Queer in the U.S.A.
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 Queer in the U.S.A. |
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Running Time: 80 Minutes Venue: Tue, 06/08/2010 - 09:00 Wed, 06/09/2010 - 07:00 Fri, 06/11/2010 - 07:30 Sat, 06/12/2010 - 09:00 |
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Can a queer boy rock like The Boss?
From The Faux-Real Theatre Company
Show Description: Johnny, a 14 year-old boy from Freehold, New Jersey, hungers to follow in the footsteps of his hero–Bruce Springsteen. Johnny, however, is made cruelly aware that his high-pitched soprano voice sounds more like Celine Dion or Barbra Streisand. He struggles against homophobia at school, even while his own sense of identity is uncertain. Facing brutal rejection from the Freehold High School Glee Club, Johnny sets off for New York City, where lovers, rockers, and Gypsies challenge him to embrace his queerness. He retraces Springsteen’s early career footsteps, hoping to mold himself into the image of his rock god. Does he have what it takes to rock like The Boss?
Most Fringy Thing: In QUEER IN THE U.S.A., one actor transforms before your eyes into nine different characters to tell an unforgettable story–funny, poignant, and profound. It’s an electrifying, tour de force performance that will sweep you off your feet.
Artist/Company Bio: Manuel Simons (Playwright/Performer) is an actor/writer with credits that include national tours and productions on New York stages such as The Public Theatre, Living Theatre, and American Place Theatre. His on-screen credits include Watergate conspirator Jeb Magruder in Spike Lee’s She Hate Me, and appearances on Law & Order, Sex and the City and The Sopranos. Chrissy Moore (Director) directed the workshop of Queer in the U.S.A. at New York’s American Place Theatre. Other credits include The Vagina Monologues, Sophocles’ Electra, and Neil Gaiman’s Stardust. Her directorial expertise has served the many actors she coached in the Youth Company of Off-Broadway’s MCC Theatre. The Faux-Real Theatre Company (Associate Producer) melds truth and imagination to create staged visions in which complex texts and challenging ideas are rendered into engaging, accessible productions. Faux-Real was recently named one of TIME OUT's “Top Reasons to Love New York Theatre!”
Hails from: New York, NY
Other Fringes: Going to the Capital Fringe Festival (Washington, D.C.) Camden Fringe Festival (London, U.K.) San Francisco Fringe Festival (CA) in 2010
Reviews
Queer in the U.S.A.
Reviewed by Blythe Walker
An unprecedented number of one person shows were featured at this year’s Cincinnati Fringe Festival. I’m a sucker for a solo act, so I made sure I saw all the single person shows. Of them all, my absolute favorite was Queer in the U.S.A. Queer is the story of Johnny, a 14-year-old boy from New Jersey, who is bullied and taunted in high school for his unusually “feminine” voice and other evidence of being “different.” Johnny conjures his muse, Bruce Springsteen, to help him find the courage to find his voice. Like a latter-day Candide, Johnny leaves New Jersey and travels to New York City–the emotional distance much greater than the actual miles–retracing Bruce’s footsteps and looking for “his people.”
Writer/actor Manuel Simons completely inhabits each role with authenticity and without judgment or irony that I found completely refreshing and touching. Each character has a life lesson to offer Johnny–sometimes positive, sometimes less so, but always with a grain of truth to offer him on his quest for self-acceptance. Along the way, Johnny’s journey becomes a present day Everyman tale, whose search for an authentic life resonates with our own.
Among the characters inhabiting Johnny’s world is David, Johnny’s singing teacher, who promises, for a fee, of course, to unlock Johnny’s “butch” voice. Sounding straight is David’s self – professed key to Johnny’s ultimate success and happiness. Other characters Johnny meets are AMBGR, a gay sex-addict, ostensibly British, rocker with a heart of gold, who gives Johnny a glimpse of what he doesn’t want to be(come); Helga, a purveyor of fake bric-a-brac, whose dishonesty about her wares is a metaphor for the dishonesty that informs her entire life; and most effectively, Helga’s son, George, a street-wise kid and Johnny’s first lover, who is the voice of self-acceptance that Johnny (and we, the audience, whether we admit it or not!) seeks.
I won’t disclose how Johnny’s relationship with The Boss plays out–so no spoiler alert needed! Suffice to say, it’s a happy ending! I just love a happy ending, don’t you?
* * *
Reviewer Blythe Walker is internationally acclaimed for her performances in theatre, opera, and concert in a career that has spanned twenty years and 4 continents. Her beautiful voice, powerful dramatic acting, and dedication to her craft, have made her a favorite with audiences and colleagues, as well as with leading conductors, directors, and composers. She is a highly sought-after teacher, coach, and director at the Blythe Walker Academy of Vocal Arts and the Cincinnati Music Academy.
Review by Tebbe Farrell
Manuel Simons has created a show about discovering your identity and hungering to find your dream. It starts with a fourteen year old boy full of rock and roll worship for Bruce Springsteen. Johnny’s journey begins in Freehold, New Jersey, in a high school glee club where he is taunted and physically brutalized for being different. Simons embodies a world of vivid characters that break your heart and make you laugh. That is why this show grips the audience because you can’t wait to see what happens next. You actually forget it’s a one man show. He’s that good.
Escaping to New York City, he tries his luck at singing, his first love, traveling to all the Springsteen haunts. He runs into a world full of characters from a Roma gypsy that lives in another woman to a hilarious, jaded, gay, macho British rock star, “abrasive” as he describes himself, yet touched by Johnny’s friendship. The kid hits the Big Apple full force with all his vulnerability, hope, and teenage confusion, and comes out singing. This is a tale of longing, exploration, and life’s strange beauty. A well written, masterfully acted show. See this one.
