Backstage Review: ‘The Legend of Georgia McBride’ at the Brüka Theater
~By Norm Robins~
~Photos by Dana Nollsch~
Casey is a happy-go-lucky guy who is employed at Cleo’s, a bar in Florida’s Panama City Beach in the panhandle. He earns his living, such as it is, as an Elvis Impersonator. He wears Elvis garb and lip-syncs to Elvis music. His life is about to change. Cleo’s is going down the financial toilet, and so is Casey’s career. Bar owner Eddie, desperate for more revenue, brings in two female impersonators, Tracy and Rexy, to replace him. It looks like he’s out of work.
Casey bounces rent checks and spends more on gas getting to work than he takes in. His wife Jo, after reading him the riot act for causing the rent check to bounce, tells him she’s pregnant. All of a sudden the weight of the world in pressing down hard on this poor guy’s hapless soul, baby coming, unemployed, and being evicted.
“The Legend of Georgia McBride” is a wild ride filled with laughs, introspection, and sexy drama-filled divas.
~Dana Nöllsch~
How far will you go to fulfill your desire to perform on stage?
See “The Legend of Georgia McBride” and find out.
What to do? Hey, if you can’t beat them, join them.
Surprise, Casey is not let go. Tracy’s partner Rexy gets drunk and passes out just before her performance. Rexy was set to do an Edith Piaf number. Tracy talks Casey into doing it instead. Casey is totally without experience at this. Tracy takes him under her wing and shows him how to do female impersonating. Casey doesn’t like it, but he gets shoehorned into the part. After much soul searching he finds he likes it. And he finds he’s good at it. Cleo’s is saved from bankruptcy. Casey is saved from eviction and unemployment. Casey stays on doing female impersonations. The money is just too good.
But what to do about Casey’s wife Jo. She can’t find out what Casey is doing for a living. She thinks he is bartending. The crisis comes when she does find out. And she is horrified.
Casey has to look into his soul, find out who he is, and resolve all the conflicts.
Tracy steals the show with Casey running him a close second and Rexy close behind. This is a splashy, hysterical comedy with moments of serious introspection. It is touching and heartfelt. It has pain and resolution. “The Legend of Georgia McBride” is a play worth seeing both for its raucous humor and its serious moments.
“The Legend of Georgia McBride” plays through October 26th, 2019 at Bruka Theater.
For more information go to Bruka’s website: http://www.bruka.org/
GEORGIA MCBRIDE CAST LIST
EDDIE …………………………………………………………………….. JOHN WALMSLEY
CASEY/GEORGIA …………………………………………………………. AIDEN BILLHARZ
JO ……………………………………………………………………………….. ROSE CARTER
REXY/JASON ………………………………………………… JABARI SEBASTIAN MOORE
TRACY/BOBBI …………………………………………………………. BRADFORD KAI’AI’AI
STAGE CREW ………………. WENDY CRENSHAW, MAKAYLA HARDY, JONAS STAGI
GEORGIA MCBRIDE CREATIVE TEAM
DIRECTOR ………………………………………………………………………….. ROD HEARN
CHOREOGRAPHER …………………………………………………………. ANNA COSTELLA
COSTUME DESIGN …………………………………………………… DEBORAH MORRISON
SET DESIGN ……………………………………………………………….. LARRY SEYMOUR
LIGHT DESIGN ……………………………………………………………….. DAVID SIMPSON
SOUND DESIGN ………………. DAVID SIMPSON, GARY KEPHART, TONY HUNDTOFT
STAGE MANAGER …………………………………………………………KAITLYNN COOPER
ASST STAGE MANAGER/RUN CREW ………………………………..WENDY CRENSHAW
BACKSTAGE ASSISTANTS/RUN CREW ……………. MAKAYLA HARDY, JONAS STAGI
LIGHT & SOUNDBOARD OPERATOR ……………………………………. DAVID SIMPSON
ORIGINAL MUSIC TO MATTHEW LOPEZ LYRICS …………………….. AIDEN BILLHARZ
WIGS ……………………………………………………………………….. JOHN PAUL RIVARD
