Review: Gold Dust Orphans Wish You A LITTLE ORPHAN TRANNY CHRISTMAS

A Little Orphan Tranny Christmas

Producer/Book and Lyrics, Ryan Landry; Director, Larry Coen; Choreography by Gabriel Nesser and The Glitterpuss Dancers; Costume Design, Scott Martino; Set Design/Scenic Artist, Brian Riordan; Scenic Artist, Liz Panneton; Lighting Design, Michael Clark Wonson and Erik Fox

CAST: Ryan Landry, Larry Coen, Jessica Barstis, Olive Another, Richard Wingert, Scott Martino, Qya Cristal, Gene Dante, Tim Lawton, William York, Gary Croteau, Anzel Miller, Rhoda the Dog; The Glitterpuss Dancers: Gabriel Nesser, Merideth Langton, Briana Scafidi, Brad Jensen

Performances through December 20 by The Gold Dust Orphans at Machine Nightclub, 1254 Boylston Street, Boston, MA; Box Office 617-642-6921 or www.brownpapertickets.com/event/2412422

Ryan Landry is nothing if not au courant and he is once again tapping into political and cultural hot topics with his latest holiday extravaganza, A Little Orphan Tranny Christmas. Under the direction of Larry Coen, Landry dons the big green nose and colorful cotton candy wig of Mrs. Hermione P. Grinchley to lead an ensemble of Gold Dust Orphans regulars from an orphanage on the mean streets of New York to the gleaming Trump Tower and the crumbling manse known as Grey Gardens. The misfit orphans include a curly-haired boy/girl in the familiar red dress searching for his/her real parents with the help of the Beales (Big Edie and Little Edie) and President and Mrs. Franklin D. Roosevelt.

Two notorious men vie to be named as the child's father, each with his own nefarious motivation. The mobster Whitey Bolger (sic) (Scott Martino) goes up against wealthy pedophile, Daddy Trumpbucks (Gene Dante), and suddenly it doesn't look like such a bad choice to remain in the clutches of Mrs. Grinchley. However, Tranny (Jessica Barstis) escapes and finds a species-uncertain cat/dog (Rhoda the dog) to adopt, but she gets caught and returned to the orphanage by a cop with an unusual talent. Along comes Little Edie (Olive Another), looking to temporarily adopt a kid for an upcoming visit from the Roosevelts (Tim Lawton, Gary Croteau). Edie brings Tranny home to meet Big Edie (Coen) where she hooks up with Jerry (Richard Wingert), the weird, hunky caretaker at Grey Gardens, who is always shirtless despite it being December.

Landry is like a sorcerer pulling together threads from Annie, Grey Gardens, Whitey Bulger's saga, and Trump's political profile into a crazy quilt of a plot, set to familiar music from Broadway shows (42nd Street, Annie, The Music Man, Les Miserables), disco songs, Christmas tunes, and even something from Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood. Director Coen makes sense of all the nonsense, even as he bounces scenes from center stage, to downstage in front of the curtain, to smaller areas that flank the audience. There may be an occasional mishap, but it only adds to the fun and the cast recovers quickly with a wink or an ad lib. Most of these folks have worked together long enough that improv becomes part of their repertoire and the audience loves it.

The Glitterpuss Dancers (Gabriel Nesser, Meredith Langton, Briana Scafidi, Brad Jensen), are showcased in Nesser's exciting and eclectic choreography in all of the musical numbers, and Scott Martino dresses them in a range of amazing costume designs, among them gold coins, cat's pajamas, raccoons, snowflakes, stars and stripes, and curly wigs and red dresses like you-know-who. The caliber of dancing is just one of the areas of the Gold Dust Orphans' productions that gets better with every show. The choir of singing voices is top-notch, as well, with standouts Barstis, Dante, and Lawton, and Qya Cristal is divalicious while channeling Whitney Houston. Olive Another can always be counted on to sell a song and captures the vocal pattern of Little Edie with aplomb. Wingert has a sweet baritone that blends well with Barstis, but he had a little trouble with the pitch on opening night.

Brian Riordan (set design/scenic artist) and Liz Panneton are up to the task of representing every scene, including snow-covered trees, the New York skyline, an airplane, and more than a few surprises. Lighting designers Michael Clark Wonson and Erik Fox find numerous ways to light every area of the stage, put singers in the spotlight, and make use of the always-present disco ball to cast colorful reflections around the room. The Orphans use projections sparingly, but to great effect. In the close quarters of Machine, the amplification for the musical numbers is more than adequate and most of the actors easily project their lines to the back row. If any of the dialogue is missed, it is usually because it is drowned out by laughter. In the words of its author, A Little Orphan Tranny Christmas is "juvenile, nonsensical filth." That sounds like a rave review; I couldn't have said it better.

Photo credit: Michael von Redlich (Gene Dante as Daddy Trumpbucks and The Glitterpuss Dancers)

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