The Legend of Georgia McBride @ MCC

I caught the first preview of MCC's first new play this season at the Lortel. It's a mixed affair to be sure, but when it's on it's ON and extremely funny. This is all thanks to an absolutely hysterical drag performance by Matt McGrath; he had me in stitches with every droll facial expression and catty remark.

The play itself is overly long, and worse you can totally see where it's going in the first fifteen minutes. Casey is a wannabe actor/performer at a dingy bar in the Florida panhandle. He wants to put on an Elvis act, but no one is interested in watching. The owner of the bar decides to hire his nephew, now a drag queen, and the nephew's drag partner to spice up the place and bring in some crowds. It's only a matter of time before Casey has to put on some pumps and join the act to make money for his wife and baby on the way. Of course he keeps what he's doing a secret. I wonder if she'll find out!

There was a Murder, She Wrote episode where Jessica went to San Francisco to visit a niece (Genie Francis) only for them to discover that the niece's fiancee was working at a drag club, run by Carol Lawrence no less, to pay the bills.

The problem with the Legend of Georgia McBride is that anytime McGarth/the drag queens aren't on stage the whole affair is a bore. When they're doing their routines or rehearsing Edith Piaf gestures you're likely to find yourself in homo heaven.

Based on some of the Playbill credits it looks like some of the cast performed in the Denver try-out before coming to New York. Given that there was a previous production I'm surprised some of the details of the plot weren't iron out a little more. Little lines here and there didn't ring true or jokes were made (generating a laugh) that ended up being betraying character traits.

Still, I can't help but recommend it solely because of McGrath, who still has me smiling this morning.

Updated On: 8/21/15 at 08:40 AM

I saw the second preview tonight.

I think the best way to describe this play would be to call it uneven. There are times when it's flat-out hilarious, and the audience was cackling - mostly thanks to Michael McGrath's brilliant performance - and then times where we were uninterested and disengaged.

The problem lies in the plot. Straight boy goes drag. That's the premise. But his actual drag persona is never more than average. She's never over the top hilarious, and the songs they chose for her - all modern country songs - didn't really deliver any jokes. And out of drag, the character of Casey is so insanely boring. The actor didn't add much in way of characterization, and so the whole story/character are just "eh." At least Lopez assembled a hilarious group around him.

The writing was hit or miss as well. At times hilarious and at times very Lifetime movie. The story wraps up in the way you think it would - essentially: Drag saved my life - and the "domestic" scenes are all rather boring. You're suppose to root for the couple, but he's so bland that we just don't care. We want more silly drag queens. Lopez would write things like "Happy July 4th, everyone!" - which just hit my ear wrong. No one really speaks like that? You'd say "the 4th" or happy 4th of July." Just weird nit-picky things that just struck me as false. Or he has one dumb, Southern character say "kerfuffle." Which I don't think anyone would say anyway.

The staging is clunky. Stage hands come out and move various props around or disassemble moments. It kind of works, and it kind of distracts. You see someone throw a bunch of clothes to then witness a stand hand come out and clean it all up while some pop song plays.

Overall I think it's worth it to see for McGrath's performance. He's just stupid hilarious. I can't say enough about his performance. I kind of wish he had been the main focus as his character just had more of an interesting story.

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No intermission when I saw it. And it was 2 hrs-ish.

LimelightMike-

Just saw it tonight. Definitely no audience participation.

I agree about the shift of focus. But disagree with Afton. I thought her accent/acting was totally believable. It was Casey that I thought was terrible. Everything he did/said throughout the show just felt false to me. And he didn't seem like he was honestly connecting with the people on stage. Which made the show drag in places to me because I didn't care about the lead character.

^newintown, that's pretty much my thoughts as well. It took me about 20 minutes to get into it, but yes once Tracy shows up, the shows brightens undeniably.

Responding to others above, I actually enjoyed Afton Williamson and felt that their home scenes were essential to having any kind of character development for the couple. Keith Nobbs surprised me as well - more as Jason than as Rexy.

RippedMan, I understand what you say, but it seems that you may be calling for an entirely different kind of show than that which the playwright wrote. This is a simple good-hearted comedy about what people need to do to get by, how that can change them, and how love sees them through that change. It's not a musical about drag performers.

Updated On: 9/2/15 at 10:44 AM

newintown: totally get that. While I was watching the play I just felt like the playwright was better at writing witty banter for the queens to say than really developing the story, so why not scrap the story. It's not really saying anything new, so why not make it more about the club, which is the one interesting part of the show, and take the one main character who is interesting and tell us her story. At least that's what I was thinking.

Well I think we all said it's an enjoyable evening. It's just a slight play. There's nothing groundbreaking happening, etc. But it's fun. Just funny to think he went from Whipping Man to this.

Reading the raves about Matt are making me so happy! I knew his talents on the first night he played Hedwig and have been following him since. IN fact, his "I Don't Care Much" from his stint as the emcee, was the most beautiful I had heard from any of them. Matt's got that built-in misty haunting sound.

I'm seeing the show on the 23rd, I think, and can't wait!

Ripped - Today on On Stage, they reviewed the play. It was mentioned that Matt's performance is one of the best of the year, and this should really propel his career. They also wisely mentioned he has the chops to do any kind of role. I can tell you that his singing is gorgeous, too.

I'm going on the 23rd, and will see Matt afterwards.

I saw a regional production of "Georgia McBride" last night and the script left me frustrated. The first half is a tropey farce. Unemployed straight man-child gets offered work as a drag queen by two underwritten minorities. It's Kinky Boots, Full Monty, etc without the stakes. One lip sync montage later he's delivering "serious" monologues about what his drag persona and his relationships with the other performers mean to him. It felt like the middle of the play was cut in previews as we never meet his persona or see those "relationships" develop. The cast did their best but the script just wasn't there for them.

Georgia/Casey has supposedly turned a bar in the middle of nowhere into a thriving drag club. He sobs at one moment that the experience made him "feel like a f*g." I wanted them to unpack that. Who is coming to this club? Bachelorettes? Gay men from big cities commuting to his small town? Is he flirting with gay men in the club? With his fellow performers? Where's the sexual tension that's fueling this identity crisis?

Updated On: 10/12/17 at 07:23 AM

@TheSassySam. Twas indeed. Great cast! Nate Santana made the potentially unlikeable Casey charming and sympathetic.