San Francisco Theater Preview: AMERICA’S NEXT TOP BACHELOR HOUSEWIFE CELEBRITY HOARDER MAKEOVER STAR GONE WILD! (The Kinsey Sicks)

DRAGULOUS

I love The Kinsey Sicks. Is it because I love barbershop quartets? Is it because I love drag queens? Is it because I love community activists? Is it because I love irreverent, cheeky, flippant parody and comedic commentary? Is it because I love boffo entertainers? Well, perhaps that is part of it. But there is something else I love about them. They’re FA-A-A-ABULOUS.

“Fabulous” is that which is beyond all description of amazement, celebration, color, craving, dancing, delight, desire, devotion, fury, hope, inspiration, love, music, noise, optimism, originality, passion, progression, sensationalism, sentimentalism, scandal, transformation, tromping on the status quo, and unpredictability.

Fabulousness is sorely lacking in America. And in the gay community, being fabulous was once a survival skill; it was used as nourishment to break down barriers, and proved to be one of the greatest tools to fight AIDS (versus pity and victimization). But I fear that it is rapidly diminishing due to assimilation. The parties, the wigs, the theatricality, the creativity, the self-expression and, above all, the celebration seem to be running out of gas.

Not so with The Kinsey Sicks, who happen to have an incredibly diverse fan base far exceeding the gay community. If you’re prepared to be injected with a turkey baster of fabulosity, run to see America’s favorite Dragapella Beautyshop Quartet, which will be celebrating its 20th anniversary on Saturday, December 28, 2013 at the Castro Theatre in San Francisco. Conceived at a Bette Midler concert at SF’s Civic Auditorium in 1993, the tranny troupe has trounced throughout the world, providing their trademark songs that have shrewd, crude and sometimes politically charged lyrics. They rightfully claim that their comedic and musical shenanigans have been a soundtrack for the social struggles and cultural change of the past two decades.

The evening in the Castro (which, next to Stonewall, many consider ground zero of the gay rights movement) will feature the SF premiere of their new musical comedy, America’s Next Top Bachelor Housewife Celebrity Hoarder Makeover Star Gone Wild! This Reality TV mash-up is based on their real-life Reality TV experience as contestants in Season III of America’s Got Talent, so they have the insight necessary to poke fun at the onstage unreality and backstage surreality of the genre. The brilliant bedazzling broads boast that they will belt some of their best music of the last two decades, including wicked parodies and objectionable originals. You can also expect some vibrant new songs about stardom, satisfaction and the starvation for celebrity. And, of course, Rachel (Ben Schatz), Trampolina (Spencer Brown), Trixie (Jeff Manabat), and Winnie (Irwin Keller), all amazing singers, will offer glorious a capella four-part harmony in vivid Technicolor.

In the show, we find the girls in the jungle, trying their best to score at challenges that involve singing, dancing, dating, dieting and swallowing (large insects, that is). Will they win? Will they stay together? Will they withstand the pressure? Will they sing on key for once? And, of course, what would any reality show be without a production number in Yiddish?

In celebration of their hammy, hysterical history, these gender benders will be joined by special guests, including Maurice Kelly, who originated the role of Trixie and performed with the group through 2001 (there’s no conflict of interest here, but Mr. Kelly has been an occasional contributor to Stage and Cinema). Following the performance, Deborah Doyle–librarian, performer and President of the California Library Association–will moderate a discussion with the The Kinsey Sicks’ members…I mean, the members of The Kinsey Sicks. You will probably end up asking, “Why the f@#k aren’t they famous?”

This sashay down memory lane promises to be fun, frolicking, festive, fantastic, fanciful, fertile, feminine, and oh yes, fabulous.

photos by Vixen Pinup Photography, Maurice Molyneaux and Erez Ben-Or

The Kinsey Sicks
America’s Next Top Bachelor Housewife
Celebrity Hoarder Makeover Star Gone Wild!
Castro Theatre, 429 Castro St.
Saturday, December 28, 2013 at 8:00 pm
for tickets, call 415-392-4400 or visit www.CityBoxOffice.com
for more info, visit www.kinseysicks.com