You know you’re in store for something loud when you’re offered ear plugs during the pre-show, and that is not a bad thing.
It’s opening night for the washed-up ButchQueen and her band Bad Habits at a grimy bar called The Watering Hole, and they are ready for a wild ride of sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll.
ButchQueen (played by the newly crowned Queen of Fringe, Ferdinand DeJesus) is in full-on diva mode and the members of Bad Habits (played by Ryan Cox, Ryan Greiner, David Idleburgh and Brittany Olsen) are impatiently waiting for her to get it together so they can make it through their sound check before the doors open.
ButchQueen is filled with all the high drama and humor involved in the seedy punk bars of yore, including flashbacks to ButchQueen’s youth and various members of the cast getting their own concert style numbers.
With what seems to be the divine guidance of Hedwig and the Angry Inch, but not as bubble gum, ButchQueen is quite possibly the loudest show at this year’s Fringe and very underrated. Catchy songs that range from punk to the blues continue to successfully propel the story. My veins were left itching for more.
Running through May 28 at the Blue Venue. For more information, go to orlandofringe.org.
