Double Flee A

I worked at a restaurant with a guy who was going to be in a play, and everyone else I worked with was sufficiently excited to go see it that I had to say I would too. They, of course, did not. The play was part of the fringe festival in minneapolis, wherein plays that otherwise would never be done for a variety of reasons, are. The play was called "funny sound of music girl", and was a parody of certain elements of "funny girl" and "the sound of music", mostly the latter, but all gay. The gay jokes were fast and furious-- you'd think that the more repellent biological aspects of male homosexuality would be tidily omitted for taste's sake but you'd be wrong. The only person laughing at this tripe was, naturally, seated next to me; so wild was his laughter that he actually hit me in the arm on two occasions. He was dying over there. Hoo-wee. After this crime of a play was over, the cast actually ran out of the building while the audience gathered their things. Hiding in a nearby bar, the director bought a much-needed round of drinks for the cast and crew. It might have gone unnoticed but for the costumes they were in. Three large gay men were dressed as nuns (one was "mother superiority complex"), my workmate Michael was in a leotard and platform clogs, etc.
I was bitching about this play at work when someone told me there was another that these fellow workers of mine had actually gone to, long ago, by the same director, and with Michael in it. It was considered by all who saw it to be the worst play ever made. It had been "A Surfing Christmas Carol", and these folks would never be burned like that again. They had all worked together for a long time at that place, but after that day, I was a great deal less "the new guy" in their eyes. Like in many a family, the elephant was sitting in the living room and none of us were talking about it, but we had to know that each other was aware of it nonetheless.

posted by dale @ 1:10 AM