Review: Justin Elizabeth Sayre's ASSORTED FRUIT at Joe's Pub Takes Everyone to Gay Heaven

There's new gurl in town and she's looking fan-freakin'-tastic, and everyone needs to get their reservations to the monthly variety show ASSORTED FRUIT at Joe's Pub because Justin Elizabeth Sayer is the very living end.

To be absolutely clear (so that my reference to the Alice theme song isn't misunderstood), Justin Elizabeth Sayer isn't actually new around town and Justin's pronouns are they/them/theirs. That doesn't stop Justin from making use, during this show, of the gay camp tradition of using feminine verbiage when discussing, oh, anything that might be the topic at hand. Indeed, most of what Justin Elizabeth Sayer is presenting is rather campy... until it's not. Therein lies one of the most powerfully appealing aspects of Assorted Fruit.

The event page for Assorted Fruit on the Joe's Pub website describes the series as "A new, monthly, queer variety show" and "An all queer, all fun night of the best in queer talent from all over New York and the world," and "A new look at Queer art with lots of new faces and some of your favorites." Get the picture? This is queer fabulosity at the hands of one of the most fabulous queer voices of our time. That, though, should not restrict the audience in any way. There is absolutely no reason why the people in the seats out front should be limited to be members of the LGBTQIA+ community because Assorted Fruit is a program that anybody can enjoy... at least, anybody who is queer or queer friendly. Obviously, those sub-sections of society who are prejudiced against queer people might possibly object to the frank discussion of Justin Elizabeth Sayre's sexcapades, to the honest (if a bit bold) chat about sex in general, to the ponderings on political happenings in the world that affect the lives of queer people, to the dishy gossip of anybody in the public eye, regardless of their personal demographic, or the profanity, and humor that leans into the profane. But those people who would object to any part of Assorted Fruit are probably not prone to making a reservation to the show, anyway. Still, you never know... if the naysayers took a chance and dropped in for a visit, they might come away with their eyes open, and, hopefully, their hearts, too. Because, in spite of immense entertainment value in this variety show, what Justin Elizabeth Sayre is presenting at Assorted Fruit is absolute humanity.

At the March 13th installment of Assorted Fruit, Justin Elizabeth Sayre took to the stage like some demented cross between Endora and Carmen Miranda and spent nearly ninety minutes monologuing for the audience, telling stories, sharing opinions, and going off on tangential rants that could go (either) down the path of mirth or down the road of umbrage. Thoughts were provoked, laughter ensued, and occasional conversations with the audience bubbled up, even though Sayre made well known the fact that conversations with the audience are not their brand and something to be devoutly discouraged. Nevertheless, whatever was thrown at Sayre during the course of the show, it was dealt with in style, with flair, and with more passionate commitment than this writer saw the last time he was in church. Indeed, Joe's Pub becomes a bonafide temple of worship while Sayre is in the driver's seat performing a set best described as equal parts comedy show, TED Talk, political rally, and revival rant. Every word Sayre says is to be heard, to be understood, and to be cherished, even if one disagrees with the host of Assorted Fruit. For example, during a segment in which Sayre read from a book a list of "Controversial Thoughts" that included lengthy sermons on those thoughts, many members of the audience cheered at the pronouncement that "Kim Kardashian is pure evil" but grew inquisitively silent at the statement that "The Inheritance is homophobic." One need not agree with Sayre to listen to the monologue and enjoy it; one need only to be open to the discussion and the discourse. It is worth the attention paid because when Sayre is funny, there is nobody funnier, and when Sayre is political, there is nobody more passionate, and when Sayre is thoughtful, there is nobody smarter. It is electrifying, exhilarating, and exciting.

For the variety portion of the program on March 13th, Sayre invited the extraordinary vocalist Garth to perform two songs, and the flamboyant Baby Love to do a number. The contrast between the over-the-top, outrageous drag artist and the earnest, heartfelt singer was appreciable and appreciated - it emphasized the variety in this Variety Show but it also placed in the spotlight the wide range of artistry and community to be found when considering the queer talent of New York and of the entertainment industry. With vocals one might easily describe as death-defying, Garth stunned the Joe's Pub audience, and with a lip-synch to the Kristin Chenoweth "Miss Baltimore Crabs" number from Hairspray, Baby Love demonstrated drag in a classic sense. But, as entertaining as both of these queer artists were, as valuable as their contribution to the proceedings was, there was no arguing that Justin Elizabeth Sayre isn't the real reason to get to Joe's Pub for the next installment of Assorted Fruit.

What Sayre is doing here is to be commended. The placing in the spotlight of queer artists is important and it is valuable, and every person interested in quality live entertainment will benefit from Sayre's efforts. But nobody, regardless of their own personal demographic, will walk away from a chance to listen to Justin Elizabeth Sayre speak regretting the choice. At the height of the animated and impassioned rhetoric of this last performance two names came to the mind of this writer, the names of two people possessing of the kind of magnetic charisma that Sayre has, the names of two women whose stage presence has remained legendary all these years, through fabled stories passed down from generation to generation: Aimee Semple McPherson and Gypsy Rose Lee.

Call me queer, but I can't help but think that that's kind of apropos.

The next episode of ASSORTED FRUIT will play Joe's Pub on April 24th at 9:30 pm, with another on May 22nd. For information and reservations visit the Joe's Pub website HERE.

Justin Elizabeth Sayre is on Twitter HERE and Instagram HERE.

Photos by Stephen Mosher

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