2004 Columbus National Gay &
Lesbian Theatre Festival
September 9-18, 2004
Review by Bill Kaiser
November 1, 2004
For a theaterphile like me, there is nothing like the
excitement of going to a theater festival and the 2004 Columbus Festival
was no exception. The Festival was a feast of talent and diversity,
and a source of pride to me that there really is a Purple Circuit.
Most of what I saw at this Festival was extraordinary.
Unfortunately, I was only able to attend the last four days of the Festival.
So was disappointed that I missed so much.
I expected something from the “stars” of
the 2002 Festival — Jeffrey Solomon, Marjorie Conn, and Jade Esteban
Estrada — and their entries lived up to their reputations.
It was also a pleasure to discover new performers like
Journey Light, and works like Jane Chambers’ delightful short
play, “Quintessential Image” comically done by Lara D. Haberberger
and Lacey Lanier of Red Haired Grrlz.
The Conn Artist Performance Event production, “Deviant
Women” was the edgiest show I saw at The Festival, and may have
jarred mid-western sensibilities with its frankness about sex and violence.
The three actors also performed bits from works by Marjorie Conn and
others, strung together to form an intriguing evening.
Marjorie Conn ran the gamut from “Mistress Ecstasy’s
Erotic Circus” — to portraying one of my heroes, pacifist
Jeannette Rankin, as she bakes cookies and remembers her glory days
in Congress as the first woman legislator, and only member, to vote
against both World Wars. She also performed in “The Mystery of
the Fortune Cookie,” comically pondering bathing suits, and fortune
cookies.
Karen Maloney reminisces the loss of her longtime, lesbian
lover in an excerpt from Elyse Nass’ “Alphabet of Flowers,”
and portrays a scary Aileen Wvornos, the alleged serial killer, explaining
her side of the “truth.”
The performance that steals your heart is that
of Lulu Lolo, who wrote and performed “38 Witnessed Her Death,
I Witnessed Her Love: The Lonely Secret of Mary Ann Zielonko.”
Lulu Lolo plays Mary Ann Zielonko who was Kitty Genovese’s lover,
the person Kitty was returning home to after work when she was brutally
murdered in NYC. No one responded to her cries for help. I was moved
to tears by this performance.
Another emotional high for me was the performance of
spoken word artist Journey Light in from Darkness to Light. What she
does with words is amazing and riveting. Unfortunately, the audience
was sparse. More should have seen this dynamic performer from Atlanta.
Other performances also had low turnout, perhaps due
to scheduling.
Jade Esteban Estrada, the hot Latino singer, director,
writer, producer, and performer from NYC brought his touring show “ICONS,
The Gay and Lesbian History of the World, Vol. 2” to Columbus.
A fantastic performer, Jade has a unique interpretation of her/history
complete with musical numbers. Who knew Susan B. Anthony could sing?
His portrayal of Billie Jean King is not to be missed.
He also covers Alexander the Great, Queen Christina of Sweden, Harvey
Milk, and Mark Bingham. What energy! Highly recommended. See his show.
Another highlight was Jeffrey Solomon’s “Houses
on the Moon,” which he wrote and ably directed. The acting was
in the very capable hands of Emily Weiner and Carlo D’Amore. The
show is based on interviews and emails of young GLBT and Questioning
people. It was an extremely moving experience and quite insightful about
the isolation and needs of many young people. The company is touring
the show to courageous high schools and colleges.
Also of Note:
- The fabulous Karen Williams went beyond comic, to poetic,
in “Essentially.”
- Kevyn Cathreen Radcliffe gave us a well-documented portrait
of “Christina, King of Sweden.”
- Michael Burke did so much with cucumbers in his slick performance
art piece, “Cucumber Dreams.”
- Christopher Jackson’s “Not the Boy Next Door”
with singers Damien Brett and Gary Cox blended darkness and
optimism in a well-paced musical revue.
- The Puppet Queers in “Innuendo” predated Avenue
Q with musical parody of Bush and much more.
- “Southern Gothic Novel” directed by Gabriel Shanks
with Frank Blocker writing and performing is a solo tour de
force.
- The 2 Co’s Cabaret where many of the performances took
place also showed the talents of their company (who also wait
on the tables) in music, dance and acting in “Labor of
Love.”
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