Crown City is back, and though its temporary home in North Hollywood’s Secret Rose Theatre has necessitated a drop in production values, the company’s latest, Matthew Lopez’s The Legend Of Georgia McBride, offers theatergoers a feel-good alternative to traditional seasonal fare.

20something Casey (Neil Unger) may not be a dead ringer for Elvis Presley, but lip-syncing to The King’s Greatest Hits in his black Elvis jumpsuit, the boy’s not half bad at what he does by night at the Panama City dive run by good ol’ boy Eddie (a folky John Schroeder).

Unfortunately for Casey, business isn’t all that great these days despite some expert hip-swiveling, just one reason the rent check he owes landlord Jason (Donzell Lewis) is overdue.

No wonder then that when Eddie informs Casey that he’s being replaced by a drag queen, the news does not sit well with our handsome hero, particularly since he’s just been informed by wife Jo (a tough but tender Shelley Francisco) that a baby is on the way.

The drag queen in question is Eddie’s cousin “Miss Tracy Mills” (Michael Mullen), whose arrival in town alongside fellow female impersonator Anorexia “Miss Rexy” Nervosa (Lewis), just might bring in the bucks that Elvis has not, that is if Rexy can say sober long enough to make her Panama City debut.

A passed-out Miss Nervosa soon leaves Miss Tracy and Eddie in a bit of a pickle, that is until they realize that Elvis in spangled white satin isn’t all that far removed from a man in drag, and despite his fervent protests, Casey is persuaded to impersonate Edith Piaf for a night.

Not surprisingly, it takes the artist previously known as Elvis a while to get used to padded bra-and-girdle, panties, and heels, and truth be told, his first go at Edith suggests it may be his last, though he does learn at least one drag queen trick. (Just mouth “watermelon motherfucker” if you don’t know the words.)

Fortunately for audiences, the newly christened Miss Georgia McBride does get invited back for more, and much of the pleasure in Lopez’s comedy comes from watching Casey, whose love of performing dates back to his high school’s Sweeney Todd, discover his feminine side (and in so doing, like Dustin Hoffman’s Tootsie learn how to be a better man).

The Legend Of Georgia McBride does require more suspension of disbelief than simply asking us to accept Casey’s transformation. We’ve also got to buy that a drag show could become an instant hit in a straight man’s bar, and that when it does, that Jo could remain completely clueless in an Internet age.

But credibility issues aside, it’s hard to quibble with a play that features one lip-synced hit after another–from Broadway to disco to country-&-western–performed in one gorgeous gown after another, Ovation Award-winning costume designer Mullen doing dynamic double duty in the drag department.

And speaking of double duty, Michael J. Marchak scores points as both director and choreographer, in particular where his three male leads are concerned.

Reprising the role he debuted to considerable acclaim in Palm Springs a couple years back, Mullen gives Miss Tracy equal parts sass, glamour, and grit, and fellow Crown City regular Unger proves a savvy choice to play the most improbable of drag queens, the 6’2” charmer’s awkwardness in sequins and heels making his transition into local drag-show superstar all the more striking (besides being a terrific singer to boot); and Lewis’s likable straight dude Jason is all the more impressive given the shade-throwing tornado that is his fabulous Rexie.

A scene featuring an out-of-drag Miss Tracy loses some dramatic impact with full makeup still applied, but the production’s biggest drawback is an uncredited set not up to Crown City standards, though Zad Potter (lighting design) and Joe Shea (sound design) do fare better. (In the company’s defense, the Secret Rose requires that the set be struck after every performance, which pretty much guarantees a less than great one.)

Potter is stage manager. Arcelia Guadalupe Gomes is wardrobe mistress. Michael Pammit is house manager. Adzua Ayana Asha Amos is swing.

With most theaters serving up some sort of Christmas-themed show between now and the New Year, Crown City Theatre could well have another year-end alternative hit with The Legend Of Georgia McBride. One thing is certain. You’ll exit the Secret Rose smiling.

Secret Rose Theatre, 11246 W Magnolia Blvd, North Hollywood.
www.crowncitytheatre.com

–Steven Stanley
November 30, 2019
Photos: Chris Greenwell

Tags: Crown City Theatre, Los Angeles Theater Review, Matthew Lopez