Theater Reviews

May 15, 2009 - The all-male "female" musical, "Pageant" (Who will be Miss Glamouresse of 2010?) is now playing at Reno's Bruka Theatre

By Jack Neal

Boob jobs, fixed smiles, spike heels, skimpy swimsuits and the intellectual challenge of beautiful heads without much inside pretty much sums up the high-camp world of beauty pageants. Since Miss California sided with right-wing values rather than same-sex marriage, these pageants-of-flesh have become even more for mocking than usual.

“Pageant,” the musical, opened Friday night (5/15/09) at Reno’s Bruka Theater. It’s about time. “Pageant” came and went in San Francisco twenty years ago and it was a roaring success. And why not? The six female beauty contestants are played by men. What could be more perfect for what San Francisco Chronicle columnist Herb Caen used to call Baghdad by the Bay.

There is humor to be found in men playing women, but the real humor in “Pageant” comes from men playing women fabulously well. That’s the part of the show Bruka Theatre is coming very close to getting right. There’s a Carol Burnett quality to each of these contestants - not really pretty, but not bad either and loaded with split-second timing and oodles of talent.

“Pageant” is a pageant itself in which the six contestants vie for Miss Glamouresse. The girls, each natural-born beauties with that little something extra, have already won a regional title and each represents a different part of the country. Each competes in several different categories – swimsuit, evening gown, spokes-model, and – of course – talent.

The setup allows for maximum comic potential. The tanned, leather-skinned host the contestants fawn over, the cheesy-themed production numbers, and the Miss Congeniality runner-up these shows always have to have, are given wonderful send-ups. What gives it permission to work is that the contestants are played by men in drag. A wide-eyed contestant scared to death at being in a pageant might evoke pity, but when she’s played by a guy in a dress no one has to feel guilty about laughing.

Andy Luna plays Frankie Cavalier, the show’s preening host. Luna is terrific at having all the right moves, but epitomizes the show’s major weakness – he doesn’t have the chops to sing the role of Frankie the way it needs to be sung.

Musically speaking, “Pageant” hasn’t found its rhythm, nor - quite often - its pitch. I saw a dress rehearsal, which isn’t a fair way to make a judgment. It’s tough to make a musical work with a part-time cast and a pick-up band – no matter how gifted. Bruka’s presentation of “Pageant” will tighten up. I intend to return after the show’s many parts have a chance to settle in. As it is, “Pageant” is well worth the experience.

Adam Whitney is Ruth Ann Ruth, Miss Bible Belt. Whitney’s sincerity thin, Amee Semple MacPherson approach to “Banking on Jesus” is the stuff of which legends (and religious nuts) are made. Jake Peck is Laurinda Summerford, Miss Deep South, and he’s got the peaches-and-cream complexion, southern-belle walk and silly (but gifted) ventriloquism that make him a triple-crown winner. Rodney Hurst is Bonnie Louise Cutlett, Miss Great Plains, and his dramatic reading, “I Am the Land,” harkens back to the worst (and, of course, best) memories of an impassioned high-school reading of “I think that I shall never see, a poem lovelier than a tree.”

John Wade is Consuela Manuela Rafaella Lopez, Miss Industrial Northeast, and he gives a knock-out performance reminiscent of a trilled-tongued Carmen Miranda working feverishly under a hat of bananas. Alexander Biber is Kitty-Bob Ames, Miss Texas, and he’s a crazy, tap-dancing, yellow-rose of you know where. Trent Lott (not that one) is Karma Quinn, Miss West Coast, and his offering in the talent category, “The Seven Stages of Me” - a delightfully failed reach for the esoteric, is a riot.

Mary Bennett has directed and she has a keen sense of the absurd. With the exception of the production’s search for split-second timing ( a musical problem with this show) she has fun without overplaying for laughs. Bill Quinby is the musical director. Quinby has the talent to improve the show’s musical rough spots as “Pageant’s” run plays on. With Quinby on the keyboard, Adam Van Brocklin on drums, and Mark Campbell on bass, Bill Quinby and His Three Big Pieces – when the trio warms to its task – should provide “Pageant” the oomph it needs to really entertain.

Lewis Zaumeyer’s Miss Glamouresse set design has the glitz that’s a girl’s best friend. Jim Martin and Tonya Howard are responsible for costuming. Their gowns “for every occasion” and pumps “that fit” are a triumph. David Simpson’s lighting keeps the show’s stars in the limelight – presumably waiting for their close-ups.

“Pageant’s” overtly witty book and lyrics are by Bill Russell and Frank Kelly. It’s very serviceable music is by Albert Evans. The show’s wonderfully tongue-in-cheek idea to lampoon beauty pageants is by Robert Longbottom.

With high-gloss, high-camp choreography by Alexander Biber and Adam Whitney, “Pageant” at its best (or even at its almost best) is a silly, playful evening in the theater during a time when laughing isn’t a bad option.

“Pageant” can be seen at the Bruka Theatre, 99 North Virginia Street, Reno, Nevada, May 15, 16, 21, 22, 23, 28, 29, 30, June 4, 5, 6, 2009, at 8 p.m. and May 24 (2009) at 2 p.m. For information call 775-323-3221.