Review: James Beaman Is Full of Love & Laughter in LIVED EXPERIENCE at the Triad

James Beaman is fabulously himself in his new solo show, Lived Experience. The show, which kicked off Pride 2024 with a one-night-only show at the Upper West Side’s Triad Theater on June 1st at 7 pm, takes a tongue-in-cheek look at everything from Gen Z’s and millennial’s obsession with “safety” and trigger words to Beaman’s own life and long career in acting, cabaret and drag performance. This was a reprise of the show, which Beaman also performed last October.

The June 2024 show appropriately opened with an announcement from columnist John McWhorter welcoming “ladies, gentlemen, and others” to the Triad. McWhorter warned the audience that in addition to the music, the evening would contain plenty of irreverent humor.

An infectious beat came up over the last few words of the message, leading straight into the show’s first number, “And You Don’t Even Know It” from the movie musical Everybody's Talking About Jamie, which Beaman especially related to as it was about a young boy who wanted to become a drag queen. James Beaman appeared on the stage wearing a sparkly red sequined shirt and a pair of fabulous platform high heeled shoes. He introduced the audience to his own “personal patriarchy,” the musicians Matt Scharfglass on bass, David Silliman on drums, and Music Director David Maiocco on piano. Beaman had three backup singers, “Beaman’s Beauties,” each one “divas in their own right” who Beaman has directed: Sierra Rein, Goldie Dver, and Alexandra de Suze.

“I think Peter Allen just threw up all over me,” Beaman joked about his bedazzled ensemble, before unbuttoned his shiny shirt to reveal a t-shirt reading “Zaddy.” The sparly shoes came off next. Beaman sat down and took them off to the tune from Mr. Rodger’s Neighborhood, noting that the show had a special place in his heart, because his father designed and built its original set.

The simple act of sitting and removing the glittery shoes (which Beaman joked he “almost went blind” jeweling up) felt like a kind of metaphor for the show itself. Beaman is at long last performing as himself, after a long career in drag. Drag was an important part of Beaman’s life, but at the Triad, he was all himself (except for a brief appearance as Carmen Miranda in a hilarious Latin-toned rendition of “Everyone’s A Little Bit Racist” from Avenue Q). Beaman bids goodbye to his drag persona with a slightly re-written “The Girl Who Used to Be Me” set to a photo and video montage of highlights from his career.

Beaman’s razor-sharp wit, inimitable stage presence and knack for fun guide us through the highs and lows. Beaman is entrancing to watch, whether he’s sincerely playing the world-weary middle-aged person afraid to dance (“A Terrific Band and a Real Nice Crowd” from Ballroom) or performing his own re-written lyrics, which included an “I’ve Got a Little List” with a few new irritating characters for the 21st century, Noel Coward’s “Why Must the Show Go On?” re-written to poke fun at modernities such as intimacy coordinators, and “The Terrible Thing about Triggers,” a play on “The Wonderful Thing about Tiggers.”

Just as Beaman has mostly shed his drag persona, there were moments of the show where he let down the guard of humor and bared his soul. Despite an overall jokey tone and plenty of razzle-dazzle (tap numbers, maracas, costume changes), the show’s pathos cuts deep. Between songs, Beaman speaks eloquently about his “lived experience” dealing with the homophobia and hatred of the 70s and the 80s, the HIV and AIDS epidemic, and being told he had to “butch up” in order to succeed as an actor. Beaman talks about the painful moments in his life as well as the joyous one, dedicating a poignant “You and Me Against the World” to his late mother, who passed away on Mother’s Day. Beaman ends the show with a poignant entreaty to today’s LGBT youth to stop and consider their place in history and this movement that is only 50 years old, noting that the entire modern gay rights movement happened during his lifetime, “and I’m not old, thank you very much.” Beaman closed the night with a slow, jazzy version of "Why Try to Change Me Now." The look of irrepressable joy on Beaman's face as he delivered the tune was a perfect send-off to a perfect night.

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If you want to hear more about Beaman’s thoughts about the LGBT movement and other things, you can visit his website at www.jamesbeaman.com and subscribe to his Substack.

Find more upcoming shows at the Triad on their website at www.triadnyc.com.

(Header photo credit: Conor Weiss)

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