If you’re looking for a good, sexy, strong story about lesbians and their deepest desires look no further: Lesbian Love Octagon delivers a search-for-love story wrapped in social commentary with a side of schtick all set to the lush musical numbers written by Kim Kressal (book and lyrics) and Will Larche (music and additional lyrics).  Two hours with these women will have you smiling, laughing, and even wiping away a tear or two.  Most of all, lesbian, straight, or any flavor of sexuality that is only yet being defined, this musical will have you nodding in recognition at the ins and outs of finding (and keeping) love.

The fact that this play is reflective of Lesbian Culture is both the whole point as well as besides the point. Because while this story couldn’t exist without the lesbians, this is really just as much a story about self-discovery, friendship, loves – both eros and agape – and the bonds that exist between women before, during and after the fires of a relationship rise up between them.  However, “Lesbian” is right there in the title, so I’ll try not to let my own straight-gal lens narrow the focus or twist the intentions.

At the center of this very fluid Lesbian Love Octagon is Sue (Caitlin Lee Reid) who spends her time at the Lesbian Cafe, The Wimmin’s Bookstore, the Lesbian Bar and the Sex Shop down the street. A roving chorus of extremely pitch-perfect voices informs us that Sue – who has just been dumped by her lover, Darla, for Jerry … a female-to-male trans who also happens to be Sue’s ex as well – is one of the Lower East Side’s prize catches and this latest development will cause ripples all over the LES.

Those familiar with the late-90s NY Lesbian scene will recognize the cultural touchstones, but for those who don’t speak Sapphic the songs do a wonderful job of setting up a pretty clear picture of the lifestyle extolling and idealizing everything from Ani to The Hitachi Magic Wand.  Catchy, brilliantly rhyming, eight party harmonies will take you through the New York Lesbian scene step by step … for those who already live the life it’s a delightful homage to the culture which has far too few songs devoted to it – at least songs of this strong a caliber.

And don’t be fooled by the titles  of some numbers; “Pet Tranny”, “Dyke Drama and Tofu Scramble” may sound like songs written specifically for the buzz, but the earnestness with which these characters deliver their  songs exposes a richer underbelly which can’t erase the complexity of each character’s core – regardless of how many songs are delivered with a wink or a tongue-in … cheek.   Even “Vibration Salvation” could be just another stunt production number filled with sex toys, writhing bodies and over-the-top moaning, but in the hands of Kressal and Larche this deftly written number becomes pure carnal poetry – an orgiastic celebration of female sensuality and seduction, throbbing and wild with more jolts-per-second than the Hitachi Magic Wand it venerates. (And speaking of The Wand – one is raffled off during intermission so be sure to buy your tickets!  Ten bucks will get you as many as you can wrap around your waist – a great deal for some of us!)

While Lesbian Love Octagon is admittedly filled with lesbian stereotypes from the less-than-butch dyke to the high-femme dyke (“an extraordinary story about ordinary dykes and exploratory story about stereotypes”) these characters are written with a loving pen, each stereotypical trait not so much exploited as celebrated in order to more clearly define the roads these women forged for themselves -the shorthand they created, the personifications they devised based on specific needs and wants which existed quite specifically outside of the heterosexual society.  Here, in the safe, sacred spaces of lesbian bars, lesbian cafes, wimmin’s bookstores and yes — even the hallowed sex shop down the block, women who love woman can choose their roles or define their own.  They can move through their social circles and create new dynamics with each new partnership they form, and as each relationship ebbs and flows an imprint of each woman’s spirit is left behind, changing the way her ex will move forward with a new partner.  So, yes, stereotypes pepper this play – but only to explain how gender identity is constantly being re-defined as each new interaction spawns a new shade of expression.

To that end, “I’ve had it up to here / trying to define how I’m queer” sings Sue, bemoaning the fact that her ex, Darla (Kristian Espiritu), has just left her for Jerry (Jax Jackson) a female to male trans.  Darla is known around the haunts to be somewhat of an opportunist, a gender studies major who is bisexual, and her motives are questioned and discussed. “Darla is riding the wave, surfing the scene … Jerry’s not a person to her, he’s a commodity” and although she’s the first to cry “No straight privilege here!  We’re both still queer!” this grandstanding has Jerry feeling less like an equal partner in the relationship and more like Darla’s “Pet Tranny” (“Like I’m a pass for free Into any scene / When you’re seen with me … You wanted the late ’90s thing / Someone transitioning”).

