You'll Fall Madly In love With 'The Opposite of Sex'

The Opposite of Sex 

Music and Lyrics by Douglas J. Cohen

Book by Robert Jess Roth and Douglas J. Cohen

Based on the Screenplay by Don Roos

Directed by Robert Jess Roth

Musical Direction by Lynne Shankel, Sets by Derek McLane, Lights by Norm Schwab,

Sound by Nick Borisjuk, Costumes by Sarah Laux

Featuring: David Burtka, Kerry Butler, Gregg Edelman, Kaitlin Hopkins, Herndon Lackey,

Ian Scott McGregor, Lance Rubin

 

Performances through August 20, 2006                                                                                                                                                        Box Office 413-597-3400  www.wtfestival.org

 

From the moment Dedee Truitt swaggers downstage to address the audience, we are in for one helluva ride with her in The Opposite of Sex, now in its East Coast Premiere at the Nikos Stage at the Williamstown Theatre Festival.  As narrator, Dedee (Kerry Butler) briefs us on her dysfunctional background and introduces us to the other characters in "I've Got News For You," the opening number that quickly draws the audience into their lives.

 

After the death of her pervert stepfather, Dedee leaves behind her alcoholic mother in New Orleans to seek refuge with her gay half-brother English teacher in Indiana.  Bill Truitt (Gregg Edelman) lives with his boy toy Matt (David Burtka) and has an extremely close relationship with the sister of his deceased long-time companion Tom.  Lucia (pronounced Loo-sha, because her two sisters were Marcia and Tricia, so how could she not??) serves as antagonist to Dedee, seeing through the 16-year old's attempts to play the victim and manipulate Bill at every turn.  It doesn't take long for Dedee to upset his household by seducing Matt and declaring him to be the father of her unborn child.

 

This sets off a chain of events in which everyone admits to feelings or desires not previously spoken.  Matt realizes all he really wants is "A Normal Life" and Burtka's rendition of that song is so sweet that it tugs at the heartstrings.  Bill's counterpoint that they had a normal life shows the other side of the same coin.  Faithful Lucia (Kaitlin Hopkins) sets about to help Bill through his pain after Dedee and Matt run off together and make herself indispensable to him. The menacing Jason Bock (Lance Rubin) comes looking for Matt, who he claims is his boyfriend, and threatens to make accusations against Bill if he won't disclose Matt's whereabouts ("I Think You Know What I Want"), bringing in the local constabulary.  Officer Carl Tippett, masterfully underplayed by Herndon Lackey, unwillingly brings the charges of molestation against his old friend and uses the occasion to flirt with Lucia ("I Think You Know What I Want" - reprise) who wants nothing to do with him because he had a dalliance when his wife was dying.

 

Everyone goes off to Los Angeles in search of the young couple, hoping to bring them back to Indiana and restore "A Normal Life" (reprise).  Bill and Lucia spy on the kids' house and learn that Dedee's old boyfriend Randy (Ian Scott McGregor) has reentered the picture.  He wants Dedee and the baby, Matt wants Dedee and the baby, Jason wants Matt, Bill wants Matt, Lucia wants Bill, Carl wants Lucia, and Dedee doesn't want any of this relationship stuff.  As if that isn't enough to drive the audience mad, the first act ends with a gunshot, and fades to black.

 

Dedee opens the second act by insulting the audience in an annoying adolescent way that makes us laugh at her and ourselves.  There's some amusement with a dead body, a killer of a song by Lucia ("It's Not Enough"), and the birth of a couple of new romances and a baby.  Act Two is lots of fun and harvests all the seeds that were sown in the first act.  Director Robert Jess Roth says The Opposite of Sex is about people making connections and, by the end of the musical, everyone is connected to someone.

 

The book by Roth and Douglas Cohen, as well as Cohen's lyrics, are clever and entertaining with so many good lines I wish I could repeat, but they also tell the story and draw the characters.  Of course, it doesn?t hurt to have such a talented cast speaking the lines and breathing life into the Truitts, et al.  Many of the songs soar with an emotional intensity that comes as a surprise in the midst of the comedy.  Some made me think, some made me cry, but all made me applaud.

 

Kerry Butler carries much of the responsibility for this show on her small shoulders and is a big success.  Dedee is a dysfunctional, manipulative brat throughout, but Butler makes us like her in spite of that, and there is never a dull moment when she is on the stage.  She has a powerhouse voice, to boot.  As Bill Truitt, Gregg Edelman is able to find many facets of this man who is minding his own business when his world gets upended.  Through his losses and his pain, we see his sadness and his strength, and each of Edelman's songs bring joy to the ears.  I can't say enough about Kaitlin Hopkins who conveys so much with a smile, a tear, or a sideways glance of disdain.  Lucia could have been a one-dimensional character, but Hopkins embraces her foibles and brings out her humanity.  Her singing is first-rate, too.

 

It is worth mentioning the minimalist set designed by Derek McLane.  Following Roth's vision to stage the show simply and have it reflect Dedee's world, the designer came up with the idea of using miniatures to represent about thirty different locations.  The three walls of the stage have little models of a car, a house, or a hotel, etc., attached to them and each is spotlighted for the corresponding scenes.  The actors move scenery and props on and off the stage and we get the feeling of their journeys that way, too.

 

The Opposite of Sex began its journey with a world premiere at Magic Theatre in San Francisco in 2004 and has a limited run in Williamstown.  If the audience response on opening night is any indication, then I think this musical could be poised for what Dedee calls the opposite of sex: a lasting, committed and loving relationship. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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