"The Big Surprise"
By
Mark Winkler (lyricist)
Play It Cool started with a series of long, gabby lunches with my friend
Larry Dean Harris (co-writer of the book). Larry was on the board of the
Celebration Theatre in Los Angeles. They had initiated another little show I had written some songs for called "
Naked Boys Singing!"--and were in the market for another one. Both Larry and I loved old film noir and jazz-so we came up with the idea of putting them together. To be honest with you, I was all caught up in visions of slick streets, tough talking guys and good lighting so I basically left Larry alone--
Well, imagine my surprise when the Musical premiered and I witnessed audience's reactions to our show. Yes, they dug the swinging music and cute actors in fedoras and wide ties – But what really stuck with them was the story. You see, in this show the audience learns what it was like to be gay in 1953. In those bad old, good old days there were no gay role models (
Elton John was only 4), homosexuality was classified as a mental disease, and being "different" left you open to blackmail and heavy duty harassment.
Mary, the lead character in our show, played by the fantastic
Sally Mayes, owns a Gay Jazz Bar in Hollywood-and boldly confronts all these prejudices and more. Did you know that every man and woman while in a bar had to have at least three gender appropriate articles of clothing on at all times? When the future literally walks in the door, embodied in the handsome and wildly talented
Josh Strickland (this time in the Hollywood Jungle) Mary has to make a choice and the audience is with her all the way.
But, best of all, when I'd listen to the audience (Both straight and Gay) leaving the theatre, they'd be talking about Gay Marriage and the Constitution and how far we have and haven't come as a society. Because of the terrific book by
Larry Dean Harris and
Marty Casella and the expert direction by
Sharon Rosen, the show touched them in ways I could never have imagined…and that is really cool!
