Without stereotyping, I’ve come to the conclusion that there are two types of gay boys out there: Those who have a loving relationship with their mothers, where they become best friends or girlfriends if you will. They have a very open relationship, lunch and shop together, and mom would tend to welcome her son’s boyfriend with open arms.
Then, you have those mothers who simply resent their son’s homosexuality and try everything in their power to try to change them or just treat them like a total outcast. These are usually bible thumping god fearing women who may often be heard saying, “Just don’t tell your father.”
This is Mickey Layman’s case with his mother, and, well, family in general. Growing up as a pint-size Paul Lynde, there was no denying Mickey was gay. And being raised with a very Pentecostal family in the Midwest, after being moved to the attic to be closer to God and further away from the family, a young Mickey was pushed into musical theater by his mother to keep him occupied.
Everything I know I Learned from Ethel Merman takes you through his life journey of wanting that maternal figure and how he projected that to his idol, Ethel Merman.
Through personal stories of his life, Merman quotes and songs that were originally delivered by Ethel Merman but now expertly sung by Mickey Layman, he weaves these stories from coming out, his attempt to date a girl, his first time with a boy to his moments where he found romance, all told with the relation of Merman’s music and personal journey.
This show isn’t as brassy or as loud as Merman was commonly known to be, but her sass and spunk certainly rubbed off of Layman. Coming across as a personal conversation (with music) in an intimate setting rather than a loud thundering musical, this is a personal journey many outcasts can relate to.
Running through May 28 at the Blue Venue. For more information, go to orlandofringe.org
