BWW Reviews: Desert Rose's VITAMIN Q is the perfect prescription to fight boredom and generate laughs

Desert Rose Playhouse, the Coachella Valley's nonprofit gay-friendly theatre, has a cure for the mid-summer blahs - VITAMIN Q, a revue produced by Paul Taylor, Desert Rose's managing director, with music and lyrics by Eric Lane Barnes. Director Jim Strait (Desert Rose's artistic director) and music director Steven Smith chose light-hearted pieces from the fifty that Mr. Barnes offered and assembled them into an hour and a half of clever fun appropriate for gay and straight audiences from teenagers on up.

Mr. Barnes is a writer and director for Captain Smartypants and Sensible Shoes, musical comedy ensembles affiliated with the Seattle Men's and Women's Choruses. He wrote THE STOPS, a musical about three female church organists, which Desert Rose produced last season. VITAMIN Q's adroit wordplay and its able satires of 1950's and 1960's music keep the audience laughing. Almost all the numbers are humorous except SUNDAY, a sweet ballad.

Theatergoers will undoubtedly find themselves nodding in recognition at send-ups whose tunes resemble hit songs, such as HOMOMOTION (spoofing Little Eva's LOCOMOTION) and MR. SATAN (MR. SANDMAN). MR. SATAN is the only number that may offend gay-friendly audience members, because it involves a request to You-Know-Who to deliver a "hottie." One of the individuals involved with the show told me that he advised a relative not to attend because of the relative's probable reaction to importuning the Evil One.

Mr. Strait's and Mr. Smith's direction, Mr. Smith's piano accompaniment, and Randy Doney's specialty choreography ably support the ensemble cast, which consists of five gentlemen with singing ability and acting skills, and a few with dancing talent: Terry Huber most recently appeared at Desert Rose in LOVE! VALOUR! COMPASSION! in dual, grim roles. He proves in VITAMIN Q that he is also a very funny fellow. Andrew Knifer has an amazing falsetto and impressive dance moves. Jeffrey Norman, a recent transplant from New Jersey, perfectly pulls off I DON'T LIKE SHOWTUNES, which starts out appearing to be a serious confession and then makes a sharp turn in a completely new laugh-generating direction. Timm McBride, a Desert Rose regular and master of comedy, and Raul Valenzuela together hilariously whirl around the stage in the CAFFEINE OVERLOAD POLKA. All the performers deserve accolades for their brilliant comedy, but Mr. Valenzuela, who slightly resembles Nathan Lane, deserves special mention for his rubber face - he could probably generate laughs by reading aloud from the phone book.

Although it is almost impossible to choose a favorite number, mine is SAMBA PARA MAMA, in which Terry Huber laments behaving like his mother. Other especially amusing songs are the title number, a paean to gay culture; I WISH YOU PANSIES, a send-up about gay stereotypes; DRAMA QUEEN, where "everything's a crisis;" the multi-part "TOMORROW NEVER COMES," where contestants in a talent show get booted off the stage for their outrageous vocal interpretations; and "IT'S ALL IN YOUR MIND," celebrating the sexiness of superior intellect, assisted by audience members who play the brainiacs.

Mark Demry's costumes and Jim Strait's staging contribute to the goofiness. In AVAILABLE, the singer falls for a con artist, and a trio in the corner - the singer's conscience - tries to warn him away. In MOOD VERTIGO, the performer kneels on a pair of sneakers, while he laments being short. (The effect is almost impossible to explain, but very funny). The orange feather boa shared by several contestants in TOMORROW NEVER COMES results in bad luck for each contestant who wears it.

VITAMIN Q is an enjoyable way to while away an hour and a half. This vitamin will not deepen the intellect, but it is almost guaranteed to enhance mood.

The rest of the crew consists of Phil Murphy (lighting), Jim Strait (set design), and Steve Fisher (stage management).

VITAMIN Q will play at Desert Rose Playhouse through Sunday, July 26, 2015. Performances are Friday and Saturday nights at 8:00 p.m. and Sunday afternoons at 2:00 p.m.. The Desert Rose Playhouse is located just north of Frank Sinatra Boulevard, near the Emperor Buffet, at 69-620 Highway 111, Rancho Mirage, CA 92270. The Box Office opens at 4 p.m. before evening performances and at noon on Sundays. Tickets are $30 for the evening performances and $28 dollars for matinees. Tickets are available at the box office, by phone at 760-202-3000, and by Internet at www.desertroseplayhouse.org. There is no service charge for Internet or phone orders.

The Desert Rose Playhouse's 2015-16 season (its fourth) will consist of five shows:

LOOT by Joe Orton, September 25 - October 25, 2015, a dark award-winning drawing room comedy.

A QUEER CAROL by Joe Godfrey, November 13 - December 20, 2015, a modern take on Dickens' classic, featuring Scrooge and Marley as business and personal partners, and Marilyn Monroe as the Ghost of Christmas Past.

ANGELS IN AMERICA - PART I, MILLENNIUM APPROACHES, by Tony Kushner, January 15 - February 21, 2016, a Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize winning play about being gay amid conflicting religious and political beliefs - Desert Rose's annual Gay Heritage Production.

COCK by Mike Bartlett, March 11 - April 10, 2016, an award winning play performed in the round, without props or set pieces, in which a man who thought he was gay meets his dream woman and engages in the verbal equivalent of a cock-fight between them (hence the title).

The fifth show, which will run from April 29 through May 29, 2016, has not yet been finalized.

Single Ticket Prices for the 2015-16 season are $33 for evening shows and $30 for matinees. Season subscriptions are $132.00 for all five shows for Friday and Saturday performances and $120.00 for Sunday matinees.

In addition to ticket sales, Desert Rose Playhouse, as a 501(c)(3) organization, must collect a certain percentage of its funds through gifts from the public. Financial donations are gratefully accepted.

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