The Internet is For Porn

GRINDR The Opera: An Unauthorized Parody – Underscore Theatre Company

 

The lights gradually dim and out of the hazy darkness steps GRINDR, a glittering, over-the-top personification of the popular hookup app that’s used by thousands of gay men everywhere. Seductively, this bewitching drag performer, bedecked throughout the 90-minute show in a variety of stunning wigs, gowns and stiletto heels, sings about the true appeal of this iPhone function. She then introduces us to four very different men, all of whom share experiences with this dating app. They’re typical of the kinds of individuals who inspire the stories that are played out in operatic style.

The very name of this app is synonymous with notoriety and sleazy sexual stalking. Created for Libertine Idol Productions by Eric Ransom, GRINDR’s salacious reputation for being an electronic brothel for gay men is portrayed through his music, book and lyrics. Opera is grandiose and larger-than-life in its storytelling. It’s drama and comedy is set to sweeping musical motifs, much like Ransom’s sung-through musical revue. The score features everything from baroque to pop, danceable ditties to bitter ballads.

GRINDR is the emcee of the opera, played to perfection by Nathan Cooper as a fabulous, whimsical, slinky siren. She’s been wakened from her slumber by the tinkling of technology. Her power, derived from human lust, is exhibited in the way she manipulates her gay worshippers with her soaring soprano. She then introduces the audience to the four men who’ve currently sought her services.

The very talented and likable Nikolas Drake plays Devon, a health clinic physician, in Chicago. He’s a cautious young man who hasn’t enjoyed any close contact since his last relationship ended badly. Now that he’s discovered GRINDR, Devon’s hoping to hook up with someone new who’ll take it slow and gentle and be empathetic to his romantic expectations. He finds his Mister Right in Tom, a handsome, eager young guy, played with freshness and honesty by the talented Connor Baty. This horny, yet somewhat cynical, young man enjoys the thrill of the hunt for his one-night stands, but is immediately drawn to Devon.

Next we encounter the seductive, good-looking Jack, played with authority by Roy Samra. He’s a self-described a party boy, a Twink, who uses the app to find as many different johns as possible on any given night. On this occasion, the hunky and agile kid in short-shorts and tank top decides to hookup with Don. This daddy type isn’t just an older man who prefers younger guys; he’s a conservative, closet-case Republican, with a wife and grown son. Don, played with gusto by John Cardone, is also filled with lust and self-loathing. Whenever he finds a young man willing to do his bidding, Don’s guilt makes achieving satisfaction very difficult. Jack is immediately turned off by Don. It’s only when the older man offers Jack money that he’s willing to be used. What Jack isn’t fully aware of is the danger in which he’s about to participate.

This adult opera spoof shows great promise, both on the part of the cast, as well as the creative team who helped bring it to life. While it starts to wear a little thin about an hour into the piece, especially listening to GRINDR’s insistent falsetto, Mr. Ransom’s score sports a wide variety of humorous, adult pop tunes and poignant recitatives. Among the 26 songs are “Manhunt,” “Cum-Dumpster,” “The Hook-Up Chorus,” “Filling Out a Profile,” “Love is Versatile,” “What Fresh Hell?” and “The Tangled Web.” Directed by Rachel Klein, with musical direction by Oliver Townsend, and spirited choreography co-created by Ms. Klein and Shawn Quinlan (who also costumed this production with especial flair and finesse), the revue will have its next production this coming summer in London, England. If theatergoers haven’t been convince already, Eric Ransom’s spicy, spunky, special parody will persuade audiences that, indeed, the internet is for porn!

 

Recommended

Reviewed by Colin Douglas

 

Presented February 9, 13, 17 and 23 by Hugh Hysell and Hysell Marketing for Underscore Theatre Company’s 2018 Chicago Musical Theatre Festival at the Greenhouse Theater Center, 2257 N. Lincoln Ave., Chicago.

Tickets for all seven productions and the two staged readings are available at the box office or by going to www.cmtf.org.

Additional information about this and other area productions can be found by visiting www.theatreinchicago.com.

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Though the opera lives in the world of parody, it touches on some very serious, hot-button issues that exist in the gay community as it transitions into a time of wider acceptance and easy access to opportunities of both romance and lust to be sated. GRINDR The Opera is entirely sung-through and intended to be staged with a cast of five actors: The four men and the Siren, GRINDR, who is intended to be a masked man in drag. It is arranged to be performed by a band of three to five musicians.

We meet GRINDR, a mythical siren from remote antiquity who has been awoken from her millennial slumber by technology. Her power, which is derived from human lust, is exhibited as she manipulates her gay devotees in a soaring soprano.

Next we meet the boys: Devon is a romantic, Tom is a cynic, Jack is aand Don is a daddy. These four gay men of different “Tribes” meet via the medium of the Grindr app, each seeking a different type of connection. GRINDR guides them to intersect to hilarious and calamitous results, culminating in a grand finale wherein all the dirty laundry tumbles out.

Though the opera lives in the world of parody, it touches on some very serious, hot-button issues that exist in the gay community as it transitions into a time of wider acceptance and easy access to opportunities of both romance and lust to be sated. GRINDR The Opera is entirely sung-through and intended to be staged with a cast of five actors: The four men and the Siren, GRINDR, who is intended to be a masked man in drag. It is arranged to be performed by a band of three to five musicians.