Active Living

If you love ARTS in Dayton…and you love video podcasts…meet DDQ, Dayton’s Drama Queens. This New Video Podcast will feature all things ARTS in Dayton. The stars of the show are Philip Drennen (yes, the one who has a show heading to NYC) and Joshua Stucky (yes, the one who created Dayton’s own RubiGirls.) The premiere features an interview with Drennen, one of the creators of ‘The Big Gay Jamboree‘ which is headed to the Orpheum theater in NYC this September!

You can catch the first episode by using one of the following: daytondramaqueens.com or at YouTube, Amazon, iHeart or wherever you get your favorite podcasts!

Luckily, D937 was able to talk with Drennen before he departs for the Big APPLE!

D937: WOW Philip!!  This is amazing news. Congrats. Tell us, what was your part in all of this?

I co-wrote the music and lyrics for The Big Gay Jamboree with Marla Mindelle, one of my best friends from college for over 20 years! We also graduated from CCM with the book writer, Jonathan Parks-Ramage and the director, Connor Gallagher. We all got our degrees in Musical Theatre from Cincinnati’s College-Conservatory of Music.

D937: SO COOL! Where did this crazy idea come from??

The Big Gay Jamboree started as a screenplay for a movie musical about 10 years ago and Margot Robbie was attached. It was written by Mindelle and Parks-Ramage and after Marla’s success in the off-Broadway hit Titanique (where she wrote and stars in the show), got back in touch and they decided to give BGJ another go as a stage musical. They brought me into the mix to write the score about a year and a half ago and we hit the ground running. We got picked up by Wagner Johnson Productions (who just had huge success on Broadway with Stereophonic winning 5 Tonys this year including Best Play) who are co-producing BGJ with LuckyChap, Margot’s production company. This is LuckyChap’s first stage show after years of producing films like Saltburn, Barbie, and my personal favorite, I, Tonya.

D937: I, TONYA! WHAT A HOOT! What has this experience been like….any surprises?

Being granted the time to really workshop a show can be so key to its success. Many Broadway shows can take up to 10 years before it’s debut and we are very lucky to have been fast tracked in this way. But our producers know the importance of workshopping and making sure it’s the best it can be and we’ve learned so much from being in those rooms and experimenting.

D937: In Dayton, we know you from your work with TheatreLab. Has that experience helped??

I have worn a lot of hats with TLD and I’m so grateful to have gotten training in Arts Administration, theater tech, marketing and so much more. There is a need for a group like TLD in Dayton and I hope it’s able to continue to survive in such an arts rich city!

D937: Agreed! So, how do we get to see the BGJ?

Previews begin at the Orpheum Theater off-Broadway on September 14 (open to the public) with our official opening night on October 1. Right now we are scheduled to run through January 31. Ticket info can be found at biggayjamboreethemusical.com.

D937: Sounds like such fun!!

I think right now we all need to laugh and BGJ is basically non-stop laughs!

D937: All of Dayton is proud of you Mister. We wish you all the best!! 

The Dayton Theatre Guild wraps us its season with Tracy Letts‘ ‘Superior Donuts.’ The show focuses on a Polish loner who keeps his tight grip on what is referred to as the last donut shop in the Northern Part of Chicago. The show opens with a trashed donut shop that will set the stage for reckonings of all kinds, with all kinds!

Arthur P (played marvelously by KL Storer) knows the world around his shop is changing but can’t be nudged to do the same. Enter Franco Wicks (you will feel the energy change when Andre Tomlinson appears on stage in the role, wow!) who tries to put a shot in the arm of the shop as well as the grumpy Mr. P. It is these 2 and their interaction that really keeps you engaged with this production. Their vulnerability is believable, and more-so when they are on the stage alone-together!

As they ‘come to terms’ with their pasts, and we see their future hopes unwind, we are moved from moments of high drama to almost sitcom like scenes. (Yes, the play was a movie and a pilot for just that!) Along the ride of these 2 characters we meet some gems. Mike Beerbower‘s Russian ‘enterpreneur’ has hilarious moments….the sweatsuit alone is laughable. One-liners delivered by Percy Vera (Officer Bailey) and Heather Martin (Officer Osteen) are initially shocking, and then keep the humor alive, in moments of otherwise deep thought. Martin’s first few lines give you a sense of ‘where we are’ in Chi-Town.

Throughout the show, we are thrust into some reminiscing that Letts felt necessary, but to be honest, it’s the present that makes us buy-in to these characters. Lady Boyle (played by Jennifer Lockwood) keeps us grounded in the fact that no one wants to see the shop close, but her expressions prepare us for what seems inevitable. Also wrapped into the story is Franco’s ‘bad decision’ to borrow money from the wrong guys….Maximillian Santucci‘s Luther Flynn is SPOT-ON!

Jared Mola, who directed ‘Donuts’, does a magnificent job of pacing the show! It’s one of those ‘quick’ and impactful 2 hour plays! Red Newman (Scenic Design) and Marjorie Strader (Lighting Design) delivered the goods as well. For my friend Amy and Me, the fight scene (nice work Kayla Graham) was well done…especially having the audience right on top of the action.

If you are a Letts fan, know this is not as extreme as some of his shows can go….it’s really about characters…with real, heartfelt issues to resolve. The Dayton Theatre Guild once again proves they are stellar in their desire to bring plays, worthy of seeing, to life in our town!

For information on ‘Superior Donuts’ and the GUILD, click here:

https://daytontheatreguild.org/production/superior-donuts/