comedy

‘Everybody’s Girl’ on Epilogue stage

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By John Lyle Belden

Going up Alabama Street to see Madison Avenue sounds confusing – especially if you know the layout of Indianapolis – but actually, it’s the direction to a fabulous show.

Magic Thread Cabaret (Klein and Alvarez Productions) presents drag artist Jim Melton as Ms. Madison Avenue in “Maddie: Everybody’s Girl” for two weekends at Epilogue Players theatre.

We attended and enjoyed her performance of this revue at the White Rabbit in Fountain Square in March. Portraying the hour before she takes the stage, we visit Maddie preparing with accompanist Dustin Klein (every dressing room has a piano, right?) and occasionally fussed over by Tina Brannum Mahern as Mimi the maid. Make no mistake, though, this is all about Maddie and “the mostly true story of my colorful life.”

We learn she is the hottest thing to come out of Bull’s Butt, Idaho, as she relates her struggles with show biz, life, and her inner diva, interspersed with showtunes and standards including the full (with intro) version of “Somewhere Over the Rainbow.” She is a bit vulnerable, quite funny, and all heart (but not “Roxy Hart,” she substitutes “Madison Avenue” in that lyric).  

Admitting to her stumbles and that at 26, “I’m still learning,” she also notes, “I’m the greatest star, but no one knows it” (from “Funny Girl”). This production is a step in the right direction.

Funny and fabulous, showing she can carry a tune and hold an audience, experience the glow of Madison Avenue, “Everybody’s Girl,” June 27-29 and July 5-6 at 1849 N. Alabama St. (corner of 19th and Alabama), Indianapolis. Get tickets at kleinandalvarez.com.

Charming look at ‘Club’ all eventually join

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By John Lyle Belden

Epilogue Players presents the lively comedy, “The Cemetery Club,” by Ivan Menchell, directed by Kelly Keller.

Once a month, Jewish widows Ida (Valerie Nowosielski), Lucille (Lisa Warner Lowe), and Doris (Marie McNelis) meet at Ida’s place and go to a cemetery in Forest Hills, Queens, to visit the graves of their husbands. When we meet them, it is the four-year anniversary of the passing of Doris’s husband, Abe, to whom she is as devoted as ever. Ida still loves her Murray, but is starting to feel she wants to do more than converse with a stone. Lucille is just glad her Harry is staying in one place.

Sam Katz (Tom Smith), the local butcher, comes by to visit the grave of his wife Myrna, and things get interesting.

With an upcoming social event – their friend Selma is getting married, again, and all are invited – the opportunity for dating, and maybe more, is in the air. Tom, feeling like a nervous teen, asks Ida out. Perpetual flirt Lucille appears jealous, while Doris is appalled at the whole situation. This results in hilarious situations reminiscent of “Sex and the City,” but older and more Jewish (and less sex). Mary DeBoer adds spice as Mildred, an additional wedding guest.

Aside from being very funny, the play also tugs at the heartstrings as we see friendships tested while they each in their own way continue to deal with loss and the need to “write a new chapter.” Nowosielski, Lowe, and McNelis have the chemistry of three ladies long comfortable with one another’s quirks. However, this familiarity leads to presumptions of what is best for one who is acting differently. Smith’s character is like a guy at any age who is caught up in a women’s world, trying seemingly in vain to do what is right.

Wendy Brown is assistant director, and Patti Boyle is stage manager.

Embrace life by attending “The Cemetery Club,” performances Thursday through Sunday (June 19-22), at Epilogue Players, 1849 N. Alabama (corner of 19th and Alabama St.), Indianapolis. Reserve tickets at epilogueplayers.com.

This reviewer praises CCP young artist production

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By John Lyle Belden

Carmel Community Players presents the fantastical tale “This Girl Laughs, This Girl Cries, This Girl Does Nothing,” an internationally popular play for young actors and audiences by Finegan Kruckemeyer, the CCP Rising Star Production performing through this next Sunday at The Cat in Carmel.

Starting with a Grimm premise – a woodcutter father abandons his triplet daughters in the woods – we get a story with more whimsical adventure than grown-up reality, which works just fine in a work as entertaining as it is allegorical. A talented cast ages 13 to 18, directed by Amber K. Roth, keep the mood light with a fair number of laughs at the play’s little absurdities.

