Review: Desert Rose's A QUEER CAROL is Funny and Imaginative

When Desert Rose Playhouse's artistic director, Jim Strait, goes for laughs in a production, he gets them. A QUEER CAROL, Desert Rose's current production, playwright Joe Godfrey's modern take on Dickens, is no exception. Mr. Strait and his talented cast induce frequent audience guffaws, despite what I consider to be an inconsistent, verbose script.

A QUEER CAROL tells the tale of gay designer Ebeneezer "Ben" Scrooge (Steve Fisher), who falls in love with Jake Markowitz (Aaron Zontak), who changes his name to Marley at Scrooge's insistence. The two together cheat their mentor, Fezziwig (Jayson Kraid), out of his design studio after Mr. Fezziwig runs into financial problems. Marley embarks on a life of hedonism and Scrooge pushes him away to concentrate on making money. Scrooge has left his former lover's deathbed as Marley dies of AIDS and doesn't hear Marley tell Scrooge that he still loves him - until the Ghost of Christmas Past (Cat Lyn Day) makes him watch the scene. Of course, Scrooge reforms before it is too late, evoking a sentimental tear or two from the audience, even in this mostly comedic version.

Steve Fisher's Scrooge is perfect in the way he moves, in the manner in which his facial expressions convey his emotions, and in his mastery of the intonations that Dickens' character would have used in the early 19th century. Mr. Fisher - a large man - is hilarious for most of the play, but he is especially funny after Scrooge's transformation, as he leaps around the stage playing Santa Claus for the stunned Bob Cratchit (David Brooks) and Bob's partner, Tim (Alex Enriquez).

The Ghost of Christmas Past (Cat Lyn Day) and the Ghost of Christmas Present (Loren Freeman) also make the most of their meaty roles. Ms. Day previously toured in a one-woman show about Marilyn Monroe - perfect practice for A QUEER CAROL, because the Ghost of Christmas Past is none other than Marilyn Monroe, in her famous white dress, adorned with blue Christmas lights. Mr. Freeman has the chance to use his background in soap operas to give an over-the-top performance as a Lucille Ball lookalike in an outrageous dress.

The rest of the cast, each of whom plays multiple roles, is also wonderful. The only nit that I can pick about any of the performances is that not all the actors succeeded with their attempts at various regional or foreign accents.

As is usual at the Desert Rose, the costumes and sets (by Allan H. Jensen) are superb. Jake Marley's ghost's costume and makeup defy description; suffice it to say that audience members see a great deal of the dead Marley thanks to the minimalist gay apparel that he dons. Lighting designer Phil Murphy shines in both senses of the word with his imaginative evocation of the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come, who is portrayed exclusively through lighting and sound. The rest of the cast consists of Jayson Kraid, Terry Huber, and V.J. Hume. The rest of the team consists of Paul Taylor (producer), Shannon Flynn (stage manager), and Filipe Brino (backstage coordinator).

If A QUEER CAROL were a movie, it would earn an "R" rating - this show is definitely not the Mr. Magoo cartoon version of Dickens' tale. However, it is a great deal funnier than most versions, and much more imaginative as well. The show is certainly worth seeing, despite the flaws in the script.

A QUEER CAROL will play at Desert Rose Playhouse through Sunday, December 20, 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 $33 for the evening performances and $30 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 rest of Desert Rose Playhouse's 2015-16 season consists of:

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).

JUNK by J. Michael Penny, April 29 - May 29, 2016, the world premiere of a new musical, in which two gay men with a large age gap have been offered the contents of a deceased man's house in exchange for tidying it up. It turns out that the house is stuffed with old porn. As the two men sort through the owner's belongings, they begin to learn a great deal about the deceased and about their unusual relationship to one another.

Desert Rose Playhouse, as a 501(c)(3) organization, must collect a third of its funds through gifts from the public. Desert Rose must raise $55,000 during this season, and financial donations are gratefully accepted. The address for financial contributions is P.O. Box 2256, Cathedral City, CA 92235.

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