The Seattle Gay News review of "Super Females!" :-)
BIFF! POW! BITCH! - Bad Actor's Super Females battle evil in the Pike-Pine corridor
by Maggie Bloodstone - SGN A&E Writer
Super heroes are Gay. Every last one of them, from Superhomo to BatFag to Wonder Lesbo to the Bionic Dyke. No sublimination, no symbolism, no pseudo-Freudian theory, they're all Gay. From the crotch-hugging spandex to the obsession with combating oppression and injustice, the whole damn genre is totally, non-ambiguously GAY.
Which is why it was only a matter of time before some adventurous theater group with a big wet squishy soft spot for the thinly veiled pictorial homoerotica of their youth came up with the world's first (that I know of) "Drag queen superhero play". While in a perfect world, a concept like this would reach its full potential in an animated series that would make Spongebob look like Bibleman, Bad Actor's Super Females will fill the gap nicely for now. And, in the case of actor/writer/director/P.R. Diva Craig Trolli, it's about damn time, as his most recognizable creation has been The Adventures Of Em'ma Gawd and Anna Rexia, the funnier-than-shit comic strip formerly serialized in these pages (and whose title divas sometimes manifest in the fabulously fake flesh on the streets of Seattle).
Vicky, Mandy, and Patty (Joel Steinpreis, Craig Trolli, and Josh Hartvigson ) are dedicated technicians at the Beauty Mart, a middle-upscale salon in 'Oceanattle', content to spend their days waxing angels into pubic areas and making aging yuppie faces "feel like the underbelly of an Orca" until their beloved spa is threatened by condo-fication (doesn't that sound sickeningly familiar). With the help of an ancient Indian fetish object bestowed upon them by a disembodied, overcoiffed head, they become Lady Lotion, The Manicurist, and The Swedish Rug Doctor, proving their super cosmetic powers by executing a successful makeover on a mulleted and bristly construction worker. After the obligatory Charlie's Angels pose and a quick change into fashionably butt-ugly mismatched ensembles, the terrific Transgendered trio take on villains such as The Metrosexual (the superbly slimy Jason Conover), Tranny Forma (the cacklingly cunty Stacey Bush), and Laptop Larry (Spencer Thorson, a combo of Stephen Hawkings & Bill Gates with speech pattern on loan from the late great Paul Lynde). Do they succeed in expelling the forces of unbridled capitalism and gun-metal grey commercial space from the land of The Galactic Needle, making the Pike-Pine corridor safe for diversity and the proliferation of indie band posters? What the fuck do you think?
Super Females has everything you could want in a Bad Actor production: a hilariously over-the-top script, a cheap but aesthetically pleasing set, a talented and exuberant cast, quotable dialog ("I would gladly dip my fingers in the hand clam", declares Sapphic Super Siren Swedish Rug Doctor. "I like a pickle with my open face sandwich", quips the generously genitalia'ed Tranny Forma.), up-to-the-minute regional references, an underrehearsed interpretive dance sequence, and a bar nearby. It also has a few flaws that have been known to appear in their productions: a late curtain, overly loose staging and lost lines in particular. Granted, these problems will appear in Bar Theater, where spontaneity and flexible structure are a given, but I hated thinking I missed a particularly piquant bon mot due to an actor projecting into the northwest corner of the theater. Written and directed by committee (Josh, Joel, Craig / Tricia Beigh, Josh, Joel, & Craig, respectively), it's a highly satisfying 70-some minutes of inspired goofiness in the tradition of The Exorcist: The Musical, Dangerous Liaisons, and Capitol Hill High. I have only one question, however: where's Em'ma and Anna? 'Nuff said!
Super Females runs through March 4, Fri-Sat., 8 pm, at the Northwest Actors Studio, 1100 East Pike Street, 206-324-6328. For more information, visit www.nwactorsstudio.com or www.badactorproductions.org.
by Maggie Bloodstone - SGN A&E Writer
Super heroes are Gay. Every last one of them, from Superhomo to BatFag to Wonder Lesbo to the Bionic Dyke. No sublimination, no symbolism, no pseudo-Freudian theory, they're all Gay. From the crotch-hugging spandex to the obsession with combating oppression and injustice, the whole damn genre is totally, non-ambiguously GAY.
Which is why it was only a matter of time before some adventurous theater group with a big wet squishy soft spot for the thinly veiled pictorial homoerotica of their youth came up with the world's first (that I know of) "Drag queen superhero play". While in a perfect world, a concept like this would reach its full potential in an animated series that would make Spongebob look like Bibleman, Bad Actor's Super Females will fill the gap nicely for now. And, in the case of actor/writer/director/P.R. Diva Craig Trolli, it's about damn time, as his most recognizable creation has been The Adventures Of Em'ma Gawd and Anna Rexia, the funnier-than-shit comic strip formerly serialized in these pages (and whose title divas sometimes manifest in the fabulously fake flesh on the streets of Seattle).
Vicky, Mandy, and Patty (Joel Steinpreis, Craig Trolli, and Josh Hartvigson ) are dedicated technicians at the Beauty Mart, a middle-upscale salon in 'Oceanattle', content to spend their days waxing angels into pubic areas and making aging yuppie faces "feel like the underbelly of an Orca" until their beloved spa is threatened by condo-fication (doesn't that sound sickeningly familiar). With the help of an ancient Indian fetish object bestowed upon them by a disembodied, overcoiffed head, they become Lady Lotion, The Manicurist, and The Swedish Rug Doctor, proving their super cosmetic powers by executing a successful makeover on a mulleted and bristly construction worker. After the obligatory Charlie's Angels pose and a quick change into fashionably butt-ugly mismatched ensembles, the terrific Transgendered trio take on villains such as The Metrosexual (the superbly slimy Jason Conover), Tranny Forma (the cacklingly cunty Stacey Bush), and Laptop Larry (Spencer Thorson, a combo of Stephen Hawkings & Bill Gates with speech pattern on loan from the late great Paul Lynde). Do they succeed in expelling the forces of unbridled capitalism and gun-metal grey commercial space from the land of The Galactic Needle, making the Pike-Pine corridor safe for diversity and the proliferation of indie band posters? What the fuck do you think?
Super Females has everything you could want in a Bad Actor production: a hilariously over-the-top script, a cheap but aesthetically pleasing set, a talented and exuberant cast, quotable dialog ("I would gladly dip my fingers in the hand clam", declares Sapphic Super Siren Swedish Rug Doctor. "I like a pickle with my open face sandwich", quips the generously genitalia'ed Tranny Forma.), up-to-the-minute regional references, an underrehearsed interpretive dance sequence, and a bar nearby. It also has a few flaws that have been known to appear in their productions: a late curtain, overly loose staging and lost lines in particular. Granted, these problems will appear in Bar Theater, where spontaneity and flexible structure are a given, but I hated thinking I missed a particularly piquant bon mot due to an actor projecting into the northwest corner of the theater. Written and directed by committee (Josh, Joel, Craig / Tricia Beigh, Josh, Joel, & Craig, respectively), it's a highly satisfying 70-some minutes of inspired goofiness in the tradition of The Exorcist: The Musical, Dangerous Liaisons, and Capitol Hill High. I have only one question, however: where's Em'ma and Anna? 'Nuff said!
Super Females runs through March 4, Fri-Sat., 8 pm, at the Northwest Actors Studio, 1100 East Pike Street, 206-324-6328. For more information, visit www.nwactorsstudio.com or www.badactorproductions.org.