Interludes

VIEWPOINTS – The gay reality, then and now: BRIGHT COLORS AND BOLD PATTERNS opens, TORCH SONG shines on

• By drediman
• November 21, 2017
• No Comments

Currently on the boards Off-Broadway, theatergoers can experience a healthy dose of gay history (sadly, Steven Dietz’s very funny yet mournful AIDS play Lonely Planet closed this past weekend). We’ll look at two of those offerings here.

Drew Droege in “Bright Colors and Bold Patterns” at Soho Playhouse.

Last night, Drew Droege’s Bright Colors and Bold Patterns (RECOMMENDED) opened at the Soho Playhouse after a successful run last year at the Barrow Street Theatre. The reference-filled one-man show, written by and starring Mr. Droege, is essentially a monologue ingeniously disguised as a play (Mr. Droege hilariously addresses the other characters, to silent responses). Set on the eve of a gay wedding in Palm Springs, the play is quickly highjacked by Gerry, a single, forty-something gay man, as he rants and raves – rightfully or unfairly/righteously – about the current state of being gay. It doesn’t help matters that Gerry is increasingly fueled by drugs and alcohol as the evening devolves into chaos. What becomes clear is that, beneath the wit and confidence, Gerry is consumed with shame and rage. Mr. Droege is simply sensational as Gerry; the performance is a masterclass in impeccable timing and knowing panache. And together with Michael Urie’s (whom we’ll discuss more below) flamboyant and insightful direction, Bright Colors and Bold Patterns emerges as an hysterical yet poignant portrait of a man fighting for his identity.

Michael Urie in Harvey Fierstein’s “Torch Song” at Second Stage.

Further uptown at Second Stage, the smashing revival of Harvey Fierstein’s important, messy Torch Song (HIGHLY RECOMMENDED) continues to sell-out. The production is directed by Moisés Kaufman with unexpected urgency that gives what I thought was going to be an overlong and dusty period piece (I had not seen this three-hour play in a while) a timeless truthfulness and honesty that really moved me. Like Gerry in Bright Colors and Bold Patterns, the central character of Arnold in Torch Song is an outspoken, emotionally fragile, and ultimately courageous character. Also like Gerry, Arnold fights for his identity and niche in a world that continuously changes the rules of the game (or not) on him. Through the course of more than a decade, Arnold navigates – sometimes fiercely, sometimes bumblingly – several setbacks that would have completely discouraged a lesser man. As played with magnificent, all-encompassing generosity by the charismatic Michael Urie (in what is, in my opinion, his breakout performance), this Arnold emerges somewhat of an every(gay)man, untethering the play from its historical context. You can’t help but fall at least a little bit in love with and root for Arnold because he’s holding a mirror to you across time and space.

Now that we’ve got our appetites whetted, bring on the main course, by which I mean the Broadway revival of Tony Kushner’s Angels in America …

BRIGHT COLORS AND BOLD PATTERNS
Off-Broadway, Play
Soho Playhouse
1 hour, 20 minutes (without an intermission)
Through January 7

TORCH SONG
Off-Broadway, Play
Second Stage
2 hours, 50 minutes (with an intermission)
Through December 9