Sometimes the world just needs to laugh.
With grim news constantly telling us the economy is sinking, car dealerships are closing and housing prices are dropping, Trevor Keller decided we needed to smile.
The artistic director of Gypsy Productions has announced the company’s next show, Three Guys in Drag Selling Their Stuff, which will open at the Crown Theatre within Club Nautico on Friday, June 19.
“The title of the show is misleading,” Keller says. “Drag is different than what these three characters actually portray. They are three well-established individuals who happen to live as women.”
Keller describes the tale, written by Edward Crosby Wells of Denver, Colo., as a comedy with underlying bits of humanity and struggles interwoven in the plotline. The story follows Diva (Gregory P. Milton), Lillian (Brent Ballard), and Tink (Miss Kitty Meow), who are having a yard sale to raise funds for a Faberge egg in which to place the ashes of Diva’s dead husband. Diva bosses Lillian, whose principal expertise is making punch with ingredients that could fuel a rocket. Tink is confined to a wheelchair, mostly comatose, but when she does try to make herself heard, the others invariably misunderstand, causing dire consequences.
First-time director Daniel Harris, a Gypsy Productions alum, is at the helm.
“I have gleained from Trevor over the years and I’ve noticed him doing what I’m usually thinking,” says Harris, who has coordinated, choreographed and directed cabaret acts before. “So far, we’ve just begun this process, but I see the natural instincts of the actors and I know there’s something good there.”
Harris says his actors aren’t just puzzle pieces to link the play together. He sees the production as a collaborative effort and he thinks Gypsy fans and newcomers to theater will enjoy the show.
Drags to riches
Veteran stage performers Ballard and Milton, who is straight, have appeared in plays for years, but neither has ever performed in drag.
“I had a partner involved in drag for years, so I know how it’s done,” Ballard says. “But this will be a first for me. I’ve done some crazy characters and when I read this story, I literally laughed my butt off.”
Milton agrees that the play is laugh-out-loud funny.
“I had never heard of it before and I almost peed when I read it,” Milton says.
The straight actor says he’s not concerned about performing in drag and says it’s a liberating experience. He also says that once audiences get past the “drag” aspect of the show, they’ll see the play has a deeper message about the human condition.
That’s the point of the whole show for Miss Kitty Meow, who is heavily involved with the transgender community of Tampa Bay. Kitty introduced the “T-Tour for the T-Girl” to the area last year and has helped organize two Tropical Escape events geared toward the transgender population. This is the first acting role for the former yoga instructor.
“I’m flattered to be involved considering Gypsy’s reputation,” she says. “And this is a great show. It’s about the human condition. This is a story about three humans who have supported each other throughout their lives. Diva and Lillian take care of my character, Tink, throughout the show and I think that’s the message. We have to take care of our own.”
A triumphant return
Gypsy Productions has had an admittedly difficult two years. Since the Suncoast Resort closed in the summer of 2007, the professional theater company has been without a home. In 2008, Keller produced one show, Gross Indecency, at The Ritz Ybor in Tampa. While it was well-received, it was difficult to schedule another production and Keller knew he wanted to bring his theater company back to St. Petersburg. He did so earlier this spring with Vampire Lesbians of Sodom.
“I’m so glad we’re back in Pinellas County,” Keller says. “Club Nautico has been so welcoming and so have the performers here.”
Keller wanted to continue the legacy of Brett Lassiter, the founder of St. Petersburg’s first LGBT theater company, Central Stage. Lassiter was creating a network of LGBT-centric theater groups in St. Petersburg before he passed away. With his death, the plans for theater in St. Petersburg died too, Keller says.
“He inspired me to create Gypsy and the resort was offered to me several times before we finally called it home,” Keller remembers. “It was a safe place to get our feet wet, but I always planned on having a theater of our own in St. Pete’s Grand Central District.”
But Keller is happy to call Club Nautico home for the foreseeable future, and he hopes to bring a full season of plays to the Crown Theatre in the fall.
“Three Guys in Drag Selling Their Stuff is really an example of the kind of plays we want to bring to the public,” Keller says. “It’s about finding the small plays that no one has seen; breathing life into these productions and introducing theater fans to new characters.”
What: Three Guys in Drag Selling Their Stuff
When: Friday, June 19 – July 19
Where: The Crown Theater within Club Nautico, 4900 66th St., St. Petersburg
Tickets: GyspyProductions.org or 727-727-644-7077
