It's mid-Florida in the mid-'90s, and the club scene is giving its last squawk of being intriguing. It's a time when attractive men in eyeliner are actually disappointed that they might be straight instead of bi or, at the very least, bi-curious. This is the setting for Suckers, a sleeper hit for Tod Kimbro at the 1998 Fringe, now streamlined and made into a rockin' musical.
Michael Marinaccio has assembled a cast that is as sexy as it is talented. Erin Brenna as Smegva, is a vaguely German, Magenta-wannabe whose best friend is Louis, played by Josh Roth. The two amusingly deadpan to each other as if adding any inflection to their voice would annihilate any hope of ever being considered interesting. Corey Volence is green-haired comic relief as a club-goer who is always rolling â┚¬â€œ if only running into people on ecstasy had actually been as entertaining. Jessi Riese plays the demure Violet whose main goal for the evening winds up to be trying to get past the no-nonsense door host (Sam Little) at Club Flambé.
Kimbro's soulful goth-rock music complements his script well, the passage of time no doubt giving him an objective look at his play. The only complaint is a small one: it isn't easy to catch all of Kimbro's clever lyrics, so a cast recording is need, and soon. In addition to playing and singing for the show, Kimbro appears onstage, in the show's most enticing scene, as a dowdy, recently heartbroken guy unexpectedly connecting with sex-in-heels goth-kid Louis.
Marinaccio expertly uses all that the thrust stage layout of the Orlando Rep's Black Box Theatre (one of my favorite theatre spaces in Orlando) has to offer. Large projections of videos by The Cure and Joy Division, cast on a brick wall, ease us into this world. The trust established from Kimbro's longtime collaboration with Marinaccio is apparent, and enviable.
Fringe is always sprinkled with productions that will become part of Orlando theatre history â┚¬â€œ productions you'll want to say â┚¬Å”I was there whenâ┚¬Â Ã¢â”šÂ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å“ there are several in this year's Fringe, and Suckers is among them. When I tried to see the original in 1998, it was sold out, I missed it and I still kick myself. Don't be that guy.
Show: Suckers, A Freaky Little Musical
Theatre Group: Zombie Productions — Orlando, FL
Venue: Green
Remaining Performances:
5/26 Thu. 6:00 PM
5/27 Fri. 9:50 PM
5/28 Sat. 1:15 PM
5/29 Sun. 2:55 PM