As Sue moves through her days and nights she watches as her other friends struggle with their own “situations”.  Another ex, Wendy (Lindsay Naas), is finding it hard to commit to her girlfriend Jess (Ti Grieco) as Jess seems unable to shake her own ex, Chris (Taneisha Duggan) from her day-to-day routine … emailing her ten times a day and still engaging in little tiffs. (Ubiquitous Ex-Girlfriend). When every ex’s ex is an ex of yours it’s awfully easy to get confused, sure, to the outsider.   But on the inside of the octagon being one of the exes, or the ex of the ex just means that you have more insight with which to commiserate.  Sometimes it makes for a specific type of comfort, but if you’re not careful it just may salt the earth where the new relationship should be flourishing.

When Scout urges Sue to create an online ad Sue stammers through her self-description, unable to pinpoint exactly who she is, even as she notices that all the wimmin she sees “all like hiking and they all like cats and they all like radical feminist acts / and they all like Ani and Sleater Kinney and they all like girls who write Slam Poetry” (WWWDOT).

Ironically, it’s Jerry  who reminds Sue of who she once was :

I knew a girl / Years ago / Who was kinda goofy / With a boyish charm / And she loved B Movies / Skateboards / Joni Mitchell / And eggplant Parmesan …

If someone asked me to describe her / I would simply say / She’s a million things / And only one / Is that she’s gay

In the gorgeous ballad “I Am” Sue hits on the most important theme of the play, and of her story, and of every woman’s story -

Am I the same as Every other Dyke?
Well okay.
There is comfort in being the same
Sharing stories of love and of pain
We might all look a like
So a dyke is a dyke …

When it comes to the actual musical it’s as traditional as can be – filled with strong, well written songs that are catchy, layered and delightfully joyful as they do what all good musical numbers do: move the plot along and carry the deeper emotional twists of the characters.  The lyrics are beautifully crafted and one can hardly stop long enough to marvel at the gorgeous internal rhymes and still catch the meaning – but no worries, there’s so much information here that even if a little gets lost there’s still plenty to pick up.  And so, as the show comes rushing at you at 85 miles per hour, rather than duck you spread your arms wide and let this Lesbian Love Octagon wrap you in its embrace.

With every character getting their star turn it’s hard to catch your breath as each woman commands the stage in her own way.  From Jess whose voice is big and raw,  to the sultry purring of sex-shop maven Anya (Jenny Atwood), from the strong, powerful Chris  to the earnestly lilting GG (Jaimie Kelton), not to mention extremely talented Scout (Kelly Lockwood) who has the ability to swiftly move the scenes along and command a variety of the bigger production numbers and belting Lindsey Naas (Wendy) who is impossible to keep from beaming at every time she sings.  Ultimately though, while this is an Octagon, the center is Sue, and Caitlin Lee Reid is as undeniably charming, charismatic, irresistible and magnetic as she is meant to be.  From her first moment to her last this play belongs to her, and she has us all in the palm of her hand.

So, now, enough of my girl-crushing.  Go out and see Lesbian Love Octagon up close and personal while it’s still on the small stage because I guarantee – this is a show meant for bigger things if there ever was one.

**SAMPLE SOME OF THE SONGS HERE**

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Lesbian Love Octagon
A Musical Comedy About Dyke Drama

BOOK & LYRICS
BY KIMBERLEA KRESSAL
MUSIC & ADDITIONAL LYRICS BY WILL LARCHE
DIRECTED BY KIMBERLEA KRESSAL

The Kraine Theater
85 E. 4th Street
New York , New York 10003
2nd and 3rd Ave

Click here for tickets  Price: $18.00

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• The All-American Genderf*ck Cabaret – Equal Opportunity Exploration

There are so many ways that the notion of gender can be fucked with (or – to continue a theme “f*cked” with) that the idea of throwing it all up there on the  stage and cabareting the hell out of is an appealing one.   Mariah MacCarthy’s The All-American Genderf*ck Cabaret (directed by Heidi Handelsman) takes a whole lotta gender and then, indeed, fucks with it like crazy.