Tebbe Farrell is a freelance writer covering music and performance.
Review by Melissa Center of The American Place Theatre
I hope you took the opportunity to see the fabulously talented Manuel Simons' one man show QUEER IN THE USA. If you missed it, you must see it when he next presents the show. (Be on the lookout, as it's touring nationally.) I was BLOWN AWAY by Manuel after seeing this beautiful piece. Manuel is a positive force--a talented, smart, compassionate actor. The characters he has created are crystal clear, funny, poignant, and very deeply rooted. I was so moved by his work and proud of him for putting it out there with such grace, compassion, sensitivity, and gravitas.
Praise from Larry Crozier of the Cincinnati Men's Chorus
Saw the show Friday night. Incredible. Closed my eyes part of the time and saw 2 or 3 people on the stage at the same time. BRAVO!!!!!!!!
Heartfelt and Well-Crafted
QUEER IN THE USA was our last Fringe viewing of the festival and thus, my friend and I were able to go out on a high note. I feel in my heart this performer's song and am greatly appreciative for what he shared on stage. What I witnessed was a gifted performer spinning an inventive, soulful, and well-crafted story. Manuel Simons is in top form as he relates his quest to find his true voice, be it as it may in the upper register. Characters include a clear-eyed lover, an irreverent English rocker, a feckless authority figure in the guise of a singing instructor, taunting voices from haunted school days, and of course, the Boss. My favorite was the Gypsy grandmother, told with true passion and love, and in orbit with Johnny's own heart-wrenching journey towards validation and identity. On the whole, QUEER IN THE USA is a familiar tale, poignantly and uniquely told. In terms of the script, I found it well balanced in how the different stories were interwoven, and came to a satisfying and climactic conclusion. Bruce Springsteen as the central figure was a wise choice as a universal symbol of America. It grounded this tale for me and also lent some surprise, as it goes against the stereotypes. The technical elements added seamlessly to the production, such effects as a fireworks display were in scale and eye-catching. Simple elements such as the use of the American flag and a red bandana left indelible images when paired with Simons' rich singing. The characterizations propelled me forward and Simons' broad strokes and deeply stirring interpretations kept me engrossed. Apart from an ending I thought could be perhaps tightened, I think the production had a lovely ebb and flow. This performer clearly ventures deep and it moved me to witness the vulnerability of man in this way. What I came away with was the complete and tender humanity of someone very different than myself. How gently we must treat each other in this life. I believe QUEER IN THE USA represents an intricate type of hope that is bound up in sensitive, creative souls. I intuitively loved the various facets and layers of this grizzled, broad-shouldered man-child. That he is a hulking figure in the crystal menagerie of this play only made me want to wrap my arms around him more. Here's hoping Mr. Simons continues to let his song be heard for many more Fringes to come... it is a beautifully honest one.
A Facebook Note from Rob D.
Hi Manuel
we saw your show last night and loved. the writing was incredible!!!
thanks for putting it out there.
Rob
CityBeat Review
by Mark Sterner
The program for Queer in the U.S.A. states: “I ask you to transgress, to step beyond the bounds of reality and into a magical space where one man can play eight different characters with minimal set, sound and lighting.” There is no problem with one man playing eight characters or with having minimal technical accouterments.
Read the rest of the review here
DID WE SEE THE SAME SHOW?!?! By Mike Smyth
Did we see the same show?!?! According to your review Mr. Sterner it seems you missed the point of the show. I agree with you, casting is crucial- maybe you would have been a better choice? According to your inability to relate it seems that you have never had the opportunity to be misrepresented, denied equal rights, ostracized, or bullied. Calling Simons "overweight and approaching middle age" feels (and sounds) like the work of a bully. Is that what you are? A bully? Maybe it was good for you to see the show. Too bad you didn’t take anything away from it- beyond the need to support the stereotype that all gay men are supposed to be skinny, party bois. I guess you missed the part when the idolatry of Bruce Springsteen is literally pushed out of the protagonist's life, I guess you missed the moment when that 14 year old boy decides that he doesn’t need to hide behind an idol- but can be one all by himself. Did you miss that? For me- the play continually focused on the fact that we are all imperfect creatures who have to make our own way and in many ways create our own identities. No matter who we are. As a gay man in Cincinnati it took me years to come to terms with who I was and even more years to feel comfortable walking outside, being myself. I can only imagine that it took Simons as many years to come to terms with his own experiences until the point that he was able to explore them through writing and theater. I am glad to have seen his show. I loved it- I thought it was quickly paced, edgy and heartfelt, with moments of extreme hilarity. I will never look at Harry Potter in the same way! Thank you to Manuel Simons for putting this work out there, and for being courageous . . . enough. For me Queer in the U.S.A. WAS a transcendent moment, I only wish I could have seen it as a 14 year old boy.
CityBeat Preview
Full article here
by Mark Sterner
Imagine that you’re a kid from New Jersey, 14 years old and gay. It would be unfortunately normal to suffer abuse from your peers, but how about a cruel rejection from your high school glee club?
Johnny actually has a terrific voice; the only problem is that he’s a high soprano. He uses the glee club rejection as a reason to split for New York City. Bruce Springsteen is his idol, and he’s determined to follow in Springsteen’s footsteps.
Along the way, Johnny is encouraged to accept his queerness, while continuing to challenge himself to become another Springsteen.