Given what’s going on in the world right now, a journey back in time sounds very appealing. The Bent is offering audiences just that with its latest production, Paul Rudnick’s The New Century.
The time is the early 2000s. We survived Y2K without all of our electronic devices permanently crashing; Pokémon was all the rage.
The New Century is largely a series of monologues, beginning with “Pride and Joy,” in which Helene Nadler (Adina Lawson) speaks to the Long Island chapter of Parents of Lesbians, Gays, Bisexuals, the Transgendered, the Questioning, the Curious, the Creatively Concerned and Others. She explains how she deeply loves all three of her gay offspring—including her son Ronnie, who has become Veronica; her lesbian daughter; and her youngest son, who’s into bondage and scatology. Claiming to be the “most accepting, tolerant mother of all time,” Helene recounts how she knew her daughter was gay because of her occupation (she’s a professional tennis player), her pets (cats named Alice and Mrs. Dalloway) and her hairstyle (like that of a young Amish boy).
Adina Lawson is always a joy to watch onstage, and she does not disappoint here. She handles this very funny (and lengthy) monologue with tremendous charm and skill, earning every laugh she gets.
The second monologue features Mr. Charles (Terry Ray), the self-proclaimed “gayest man in Palm Beach, Florida.” He was supposedly banned from New York (“they took a vote”) for being “too gay”—so of course that’s the title of the cable television show he hosts. Some of the jokes seem a bit predictable here, and in the hands of a weaker actor, they might fall flat—but Terry Ray’s energy and charisma make them work. The highlight is a lighting-fast, one-minute history of gay theater, including memorable lines from various plays like Cat on a Hot Tin Roof and Tea and Sympathy, and snippets of musical numbers such as “I Am What I Am” from La Cage aux Folles.
Mr. Charles introduces us to his assistant, the young, well-built Shane (Alex Price). Price dances well and seems perfectly cast as the not-too-bright boy toy. He provides the show’s brief flash of full frontal nudity. (Leave the kids at home for this one.)
In the third monologue, we meet Barbara Ellen (Sonia Reavis), who is skilled in arts and crafts. Presenting a virtual show-and-tell of her wares (including a toilet paper caddy and a tuxedo-inspired toaster cover), we hear tales of all the craft contests she’s entered, and how she fared in each—but the laughs end abruptly when Barbara recounts the death of her son from AIDS. It seems a bit jarring, but Reavis handles it with aplomb.
Commanding the stage alone with a 10- to 15-minute monologue is not an easy feat for an actor, but Lawson, Ray and Reavis each succeed beautifully.
In the final scene, all the characters come together in a hospital maternity ward. This includes Joann Milderry (the appropriately sweet and perky Shelby Victoria), the receptionist from Mr. Charles’ TV show, with her infant son in tow. There’s not a lot of witty dialogue in this last section, but the show does end on a happy note, with pulsing music and dancing.
Hollywood writer/director Stan Zimmerman (his credits include Roseanne and The Golden Girls) directs here. He does a nice job of keeping the pace brisk and the humor sharp.
Though serious topics like AIDS and the Sept. 11 attacks are broached (the show’s title actually refers to a department store called Century 21 located across the street from Ground Zero), and though the strong acting gives us glimpses of pain and vulnerability, The New Century is primarily funny, light-hearted fluff—and perhaps that’s something we need more of these days.
The Bent’s production of The New Century will be performed at 7 p.m., Thursday through Saturday; and 2 p.m., Sunday, through Sunday, Feb. 18, at the Palm Springs Cultural Center, 2300 E. Baristo Road, in Palm Springs. Tickets are $40, and the running time is 90 minutes, with no intermission. For tickets or more information, visit thebent.org.