All the stereotypes are there in full force: as Ms. MacCarthy put it in her interview with me earlier this month “a Feminine Woman, a Feminine Man, a Masculine Woman, a Masculine Man, a Gay Woman, a Gay Man, a Promiscuous Woman, and a Promiscuous Man. Which translates roughly into Girly Girl, Nice Guy/Metrosexual, Tomboy, Meathead, Feminist Lesbian, Gay Best Friend, Slut, and Player.” However, even though these labels are slapped onto the envelopes of these characters, they are soon peeled away with just as much intention.  So, just when you think you know what’s what you’ll find that the tough girl, Devon, (Lauren Hennessy) is actually not a lesbian (what?) - she’s just a tomboy.  And that sweet guy, Benji (Jordan Tierney)? No, he is not gay (huh?). He’s actually very straight – and the best lover his (promiscuous girlfriend) Gwen (Catherine LeFrere) has ever had.  Meanwhile the mouthy guy, Dick (Jamahl Garrison-Lowe) who talks the talk doesn’t walk the walk at all.  He’s a (gasp) virgin and would rather talk to his toddler nephew than seriously pursue a woman.  But you’d never know it from the way he throws out statistics of his romantic conquests.

Jamahl Garrison-Lowe, Yeauxlanda Kay, Lindsay Naas, Lauren Hennessy, Catherine LeFrere, Esteban Benito, Wes Urish, Jordan Tierney (Photo by Kacey Stamats)

All this is MC’d by the androgynous (or genderqueer, take your pick) Taylor (Kim Gainer) who has characteristics of both sexes, the wisdom of a boatload of every gender combo you can think of, but is walking through this mine field right along with the rest of us.  There you have it, folks. Welcome to  The All-American Genderf*ck Cabaret.

One note – if you come to the show looking for a traditional cabaret, you should understand that the term is used in a loose sort of way.  Think more “Cabaret” than cabaret – meaning more story than music, though there is a fair share of production numbers that are rousing, energetic, and enough to get you bopping in your seat.  Still, what you’ll mainly be seeing is a series of vignettes that define, defend, devour and denounce everything you ever thought you knew about what it means to be a man, to be a woman, or to leave that box unchecked on the form.

The most important points that The All-American Genderf*ck Cabaret make are 1) people, in an effort to make sure they are not  judged solely on their gender insecurities, will often overcompensate and swing widely in the other direction, desperately trying to find validation, only to then feel remorse, anger, confusion and diminishment when they are misunderstood, or (more harshly) mis-labeled.  And while the greater notion is that no one should be labeling anyone else, to expect this is naive.  And 2) Gender rarely – if ever – should be confused with sexuality and yet every day it (mistakenly) is.  Who you are inclined to have sex with has no bearing on how aligned you are to your gender.  Nowhere is this point more perfectly illustrated than in the budding romance between Kate (Yeauxlanda Kay) – a lesbian who finds herself drawn to the undefined Taylor and can’t allow herself to dive into the relationship without first knowing Taylor’s gender … rather than Taylor’s orientation.  The fact that the two are equally attracted to each other doesn’t seem to help Kate make the decsion as much as knowing Taylor’s gender would.   Fascinating.

None of these characters have simple story-lines which travel from point a to point b in a traditional way; and because of that we’re afforded the opportunity to see some scenarios play out in ways that manipulate normal boundaries.  There are time shifts, dream sequences, dance breaks, behind-the-scenes exposition, all aided by the gender-removed-all-knowing-all-seeing Taylor who gets a storyline of her own.  I mean his own.  Shis own?  I don’t think we have a possessive pronoun yet for those unhindered by conventional gender boundaries, but I would hope we’re working on it.

Regardless of your own orientation, predilection, or habits you’ll find something in The All-American Genderf*ck Cabaret to identify with.  Probably in ways that will surprise you – and it might even be from a character you’d never have aligned yourself with going in.  But that’s how they roll at the Genderf*ck Cabaret.  Go see for yourself.

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GAY PLAYS FOR STRAIGHT PEOPLE (and Also Gay People)

The All-American Genderf*ck Cabaret

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