Some Kind of Paradise

The View Upstairs – Circle Theatre 

 

In 1973, on the fourth anniversary of the Stonewall riots, during the final day of the Big Easy’s Pride celebration, an unspeakable tragedy took place. Nestled high above the French Quarter in seedy, but popular, New Orleans’ gay club, the UpStairs Lounge, 32 lives were unnecessarily taken. Until the horrific Pulse Nightclub shooting in Orlando two years ago, this deplorable attack was regarded as the deadliest antigay assault in American history. That June night, dozens of lives were lost when an angry arsonist set fire to the only stairway leading up to the modest little second floor bar, trapping victims in a raging inferno that’s regarded as the deadliest fire in New Orleans history. The dead included the club’s owner, all the patrons that evening, as well as members of the Metropolitan Community Church, who held their evening services at the UpStairs Lounge. 

This heinous incident is memorialized here in a time-traveling musical that features a book, score and lyrics by Max Vernon. This show premiered Off-Broadway just a year ago, and then went on to an even splashier Los Angeles production. Ironically, just one year ago, Chicago saw a different musical depiction of this same event, also presented at this very same venue. This new musical by Mr. Vernon is far superior to last year’s theatrical depiction of this tragedy. In its Midwest premiere, the show features a far better, much catchier score. The script is entertaining and more creative in how it presents the facts of this sad episode in GLBT history to the public. 

Wes, a young, 21st century fashionista is thinking about buying the gutted, fire-damaged second floor space, formerly known as the UpStairs Lounge. His entrepreneurial plans are to turn this deserted venue into a French Quarter boutique. After meeting with his real estate agent, Wes takes a hit of cocaine and suddenly the ghosts of the past break through the shadows and enter the pulsating, colored lights of the bar, taking our hero back to the disco world of the 70’s. Once Wes accepts that he’s having an hallucination, he begins interacting with these phantoms of the past, impressing them with stories of how different they’d find the future world. 

Wes meets Henri, the sassy, butch bartender and owner of the UpStairs Lounge. He banters with Buddy, the bar’s resident pianist, while warding off the unwanted advances of a bitter, homeless guy named Dale. Wes helps Freddy, a talented, young drag queen, to create a new wardrobe for her performance, after a bigoted cop has roughed her up and confiscated her belongings. Wes soon becomes attracted to a handsome hustler named Patrick, while enjoying the company of Willy, the resident matchmaker, Freddy’s feisty mother, Inez, and Richard, the affable pastor of the Metropolitan Community Church.

The ubiquitous, multitalented Chicago director, Derek Van Barham, sensitively stages his production in an almost immersive environment, beautifully designed by Jimmy Jagos. The Lounge is dominated by a massive bar, an upright piano and assorted tables and chairs. Its walls drip with colored lights (thanks to G. “Max” Maxin), tacky wallpaper, gaudy draperies and posters and tchotchkes that bespeak the 70’s. Indeed, before the 100-minute production even begins, patrons are encouraged to belly up to the bar to purchase beer, wine or soft drinks from Henri. Once the musical begins, with the audience seated so close to the performers, the story and its diverse characters instantly become intimate friends.

Led by the multi-gifted, always surprising Kevin Webb as Wes, the play gets off to an snappy start that never lets down until the final moments. Webb sings of his much-wanted fame as a “householdname,” later touting the glories of the 21st century with “The Future is Great!!!” and bringing all his drug-induced experiences together in the titular closing ballad, “The View UpStairs.” Webb is all high octane glitz and glamour, Chicago’s own answer to a younger Neil Patrick Harris. Once again, as in almost every production he appears, Kevin Webb owns this musical.

He’s supported by a talented cast that includes handsome newcomer Averis Anderson, as Patrick, Anderson shows off his accomplished voice in “What I Did Today.” We can only hope to hear more from this talented young man in the near future. Playing Buddy, as well serving as the production’s musical director and keyboard accompanist, Jeff Bouthiette is, like in every show he appears, a glittering standout performer. He opens the play singing one of the show’s finest songs, an ode to the little world these folks have carved out for themselves. He musically confesses, “I chose a family of my own who shared my brand new point of view. Now you’re all gathered ’round in this kingdom we’ve found, some kind of paradise.” 

Recently enjoyed in Mercury Theater’s “Company,” the irrepressible Frederick Harris sweeps through the room as Willy, the grande dame of the UpStairs Lounge. His rendition, with enthusiastic support from the company, of a tune entitled “Theme Song,” almost brings the audience to their feet. Henri, the authoritarian barkeep, sings of “The World Outside These Walls.” She’s portrayed by Chicago’s own diva, Caitlin Jackson. Ms. Jackson will be recognized from her varied excellent performances, such as Bette Midler, with Hell in a Handbag, as well as her recent performance in New American Folk Theatre’s “Hot Pink and Ready to Blow.” 

Making his professional Chicago debut, CCPA theatre major Ruben Melendez Ortiz, is a standout as Freddy, aka drag queen Aurora Borealis. His show-stopping “Sex on Legs” is filled with punch and pizzazz. He’s supported by the exciting Selene Perez as his supportive Latina mother, Inez. She charms the audience with her two numbers, “Completely Overdone” and, especially, the poignant “The Most Important Thing.” 

As Dale, the sinister homeless man, one of Chicagos’s finest, all-around talents, Eric Lindahl, sits quietly at the bar, constantly emerging from the darkness to make his presence known. He’s a misunderstood antagonist, sort of the Judd Fry of this musical. His sad musical monologue, “Better Than Silence,” resonates much like “Lonely Room,” from Rodgers & Hammerstein’s “Oklahoma.” The talented singing/dancing ensemble, comprised of Jennifer Ledesma, Cari Meixner, Matt Frye, Ben F. Locke, Juwon Tyrel Perry, Roy Samra, is brought to life through a rainbow of colorful 70’s costumes, courtesy of Chris Tuttle, and plenty of spirited, adrenaline-pumping, retro choreography, created by the talented Jon Martinez.

The one problem with this production, however, is with the acoustics. While the actors are wearing body microphones, Justin Harner’s six-member, synth-heavy band tends to completely overpower their voices. It must be said that these are some pretty formidable singers; to overpower their vocal prowess takes a lot, especially in such an intimate setting. The result is that the lyrics are unintelligible or simply go unheard, which is a shame. Max Vernon’s storytelling through his words is sharp and perceptive. His 15 songs not only accurately recreate a forgotten incident and a bygone era, but beautifully paint a musical portrait of every single character.

Beautifully directed by Derek Van Barham, Max Vernon’s heartfelt homage to the lives senselessly lost on a hot June night in a New Orleans bar resonates with the forgotten importance of the here-and-now. The importance of putting down those cell phones and actually interacting with one another is shown to be more important than taking selfies and photographing life, instead of living it. If we could only return to an era, Vernon seems to lament, when making the most of face-to-face connections and discovering the importance of family and community, each of us might find “Some Kind of Paradise.”

Highly Recommended

Reviewed by Colin Douglas

         

Presented June 22-July 22 by Circle Theatre at the Broadway Theatre at the Pride Arts Center, 4139 N. Broadway, Chicago.

Tickets are available at the door or by going to www.circletheatrechicago.org.

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