Review: WIG OUT! at Studio Theatre

Playwright Tarell Alvin McCraney developed Wig Out! in the Sundance Theatre Lab when he was still a student in the MFA in Playwriting Program at the Yale School of Drama. Although it premiered in 2008, McCraney has since updated it for 2017. Wig Out! is meant to feel current in every way. Becky with the good hair even makes an appearance. Beyoncé cannot shake that bitch!

As a student, McCraney also wrote In Moonlight Black Boys Look Blue. You may have heard of that, too.

Wig Out! was inspired by McCraney's own relationship with a person who later identified as transgender. Through this relationship, he became immersed in the "riotous world" of the underground African-American LGBTQ drag ball community, a subsector of drag culture that has existed since the 1930s. Members of the drag ball community form makeshift family units or Houses, which are led by a "mother" and/or a "father" who provide safe spaces for queer youth, referred to as their "children." The quotation marks do a disservice to the reality of these relationships.

The drag ball community throws balls and Houses "walk" or dance to compete for a myriad of titles and prizes awarded for costume design, performance, and physique (to name only a few). Wig Out! is a pageant play that culminates in an Act II midnight ball (there's an obvious Cinderella fairytale element to Wig Out!). McCraney draws parallels between drag Houses and the families of the Norse and Greek gods to "[add] a glossy sheen to some very powerful issues."

McCraney is recognizable as Eric (Jaysen Wright), a young man who meets and falls in love with Ms. Nina, a drag star and daughter of the House of Light (Michael Rishawn). Like his Viking namesake, the adventurer Erik the Red, Eric follows Nina into the House of Light and finds himself in way over his head (as mortals always are when they find themselves amongst gods).

The House of Light has a "Papi" (Michael Kevin Darnall), the megalomaniacal, exploitative Lucian and a mother, the mystical Rey-Rey (Jamyl Dobson), whose youth is fading. Their children are Nina, Venus (Edwin Brown III), and her lover, the house DJ, Deity (Desmond Bing). Just like any family, the House of Light has its own dynamic and rivalries.

Fay (Ysabel Jasa), Fate (Melissa Victor), and Faith (Dane Figueroa Edidi) are the omnipresent, omniscient Fates of the House of Light. Reminiscent of a 90s hip-hop girl group Iasa, Victor, and Edidi perform in quasi-uniformity, narrating the performance, and contributing a unique energy.

Wig Out! climaxes in a ball thrown by the rival House of Di'Abolique, which is helmed by the punk-Queen Serena (Frank Britton, an electrifying presence and crowd favorite) and Loki (Alex Mills, a Synetic Theatre regular, is at home as the explicit contortionist trickster Loki). Cultural and racial parallels are implicit as Viking gods face off against Greek gods.

Wig Out! is a graphic play but all actors approach challenging subject matter with dignity. Wright, Rishawn and Darnall are notable for their sincere performances.

Act II kicks off with a high-octane runway walk/dance-off choreographed by Dell Howlett. This ball is the highlight of this emotionally charged production. Dobson showcases out-of-this-world voguing skills and Britton's bizarre-punk routine kicks off an act that lifts the audience out of their seats.

Stepping into Studio Theater's Stage 4's performance space is akin to descending into a basement drag bar or black box theater. Designer Jason Sherwood creates two bisecting runways fed by automatic doors by dropping four sets of risers into the four corners of the theatre space. There is no traditional stage separating actor and audience.

Wig Out! is comprised of a large and superb cast in a comparably small theater space. Far from causing a traffic jam or overwhelming the audience, longtime Studio Theatre collaborator Director Kent Gash charges the space with electricity and ardent, sincere emotion. Gash asks a lot of his cast in an intimate setting; Wig Out! is a physically immersive experience.

Costumer Designer Frank Labovitz, Lighting Designer Dawn Chiang, Sound Designer David Lamont Wilson, and Dramaturg Adrien-Alice Hansel, New York Casting Director Alan Filderman, Production Stage Manager Shayna O'Neill, Assistant Stage Manager Marne Anderson, and Assistant Director Ravenn "Rae" McDowell round out an exceptional and very busy production team.

Running Time: 2 hour and 15 minutes, 1 intermission

Advisory: Strobe lights, nudity, adult themes

Wig Out! runs through August 6 at Studio Theatre, Studio X located at 1501 14th St NW, Washington, DC, 20005. For tickets call (202) 332-3300 or click here.

Photo: Michael Kevin Darnall; Middle: Melissa Victor, Dane Figueroa Edidi, Jamyl Dobson, and Ysabel Jasa; Front: Edwin Brown III in Wig Out! Photo: Teresa Wood.

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