traincat

Work is horrible, we've had a broken elevator for over two months now and it's draining my will to live besides, you know, the complications of living in DC and not knowing for months if I was going to be furloughed or not. But thankfully I have had theater to distract me! And somehow all of my May shows ended up being queerer than any of the shows I'll be seeing during actual Pride Month, haha.

I saw Kimberly Akimbo at the National, which I only knew going in had won some Tonys, and got there and realized it was done by some of the Fun Home people and went "Oh, I'm going to cry, aren't I?" and I did and it was great. It is very much a musical about dysfunctional families but also about trying to live your life to the fullest despite a death sentence hanging over your head, how sometimes you are not the person your parents expected, and striving to find joy today despite looming sorrow tomorrow. With bonus cute romances and a hilarious background teen drama of a friend group in which the lesbian is in love with the straight girl who's in love with the gay boy who's in love with the straight boy who's in love with the lesbian. Impeccable teen drama. 

Then I saw We Are Gathered at Arena Stage, which is a play by Tarell Alvin McCraney, screenright of Moonlight, which still feels a bit like a fever dream. It was in the round and there was a lot of call and response from the audience and fourth-wall breaking, but also it was a gripping emotional look at cruising, struggling with emotional and physical trauma and how that impacts your relationships, and unlearning shame while feeling vaguely Shakespearean with a lot of its dialogue. The final part felt truly like the end of a Shakespeare play, and I loved it. Plus apparently they sent out an offer to have people get to do their own vows in the last scene, and these two women got married alongside the actors! And there was a reception afterwards with drinks and desserts! (I took a cupcake but it was 10:30 and I had to be at work the next day at 8:30, so no alcohol for me.)

Lastly, I went to see actual Shakespeare and saw the Folger's majority nonbinary queer cast of Twelfth Night. This is my favorite Shakespeare play, and I especially loved this version! Defiantly, joyfully queer, drawing out Shakespeare's raunchiness with a display of kinky innuendo and queer fashion and absolutely incredible music and dancing. Malvolio's dance and song as he serenades a baffled Olivia in his yellow garters was a particular highlight. Everyone was excellent and no one was straight. Sir Tony was using poor Sir Andrew as his side piece and money bags while wooing Maria. Antonio/Sebastian was wonderfully canon which made Sebastian ditching him at the end all the sadder. Olivia absolutely wants to sleep with both Viola and Sebastian. Orsino wants to get stepped on by Viola/Cesario so badly. Also somehow I ended the play shipping Sir Andrew/Antonio, haha.