Entertainment :: Theatre
Pageant by Jennifer Bubriski
EDGE ContributorWednesday Sep 17, 2008 When you think "beauty pageant contestants", you generally think one thing - pretty. You don’t think smart and you likely don’t think funny (unless unintentionally so). But Pageant, the musical comedy spoof of beauty pageants now at the Stoneham Theatre, manages to be both pretty and funny. Smart? Well, the show has the depth of salad plate and the humor tends toward broad visual gags and obvious double-entendres, but the overall package is still a helluva hoot that will leave you both tapping your toes and laughing out loud.
The selling point of this show - which follows the imaginary Miss Glamouresse Pageant sponsored by a cosmetic corporation of dubious quality - is that its six contestants are played by men in drag. Although these boys make lovely girls, there’s no mistaking what they are, which allows them to appear in a variety of glittering costumes (if there’s a sequin shortage in the Northeast, blame "Pageant" costume designer Stephen Yearick) and play their pageant stereotypes to the hilt.
The show never lets its audience forget that it is cast with guys in dresses. How else can you take numbers "Natural Born Females" and "Something Extra" (you know, like all of these contestants have, umm, something "extra"). Some of the double-entendres are funny (contestant Miss Bible Belt matriculated, naturally, at Bob James University, later referred to as "BJU"); while some do not (one Glamouresse product demonstration of a suspiciously dildo-shaped edible lipstick was, forgive me, just flaccid).
It’s hard to tell whether director, lyricist and book writer Bill Russell (perhaps most famous for writing the book and lyrics for "Side Show") tired of this theme or simply forgot about it, because by halfway through the first act, the comedy thankfully doesn’t depend upon reminders of genitalia. Russell’s gags are at their best when they send up the stuck-in-the-Eisenhower-era nature of beauty pageants, even while smartly inserting a Sarah Palin joke.
The generic titles of the contestants cue you in to the stereotypes being skewered. Miss Deep South (a note-perfect John Ambrosino, who knows from guys-as-girls, having directed Animus Ensemble’s cross-dressing version of "Once Upon a Mattress" as well as "Promises, Promises") is thoroughly confident on another win for her genteel region. Miss Texas (Danny O’Conner) sports killer legs, a superior smirk towards the judges and a fabulous tap routine. The awkward and vapid Miss Great Plains (a nicely dazed Nick Cearley) is the Plain Jane of the group (her favorite color is beige), and Miss Bible Belt (Michael Joyce) is a prettier, much younger Tammy Faye Baker, who even answers the phone with a pert "Praise him!" Miss Bible Belt also gets the best musical number, "I’m Banking on Jesus" - in which he dramatically fans out his beaded duster. It’s the best diva moment in a show jammed full of them.
Some characters are funny only through the actors’ efforts rather than sharp writing. The vacuous Miss West Coast (Adam Cochran) has L.A. Barbie blonde hair, but Berkeley sensibilities and a screamingly hysterical interpretative dance that reminded me of my earthy-crunchy 1970s gym teacher. Too bad Cochran is handed a particularly unfunny Glamouresse product demo of wearable deodorant discs, which he somehow manages to make entertaining. Corbitt Williams as the Hispanic Miss Industrial Northeast is spicy in feathers, but then is, inexplicably. called upon to play the accordion for her talent routine. Thankfully, Williams is given more fertile comic territory to mine as outgoing Miss Glamouresse and nearly steals the last 15 minutes of the show while she helps select her successor.
Although he’s the only one without a fabulous wig (although he does have three different sequined jackets), Nicholas Ryan Rowe as the emcee Frankie Cavalier is the unquestioned star of "Pageant." With a silky smooth singing voice that nails the lounge singer style, an impressively straight face in the midst of all the chaos and a darn impressive tap routine, Rowe is always a delight. It’s feat that his emcee is always sincere, even when saddled with an unfortunate space suit for the second act opener (that costume and the strange, Christian Siriano-esque wigs that the contestants wear in the number are the only scenic missteps in the show).
Some theater is meant to inspire, some to uplift, but shows like "Pageant" are meant to simply entertain. With a mood that’s as fizzy as the sparkly pink dresses worn in the opening number, "Pageant" may not make a lasting impression, but it will give you just under two hours of solid laughs. (Tip for those who would like to participate - arrange for seats in the first and second rows, you may be selected to be a judge.)
At the Stoneham Theatre through October 5, visit www.stonehamtheatre.org for tickets and more information
Jennifer has an opinion on pretty much everything and is always happy to foist it upon others.
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