Charm

Reviewed by Neal Weaver
Celebration Theatre at The Lex
Through October 23

RECOMMENDED

A charm school for trans people? It sounds like an odd premise for a serious piece of theater, conjuring up images of endless camp and in-jokes. But Chicago playwright Philip Dawkins is angling for bigger fish, and his efforts pay off in this provocative piece, based on real events that happened in the Windy City.

Mama Darleena Andrews (Lana Houston) is an elegant, middle-aged African-American trans woman who volunteers to teach a class on charm at the local gay and lesbian center. Her ideas on the subject are a little reactionary, naïve and outdated, but she believes in them passionately. And she begins her first class by introducing her student gang-members,  trans-people, prostitutes and misfits to the etiquette book of Miss Emily Post. At first, her seeds seem to fall on barren ground, as her raucous and cynical students take far more interest in the refreshments (pizza) than in Ms. Post.

But Mama Darleena is also a caring and compassionate woman, who takes real interest in her students, and urges them to treat one another with courtesy, consideration and caring. (She also tells them they’re beautiful, and who can resist that? Donald Trump achieves similar results by telling his followers how wonderful they are.) To the young people in her class she represents all the style and elegance so missing in their daily lives. She soon wins them over, and some, at least, begin to regard her with starry-eyed hero-worship.

Her class is a wildly mixed bag: Ariela (Esteban Andres Cruz) is a middle-aging trans ho, acutely conscious of her fading charms. Lady (Chris Aguila) is the saddest of all sad-sacks: a gauche beaten-down cross-dresser with no sense of style. Logan (Alexander Hogy) is a still-closeted gay boy. Jonelle (Armand Shields) is a huge guy who’s a bit frightening in a dress. Beta (Ashley Romans) seems at first to be a local tough guy, and a member of a local gay gang known for beating up trans people  — but Mama Darleena soon realizes he is a cross-dresser king, who was savagely beaten by his fellow gang members when they discovered that he/she is female. Donnie (Tre Hall) is a straight black guy who’s been brought to the class by his girlfriend Victoria (Shoniqua Shandai).

Mama Darleena gradually wins the confidence of her students and they reveal to her (and us) their often horrendous back stories. They gradually learn to like, respect and help each other. And all of them are vying for Mama’s interest and attention. Ariella, in particular, seems desperate to get closer to Mama, and perhaps put the moves on her. Mama, a bit alarmed, pulls back protectively. But meanwhile, she has discovered that tough guy Beta is actually a badly battered girl, and takes her under her wing, arousing Ariella’s jealousy. Ariella retaliates by giving a scandalous interview to a local paper, creating serious PR problems for the gay and lesbian center and its director D (Rebekah Walendzak). D announces that she’s terminating Mama’s class, but before this can happen, Mama collapses from low blood sugar and has to be rushed to the hospital. (This may be the first play to employ low blood sugar as a spring-board for the plot.)

Director Michael Matthews gives the piece a sensitive but energetic and flashy production. He’s assembled a cast that is more gender-scrambled than gender-blind, and they all give eloquent and faithful performances. Dawkins’s script rivets our attention by being unpredictable. We’re never certain, till almost the end, just where it’s going. But ultimately it arrives at a pleasantly satisfying feel-good ending.

Archer Altstaeter designed the cheerily institutional set, and Allison Dillard provides the handsome, sometimes flamboyant costumes and drag outfits.

Celebration Theatre at the Lex, 6760 Lexington Avenue, Hollywood. Thurs.-Sat., 8 p.m., Sun., 2 p.m. (323) 957-1884 or www.celebrationtheatre.com. Running time: two hours and 30 minutes with one 15 minute intermission.