SissyBoy

Reviewed by Vanessa Cate
The NoHo Arts Center
Through March 6 

I’ll be upfront — I don’t typically care for one-person autobiographical shows. In my experience they generally follow a similar format: a person overcomes adversity and a string of failed relationships and comes to a greater understanding of themselves and how they don’t need approval from anyone else after all.

Biased, boring (and ultimately transparent in terms of actually needing validation, so much so that they charge people money to hear them talk about their lives for an hour and a half), they’re rarely artful or original. There are, of course, exceptions to the rule, and some truly great one-person shows out there. Unfortunately, writer/performer James Mellon’s SissyBoy is not one of them.

On the most basic level, and as the name “sissy boy” might suggest, the show relies on dated gender and sexual stereotypes from the get-go. Yes, Mellon leads us on a journey that ultimately culminates in his professed self-approval. Ironically, his acceptance of his sexuality has actually been outpaced by society’s own changing and more accepting perspective.  

The 95-minute play is littered with solo musical numbers. Cute and agile Mellon may be — surprisingly agile, actually, when performing Ray Garcia’s buoyant choreography – but at times the result is awkward. Mellon played Riff in the 1980 Broadway revival of West Side Story, but I’m sure his performance of the dance number “Cool” packed a bit more of a punch thirty-six years ago.

Let me be clear: it’s not that a 61 year-old has no right singing and dancing, especially as musical theater is so clearly his passion. But here the musical numbers seem to serve no other purpose than to showboat and re-live his theatrical heyday.

Apart from the overly self-congratulatory nature of the show (don’t even get me started on the closing number where he sings what is basically a list of his virtues while a photo montage of himself is projected on a large screen behind him), there are a few nice moments. The best, most sincere (and, thankfully, music-free) moment comes when Mellon describes how in the eighth grade he fell in love for the first time, describing for us all the excitement, the heartbreak, and the confusion that goes along with that experience. This portion of the show is earnest, moving, and easy to relate to.

Kevin Bailey’s direction fills the large stage with movement and life and seems to support Mellon’s vision, while Ben Hawkins’ projections, Juke Moyer’s lighting and set, and Connie Tibbetts-Milner’s costumes are a production in and of themselves. (Tibbetts-Milner provides more costume pieces for one man than many full productions receive, and the changes are for the most part quite seamless.)

At one point Mellon speaks about a musical he wrote long ago. At the last minute he altered it because he was uncomfortable making it a gay love story. The character originally based on his personal experience was turned into a woman named Beth. One theater reviewer allegedly spoke to him off the record and called him out for writing a play which was dishonest.

While SissyBoy appears honest, and at times achieves some true expression, I wonder if all the bravado, musicality, easy jokes and gender crutches amount to a suit of armor Mellon can wear as he convinces us that he has come to terms with who he is. Maybe I’m wrong, and I hope so. But maybe making a one-man show about his interesting life, rather than just focusing on his sexuality, might be more cathartic and valuable. As for this show, at the end of the day, Mellon can be viewed as charismatic and a true showman with an intriguing past.

The NoHo Arts Center, 11136 Magnolia Blvd., North Hollywood; Fri. & Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 3 p.m.; through March 6. https://web.ovationtix.com/trs/cal/20. Running time: Approximately 95 minutes with no intermission.