PREVIEW
With Bells On
Guys in Disguise
Dec. 18 to 21
Varscona Theatre
10329 – 83 Ave.
Tickets: $30 plus fees Call 780-420-1757 or online at tixonthesquare.ca
Scroll down any local holiday website and there’s probably a dozen Christmas shows that pique anyone’s interest. But there is only one production that, for all its bitchy glam jokes, trumpets a call for adventure.
That’s right. The Guys in Disguise holiday miracle is back. Playwright/director Darrin Hagen has once again mounted the notably successful With Bells On.
This holiday treat first received its world premiere at Calgary’s Lunchbox Theatre in 2009.
The breezy, festive comedy subsequently enjoyed four more productions in Edmonton at various venues, and on its 10th anniversary, it returns to its stomping grounds.
Hagen has created an unlikely scenario out of several similar experiences that came his way during his drag queen days.
“It’s about two people who become friends and both get something out of their relationship,” said Hagen.
In his vision of With Bells On, he orchestrates the encounter of two mismatched strangers. Natasha (Jake Tkaczyk) is a seven-foot glam drag queen and Ted (James Hamilton) is a melancholy divorced accountant with low self-esteem.
They are neighbours on the 14th floor of a high-rise apartment building. However, this night when the duo steps into the elevator, it gets stuck at the seventh floor.
It’s panic time – especially for Natasha who is decked out in the ultimate Christmas Queen Pageant costume. If this exotic queen isn’t on stage by midnight, she relinquishes her claim to the crown.
“Ted wants to know something about her. He’s ready for something new. He’s looking for adventure while Natasha puts up a wall. She’s not comfortable talking to a stranger while she’s in costume,” said Hagen.
As an aside to explaining Natasha’s hesitancy, he says, “It doesn’t matter how professional you are. Someone out there thinks you’re a freak.”
The initial idea for the play was prompted when the diminutive Hamilton and the taller, more muscular Hagen were hired for a play reading.
“James gave me the idea of writing a play for him and me. I thought, wouldn’t it look hilarious if I was standing next to him in drag,” Hagen said.
Cast in all the Edmonton productions, Hamilton receives high praise.
“He is really good. He usually gets cast in creepy roles. He loves character work. In this production he gets to be an interesting, nice guy and he has this deadpan look that works so well.”
Actor Paul Welch had performed the role of Natasha for five years, but retired this year. It turns out the high heels were killers. In his place, Hagen hired Jake Tkaczyk.
“Jake is brilliant, tall, funny and queer. He’s comfortable in drag, in touch with his feminine side and fairly political.”
While the 65-minute show isn’t political, it carries an underlying social message gleaned from Hagen’s past experiences at Christmas.
“I’m not fond of Christmas. It’s forced, fake and you are obliged to be nice. I used to work at a gay bar called Flashback. Every year at Christmas, the club would cook a turkey and people would show up – people that had nowhere else to go. Christmas isn’t a Rockwell painting for everyone.“
Despite his own misgivings about Christmas, With Bells On has a heart-warming vibe. If there is one message this play consistently passes on, it is that the best gifts come from the oddest packages.
“It’s about diversity and for people who appreciate diversity. Ted and Natasha are two very lonely people and would have spent Christmas alone. But now they’ve shared a moment and had an experience together.”
