Fruit Fly

Reaction Productions at and with the Celebration Theatre

Reviewed by Les Spindle

January 11, 2012


Photo by Matthew Brian Denman
Actor Leslie Jordan, a veteran of stage ("Southern Baptist Sissies"), screen ("Sordid Lives," "The Help"), and television ("Will & Grace"), is also a first-rate raconteur. He has boldly shared his deliciously candid and screamingly funny personal stories over several autobiographical solo plays, charting his victories over alcoholism and homophobia (in "Like a Dog on Linoleum") and offering juicy insider dish about his showbiz adventures (in "My Trip Down the Pink Carpet"). His latest collaboration with director David Galligan—an ode to Jordan's beloved Southern Baptist family and his mother, Peggy Ann Jordan, in particular—overflows with hilarity and heart.

The play explores the challenges of growing up as a determinedly audacious gay youth in a conservative Southern Baptist household in Chattanooga, Tenn., headed by a befuddled but protective matriarch and a compassionate yet quietly homophobic father. A wonderful array of Jordan family photos is projected in frames on the walls of scenic designer Jimmy Cuomo's tasteful beige-dominated set, which offers a warmly ambient depiction of an old-fashioned Southern domicile.

Jordan's family anecdotes are filled with intriguing details. Though the actor is especially noted for his spot-on delivery of punch lines with a deadpan Southern drawl, sharp poignancy punctuates the storytelling at unexpected moments. The death of Jordan's Army colonel father in a plane crash when Jordan was 11 provides a moving narrative arc. Epitomizing the script's seamless mix of rueful with amusing is the segment in which Jordan tells of his mother's struggles with hysterical blindness following the divorce from her second husband. In a series of episodes recalling Jordan's teenage experimentation with cross-dress performing during the 1970s, we get an uproarious yet illuminating portrait of this high-spirited man's journey to find himself. The show's most memorable segment is a terrific recounting of the exploits of Jordan, his mother, and his identical-twin sisters during a gay cruise-ship excursion, leading to a beautifully heartwarming conclusion. This is the impish funnyman's most affecting solo vehicle to date, offering richly entertaining slices from a remarkable life.

Presented by Reaction Productions at and with the Celebration Theatre, 7051B Santa Monica Blvd., Hollywood. Jan. 6-Feb. 18. Thu.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 3 p.m. (323) 957-1884. www.celebrationtheatre.com.
 
 
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