little spice, variety and gamble to my life by listening to the radio. Most of the time I am annoyed by the inane commentary and repetitious music variety of the radio, but sometimes you stumble upon a nugget of gold. Today, was such a day. 

Having a little Saturday brunch with my roommate and mom and we stupidly forgot the champagne; for no brunch is truly complete without mimosas. As I slid into my 1989 Ford Sho - which has had a check engine light on for weeks - and turned on my car, the epic threesome of Wilson Phillips blared through over my stereo with the iconic song "Hold On". 

What happened immediately afterward could only be described as gay temporary insanity. I both gasped and squeled at the same time, turned the volume up on full blast, and began to sing as scenes from their picturesque mountain music video played in my mind. 

It's not that you're gay for liking Wilson Phillips or even knowing the entire song word for word, it's more that you're gay if you proceed to turn your Saturday afternoon drive to purchase Champagne into an epically staged performance ripe with choreography and off-key singing. I think I might have terrified the biker next to me at the stoplight; or perhaps he secretly began singing the song as I drove away. Here is the music video if you would like to relive the experience; rull of awkward mom jeans, boots, and Carnie looking like a Texan undertaker. 

Happy Weekend!!! 

This year has been a year of many firsts. My first Anything But Clothes party, writing my first murder mystery party, and winning first place for best group costume at this year's Erotic Ball. This also happened to be the year that I performed stand up for the very first time. 

I had toyed around with the idea of translating the absolute ridiculous antics of being a drag queen in some stand-up but never found the right opportunity to do it. When the Pioneer Underground approached me about doing some stand-up during their "Ladies Weekend of Comedy", it seemed like an ironically perfect time to debut my set. 

Here is a video of my set from the performance. I touched on the trials and tribulations of being a drag queen, of surviving a post-apocalyptic future and of one day being a parent. I was a little nervous to perform stand-up. I worried I would forget my entire set or stumble through it. I wondered what the audience would think of a drag queen performing stand-up; would they think it weird or not appreciate it?The audience was absolutely awesome! I think it showed that audiences at the end of the day want to be entertained. As long as you can do that, then it shouldn't matter your sexual orientation, race, gender, etc. I was thankful thought that my spanks and corset did not cut off my breathing thus causing me to pass out right there on stage. Enjoy the video!!!

My roommate asked if I would venture with her to the mall and help her pick out a fabulous pair of prescription sunglasses. As a birthday/Christmas present from her mom she had a $500 voucher and there is nothing I can do better than spend other peoples' money. 

When we arrived at Lenscrafter's I was underwhelmed by the selection. It seemed as though we were going to resign ourselves to some Ray Ban aviator sunglasses. Then, when we had given up all hope, I saw something sparkle and shimmer from across the store. Out of my periphery, I noticed the section devoted to designer sunglasses and instantly I gravitated toward a pair of Tiffany sunglasses. As we were checking out - which was an awkward and tiresome experience - my roommate debated about whether she should opt out of the $30.00 flat rate insurance, guaranteeing protection for her Tiffany glasses in the event of dents, scratches, or breaks. As she was weighing the pros and cons, I simply gave my roommate a look and said "they're Tiffany sunglasses .... get the insurance". The issue was moot at that point. 

I then started to think about all of the things that people have insured in their lives; glasses, cars, pets, laptops, cell phones, etc. Yet so many of us go without health insurance. We worry about what might potentially happen to our iPhone, especially after the sales rep goes through the gambit of possibilities, and get talked into paying the extra fees. Yet, if someone told us that we could potentially lose our teeth, suffer a heart ache or contract some form of cancer, we believe that we do not need it - of course nothing bad will ever happen to us, but I know I am going to drop my iPhone into the toilet and need that water damage protection.

It's a little ridiculous. However don't eve get me started on the people that insure different parts of their body ... except for porn stars ... that's acceptable. 

I feel this past Halloween weekend, I fulfilled a dream of mine. I have had this dream ever since I saw the iconic Halloween cult classic film, Hocus Pocus. Ever since I saw the Sanderson Sisters bewitch the adults of Salem with their fabulous rendition of "I've Put a Spell on You", I have dreamed of one day dressing up as the Sanderson Sisters for Halloween. I remember sharing this dream with other gay male friends of mine but for one reason or another - usually because a) how would we even begin to construct such memorable costumes and b) no one wanted to be Mary Sanderson aka , the fat one - the plan did not pan out. 

