Review: Ry Armstrong Conveys The Gender Queer Aesthetic With A Few Friends, Some Fab Tunes, & A Whole Lot Of Pronouns In (THEY // SHE // HE) At The Green Room 42

Heigh-Ho, My Merry Rainbow Tribe! Bobby Patrick your RAINBOW Reviewer here. Putting the silent T in cabareT to bring you all the T!

Well, dear readers of Bobby, we have certainly had a VERY Queer couple of days, and it ain't even pride month yet. Thursday's trip to Joe's Pub to see Justin Vivan Bond's OH MARY, IT'S SPRING! Was a FAB lead-up to Monday's night out to catch the act of newbie Ry Armstrong In (THEY // SHE // HE) At The Green Room 42. This non-binary celebration of life led by Armstrong, a super cute, genderqueer triple threat, triple pronoun with an undergraduate degree in theatre arts, some Off-Broadway credits, and a graduate degree in International Relations (could you die?!) is a gifted singing, dancing, cello, piano, violin playing musical theatre maven who has been building up their burgeoning career in NYC since moving here from Seattle. You may have even caught them lurking along the wall as one of the Russell House footmen on THE GILDED AGE. All of these are the beginning bricks in the wall of the personal acting career of this young, YOUNG performer who also operates their own production company and cooperative record label. As an artistic entrepreneur, Armstrong has their fingers in a lot of creative pies. But, getting to hear this effervescent, baby faced youth with a silky, rangy voice that moved up and down the arpeggios effortlessly on numbers like their mashup of the 3 different songs titled EVERGREEN (Barbra's, Yebba's & The Pentatonix) or Sondheim's lilting WITH SO LITTLE TO BE SURE OF one can be sure that the big street is in their future (Hello! Book Of Mormon?!)

With a stage full of living greenery supplied by Broadway Botanist, Monday night's performance, a spotlight on those of the in-between done in collaboration with Lucky Stiff (Directing Consultant) (they/them), was all about singing, and playing, and visiting with friends (in a nightclub) and, as Ry said themselves, "...about being vulnerable. This show's purpose is to break the norm and to take the beautiful and imperfect world we live in and turn it on its head." That turned out to be the right way forward for the evening as each performer on the bill took Ry's lead and brought their whole hearts and youthful exuberance along with their talents to the TGR42 stage. RA's guests for the night - Olivia Griffin (she/her), Peter LaPrade (they/them), JJ Niemann (he/him) each in their turn wowed the crowd with their musical theatre chops while Music Director - Brandon James Gwinn (he/they) and percussionist Storm Thomas (storm/he/they) provided a solid but subtle foundation on piano, back up vocals, and drums. Between songs, Ry hosted a hilarious game of heads up between LaPrade and Griffin with lots of audience participation as well as a fun interview about life, growing up, and open gayness with Niemann before JJ launched into back-to-back numbers from the Broadway canon. This sweetly handsome young man spoke of growing up a theatre kid in a family that ran a Christian performance space. The interview did not delve into whether the religious upbringing was at odds with JJ's growing up in a queer body - something he deemed a real blessing in this time of openness - but since he did express his gratitude to his family for their support, one can assume that their love and faith is the brand that all should practice...and then, he opened his mouth to sing, proving he had the voice of an angel to match that face. His LIFE OF THE PARTY became one hugely sexy, queer power number that was well suited to his high lyric tenor pipes. Leave us not forget the contributions of the very lythe Peter LaPrade all done up with hair, nails, and makeup WORKIN who made a delicious meal out of COME RAIN OR COME SHINE and the super gifted Olivia Griffin and her acoustic (joined by our host on an electronic cello) who put together what she called an oh-so-queer mashup salute to Sondheim that said HELLO LITTLE GIRLS to all the PRETTY WOMEN, including MARIA and JOANNA.

All of these young performers are making their way in a business that until just recently, had been so very image-conscious (read, homophobic) that any hope they had of building a career while living as out loud as they do, would have been next to impossible. Bobby thanks the holy trinity of The Barbra, The Liza & The Judy (((Merman))) that the times they are-a-changing in ways that are exciting, fresh, and wonderfully inclusive. Flying in the face of any residual racist, homophobic, misogynistic attitudes their chosen profession may have, these performers are showing everyone that it is TALENT that counts when telling stories that should be for everybody. We further thank those powers that Ry Armstrong will be at TGR42 each month on every 2nd Monday through September as this premiere performance was the first in their most welcome residency in that space. As Ry wrapped with MAKE YOUR OWN KIND OF MUSIC, we couldn't help but realize how sore our facial muscles were from all the smiling at being given hope for the future, and so it is with that heart full of hope that we give Ry Armstrong (THEY // SHE // HE) at The Green Room 42 our full...

5 Out Of 5 Rainbows - Check Out Their Residency Under Its New Title GENDER JUNGLE And Get Your Tickets: www.genderjungle.lol

Check Out Ry's Webby And Link To All Their Socials: HERE

See What Is Up With Their Production Company: HERE

And Hear Some Fab Music From Their Record Label: HERE

Check Out Other Offerings Of The Green Room 42: HERE

All Photos By Yours Truly, Bobby Patrick

To post a comment, you must register and login.