Review: S/HE & ME at CSULB Is an Educational Labor of Love

S/he & Me: A Theatrical Cabaret/written by Alexandra Billings/conceived & directed by Joanne Gordon/CSULB Theatre Arts/California Repertory Company/Studio Theatre/through October 11 only

Transgender actress/singer Alexandra Billings has done quite remarkable work on LA stages over the last decade, as well as being one of the stars of the current amazon TV hit Transparent. She holds nothing back; her acting style is brutally honest. Now through next Sunday only October 11, you can see her new autobiographical cabaret play entitled S/he & Me: A Theatrical Cabaret.

Within the 90-minute set, Billings plus six other actors, trace her entire life, starting out as Scott Billings (Joey Ruggiero), son of SoCal musical conductor Robert Billings. Her young life was hell. Both her abusive father (Jeff Paul) and alcoholic mother Mimi (Valerie Stanford) refused to accept her crossover identity from Scott to Alex. The play depicts not only her life with her parents but also her love of Chrisanne (Kayla Kearney) whom she met in a Shakesperean production in high school. At that point she was Scott, and after her transgender operation to her new identity as Alex, she married Chrisanne. They have been a happily married lesbian couple for many years, but not without life's unpredictably hellish ups and downs.

The piece, written by Billings herself, is astoundingly complex, as she allows us to see the two sides of her, struggling for acceptance. Joanne Gordon has directed the piece lovingly and without sparing a single detail. It is all out there for us to witness. We watch the parents fight and see Alex and Scott crouching side by side, Scott trying to hide under a chair. Or when a scene is played out between Scott and the young Chrisanne, Billings stands right behind Ruggiero so we can see both sides of her reacting to the bounteous love of this wonderful girl. There are several clothes racks on stage which fly down from the rafters. It's a wonderful effect as the actors grab costumes off the racks and change right in front of us. This is a true story, but it's theatre after all: a theatrical cabaret. And there are about thirty fabulous showstopping songs from Broadway shows that Billings has cleverly placed into the play to forward the action at particular moments, such as Kander and Ebb's "A Quiet Thing", "If They Could See Me Now", "Aquarius", "Impossible Dream", "Just a Housewife", "In a Very Unusual Way", "One", "Rose's Turn" from Gypsy, "Empty Chairs at Empty Tables" and of course, "I Am What I Am" from Jerry Herman's La Cage Aux Folles.

Right at the top Billings sets the record straight by listing 15 unvarnished facts about her life, which includes she was a prostitute, is a recovering heroin addict, was a porn star and ... she has AIDS. She bravely and boldly exposes everything. What we do come to relish is a brilliant vulnerability in the performer, who has struggled and wants to tell her story as an educational labor of love...to help others, especially at school age, who are in the same predicament...to help them to learn to accept themselves for who they are. The biggest struggle for Alex was to accept Scott as a vital part of her: they share the same life.

The cast under Gordon's stellar direction, are all marvelous. Billings is nothing short of miraculous, great actress and great singer with a set of pipes that send every song soaring to the last row of the balcony. Ruggiero is a major talent to be reckoned with, fine actor and singer. Watch out for him! Equally affecting are Kearney as Chrisanne and Paul and Stanford as the parents. Maddie Larson and Christian B. Schmidt complete the ensemble as dancers in many of the numbers, which are exceptionally staged by Gordon and choreographer Brian Moe.

This is a unique and wonderful opportunity to see a great show about diversity. S/he & Me has it all: drama, song and dance, and terrific direction and performances. You only have one more weekend to catch it through October 11.*

http://web.csulb.edu/colleges/cota/theatre/on-stage-now/

*Does contain brief partial nudity, so do not bring young children!

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