This year, my friend and fellow Hocus Pocus enthusiast, Franz asked if I would help him achieve his dream of going as the Sanderson Sisters for Halloween. I gay gasped at the thought and then died when he told me he would take care of all of the costumes - all I had to provide was shoes. I was chosen to be the hilarious Mary Sanderson; she goes around barking and wanting to eat all the time, it works. The costumes were absolutely flawless. By sheer coincidence, I happened to be hosting the QSU drag show. We were able to perform the number as part of the show. I think people shat their pants when they us emerge and perfectly execute the number. I even sang the number with Mary's droopy lip. By the end of the night my face hurt.

After the drag show, we had made plans to go to the Silver Legacy's Erotic Ball, with aspirations of entering the costume contest and winning. I was unaware that it was an "Erotic Ball" upon entertaining, but learned quickly, when I was surrounded by attractive scantly-clad individuals. Everyone wanted to take their photo with us; it was fabulously ridiculous. I felt as if I was some celebrity getting stopped every few moments to take photos with fans. I had no idea that this movie had such a following with people; or at least it was a memorable enough movie that 18 some odd years later people still get the reference. We also played our roles perfectly; we had the mannerisms, facial expressions and tone of voice down. There was only one unfortunate incident that happened. We were having a drink at a restaurant and this rather drunk women who I guess was going as ... a lingerie model ... a lingerie model spilling out of her outfit approached us. She had no idea who we were but, unfortunate for us, bound and determined to figure out who we were. For a while she thought that we were from The Witches and our friend Aaron - who was not in costume - was the fat rat. No matter how much we tried to play off her ineptitude and tell her we were not from Witches, she would not believe us.

When it was time to declare the winner, we learned that we had made the cut for best tandem costume. We awaited in line with the rest of the competition - which included sexy Adam and Eve, sexy Avatar aliens, sexy little Red Riding Hood and Big Bad Wolf. Crap, I thought there is no way that three drag queens in heavy layers of rags and fabric can compete with a sculpted Adonis wearing a g-string with some fur for a costume. When they presented us to the audience, the crowd went absolutely nuts, ushering in as the clear winners. AHHHHH!! Are you kidding me?!?!?!  It was the perfect end to an amazing evening. 

The next day we hiked up our skirts and did the Zombie Crawl. The hightlight of which was going and standing on the vents outside of the Elderado and pretending that we were actually flying through the air. What ... I'm just saying ... wouldn't you?

I'm thrilled that I am able to scratch this off my gay bucket list ;) 

Ever watch the iconic mystery show, Murder She Wrote and wondered what it would be like to don Jessica Fletcher's comfortable, yet classy, shoes and solve a murder yourself? Ever wondered what it would be like to piece together seemingly unrelated clues of evidence to uncover a murderer and their motive like the intrepid crew of CSI: Las Vegas?

Well now here is your opportunity. The Utility Players, voted Reno's best comedy troupe, is embarking on another intrepid journey where few comedy troupes have gone before: the Murder Mystery Party. I came up with the back story for the murder mystery - a formal Gala celebrating singer and Grade A Diva Vaunna Vandertrump -, drafted characters for the Utility Players to act out - Detective, crazy obsessed fan, spiful blogger, etc - and mapped out the series of events that will take place at the party. It was a fun experience, stepping outside my comfort zone to write a mystery - which is a Hell of a lot harder than I anticipated; murder mystery writers are truly geniuses. 

The mystery begins the second that audience members enter the Pioneer Underground. They will have a chance to interview guests, inspect evidence, and collaborate with other team members to determine who the murderer is and what is their motive. Though some of the moments of the night will be scripted, the Utility Players are going to improv most of the night, which will make for a crazy and unpredictable murder mystery unlike any you have seen before. 

The murder mysterys is this Thursday, October 27th, at 8:00pm - doors open at 7. Tickets are $11 in advance or $16 at the door. Come to the party dressed up in your Halloween costume or in formal attire! Here is a link to the facebook event!

I’m a sexual health educator tasked with educating youth about the potential risks and consequences of engaging in unprotected sex and arming them with the tools that they need to protect themselves should they ever have sex. Working in the state of Nevada, a state leading the nation in unplanned teen pregnancy rates and rates of contraction for STIs/STDs, I believe this work to be important.

The conservative pro-life movement has come out of the woodwork swinging, attempting to dismantle every single medical provision that would work to protect women or give them any semblance of power or control. Congress is currently debating a bill that would reinforce an already existing law allowing medical professionals to legally refuse to give a woman an abortion, even if the operation would save her life. The great and wonderful state of Pennsylvania, touting that it’s the “State of Independence” , looks like it will pass their ironically titled “Women’s Right to Know Act” mandating that woman are shown an ultrasound of their developing fetus to scare, shame and guilt them into reconsidering the option to end their pregnancy. Finally, in the forward-minded state of Mississippi, a “Personhood Amendment” is being introduced to the state’s constitution. This “Personhood Amendment” would ban all abortions, regardless of the situation (rape, incest, etc) but would go above and beyond by banning the morning after pill (used to prevent pregnancy), many forms of hormonal contraception, and some IUDs (inter-uterine devices). To top it all off, the amendment would ban in vitro fertilization. There is even a school in Canada that is granting middle-school aged children extra credit for engaging in anti-choice protesting. The war on reproductive rights is escalating to new and moronic heights.

