Review: THE GRAND ILLUSION a Must See at the Kansas City Fringe Festival

"It couldn't be better, unless it was longer . . ." was a comment heard from the audience at the hilarious opening of The Grand Illusion, a Kansas City Fringe Festival 2015 offering produced by Egads! Theatre Company. The Grand Illusion plays on the stage at the Arts Asylum located at 1000 E. 9th Street in Kansas City, Missouri. Spencer Brown with Associate Director Ashley Pike created, directed, and stars in the musical comedy cabaret.

The Grand Illusion looks at Spencer Brown's journey from his first public appearance in drag to his alter ego and famed Kansas City drag queen Daisy Buckët. The transition is told through songs "One Fine Day," "Not My Father's Son," "Killer Queen," and "He's the Boy That I Love" among others. The show features superb vocals by Brown and his back-up singers, Chris Holbrook, Brandon Shelton, and Samn Wright.

Brown is a graduate of the American Musical and Dramatic Academy in New York. He became a member of The Kinsey Sicks in 2008, and will join them at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival for their show, America's Next Top Bachelor Housewife Celebrity Hoarder Makeover Star Gone Wild. Recently he emceed the Heartland Men's Chorus KC Fringe show, the Big Gay Sing!

Chris Holbrook awed the audience with his solo rendition of "Broadway Baby." Holbrook is a lieutenant with the Johnson County Med-Act Service and recently performed in Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds with the Late Night Theatre. He will appear as Liberace in the Late Night Theatre production of A Betty White Christmas during the 2015 holiday season.

Brandon Shelton has a wonderful voice delighting the audience with "Not My Father's Son." He has previously appeared with Daisy Buckët at Sidekicks Saloon in The Twilight Madness Show. He is in the cast of the second incarnation of The Girlie Show seen at several venues in Kansas City. He has been a member of the Heartland Men's Chorus for over 10 years.

Samn Wright returns to Egads! Theatre Company, having appeared in their productions of Evil Dead the Musical, The Rocky Horror Show, and Godspell. As a giant Rocky Horror fan, I felt his rendering of "Sweet Transvestite" was a highlight of the very entertaining show. Wright has performed with the Kansas City Repertory Theatre, Unicorn Theatre, and The Coterie among others. He is the writer/producer of SlaughterHouse Opera, an original rock opera of the zombie apocalypse.

The Grand Illusion continues at the Arts Asylum through Saturday July 25. This is one show of the Kansas City Fringe Festival that should not be missed. Purchase tickets at the door and a Fringe button is required for entry. Photo by Joe Getto is courtesy of the Egads! Theatre Company.

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