I have a question for the pro-life moment. I recognize, though don’t agree with, your beliefs that a bundle of cells could and should have the same rights and protections – if not more – than the woman carrying said cells to term and then subsequently taking care of said child for the rest of her life. So if life is so important, so much so that Mississippi is currently defining a “person” to include a fertilized egg, where is the nationwide mandate for prenatal vitamins and preventative care for all pregnant women? Would we then arrest pregnant women who are drinking, smoking, doing drugs or eating unhealthily for they could be putting their child at risk and potentially causing a whole host of life-altering complications for the child. Oh, that might be a little expensive and intrusive for the laissez-faire mentality of Republicans. We wouldn’t want to interfere in the lives of our citizenry; especially if that intrusion costs the government money for social services. Ok, what about the all those teen moms that you valiantly protected, by shaming them into a having a child that they cannot afford nor take care of; are we going to start paying mothers for having children to subsidize their expenses and make sure they can adequately care for their child’s life that we spent so much time and energy saving? No, they wouldn’t do that. Well, let’s at least give that child a world class education that is free of charge. I mean we protected this child’s life didn’t we? Let’s ensure that this child does something beneficial to our society, since we heroically swooped in to save the life of this child and mother. No the pro-life movement would never go for that. How dare education be an accessible right to all? In fact, isn’t the conservative base advocating for funding cuts to the public school system, eliminating teachers’ right to collective bargaining, denying them domestic partnerships or civil unions for them and their partners, and forcing schools to adopt an abstinence-only sexual education curriculum in order to receive much needed Federal funding for supplies?

It seems to me that the pro-life movement cares only up until the point where the child is delivered into world. Once they are sure that the plans of the creepy liberal baby-killers have been thwarted, they leave the mother and child alone, patting themselves on the back for a job well done. They do not care about the resources available to this child (ironic that it is the conservative base diminishing these precious resources), the environment where the child lives – whether that child is born into a house of drugs, alcohol and/or abuse – or what kind of future this child might have. It seems rather contradictory to me. For a political party that cringes at the idea of “big government” and its constant liberal interference into the lives of morally decent tax-paying Christian citizens of America, they seem to want to have complete control over a woman’s reproductive choice and deciding how one should lead their life. Oh that’s right; conservatives believe it is a religious mandate from God to interfere in political manners only if they are relevant to maintaining the core, family-centric values of America. Let’s regulate the gays, the promiscuous abortion-seeking women and those pesky illegal immigrants attempting to steal the jobs that no one wants. However, everyone else living their white, Christian, suburban lifestyle should be allowed to conduct their lives without the government stepping in – whether they have gay scandals, are addicted to prescription pills, or hire illegal workers that they do not pay.             

I hope that this massive spiritual and cultural awakening that I have heard is rumored to happen, will eliminate people’s general stupidity and moronic tendencies. Or …. A portal to an alternate dimension transports them to a land far far away from here could work as well.  

The other night I was at my friend Franz's house doing a photo shoot. At the end of the shoot - where I played an elderly grandmother creepily offering mustard greens to the camera - I went up to Franz's room to see the entire set of pictures on a larger screen. As I walked into Franz's room, something caught my attention in the corner of my eye. As I turned I saw an original movie poster from the gay iconic film Hocus Pocus staring the stunningly talented and fellow ginger Bette Midler. I about gay gasped myself into next week as I stood in awe and reverence for the poster. I wanted to steal the framed artifact right from wall and rush home with it. Then I realized that my friend Franz probably had the same love and fervor for the movie as I did and would hunt me down to get the poster back. 

What is about Hocus Pocus and gay men? What is about an early 90s Disney movie about 3 witch sisters bumbling along in the 20th century that is so appealing for gay men? Is it because, in some respects, the Sanderson Sisters look and act like a group of 17th century drag queens ripe with musical numbers, big hair and ridiculous costumes? Or, much like our apparent fascination with vampirism, is it the age-old search for eternal youth and beauty through mystical means story again? I am not entirely sure but I feel as though every gay man I know is absolutely in love with the movie.  I am waiting for them to turn it into a Broadway Musical ... any day now. I mean if they were able to turn Shrek into a musical, why can't they turn Hocus pocus into one?