From the “once/twice/thrice upon a time” that they are born, the title characters are played – from girls to women – by Sydney Weitz as Albienne, the one who loves sweets and, seeing the abandonment as an opportunity, laughs and heads out towards the west; Maile Alpizar as Beatrix, the one who loves the sun and, resolving to find their Papa to understand what happened, dries her tears and heads out towards the east; and Vivienne Thibodeau as Carmen, the one who tends to carry the weight of the world for others, feels this is a perfect time to unshoulder the burden and make the most of where she is.

Events are described through with the aid of a cast of Narrators who also play supporting characters including various villagers, “Vickings,” and woodland creatures: Maggie Croddy, Lucy Cooper, Amelie Thibodeau, Emmy Bobenmoyer, Sophia Sweeney, Delaney McWilliams, and Corbin Cowles, whose roles include a romantic interest or two.

There is also a lighthouse with a perplexed keeper (Bobenmeyer), a sword, a cheeky badger (Cooper, who also plays Papa), some cherry trees, and a boombox, all in a triple-shot globe-circling journey that will somehow bring things back to where they began. The moral of the story is quoted on the cover, “Life is not for going back;” for the lessons, truly applicable to all ages, you need to see this for yourself.

Performances nicely carry the narrative forward with appropriate youthful energy. Weitz plays her character as one with an appetite not to consume for its own sake but to savor – even if it’s the thrills of a different vocation. Alpizar wears her freckles with pride, shining like an intrusive sunbeam into every situation. Vivienne Thibodeau aptly portrays the arc of an empath learning how much of a regard for others is too little, too much, and just right.

Roth is assisted by Student Dramaturg Anna Pfeiffer. Samantha Kelly is Stage Manager, assisted by Grace Kelly.

A jam-packed 75 minutes – not too much for the young, worth the ticket for the rest – follow “This Girl…” Thursday through Sunday at The Cat, 254, Veterans Way, downtown Carmel. Get tickets at carmelplayers.org or thecat.biz.

BCP comedy one for the books

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By John Lyle Belden

In “The Book Club Play,” a small group who meet regularly to discuss the literature they have all read adds an element of “Big Brother,” a new member or two, and before long the gathering becomes what one describes as “‘Lord of the Flies’ with wine.”

In this comedy by Karen Zacarias, presented by Buck Creek Players, Ana (Amanda McCabe) hosts the club at her home with close friend Will (Jericho Frank), a fellow literary snob, and husband Rob (Jeff Haber), who is there for the snacks. There is also Will’s friend Jen (Alyssa Lay); joining the club helped her recover from a downward spiral. Ana has brought in her new coworker at the newspaper where they work, Lily (Nia Hughes), who can’t help but notice she’s the only non-white person in the room.

Another source of tension: Ana – and the others, in signed releases – agreed to having a camera installed in the living room, recording everything during Book Club evenings. The footage goes to a famous Danish documentarian working on a film about the American phenomenon of these get-togethers. “Act natural,” Ana insists.

After lively discussions on “Moby Dick” and “The Age of Innocence” – the latter book affecting Rob deeply after he actually reads it – Lily shakes things up by selecting “Twilight.” This leads to the unexpected addition of Alex (Grant Bowen), a professor of literature seeking to understand the appeal – and unexpected merit – of popular fiction.

Between club meetings, we get brief scenes of various people apparently interviewed for the documentary, entertainingly portrayed by Connie Salvini-Thompson. (Note: One involves the smoking of an herbal cigarette near the front of the stage.)

It could be said that reading can change your life – but these readers aren’t prepared for what’s coming. This is especially true of Ana, the kind of person who feels things need to be perfect, as she sees it, and thrives on being in control. McCabe wonderfully portrays these borderline narcissistic tendencies, letting the comedy flow naturally from the contrast between her expectations and how things turn out. She seethes, but swallows her rage as she tries in vain not to look neurotic for the camera.

For the others, surprises start to alter their perspectives. A meeting on “The DaVinci Code” brings out secrets not on the pages. Then, an attempted discussion of a “Tarzan” book goes completely wild.

In the last chapters they read together, all is revealed.

In their performances, the cast show how the usual motivations for these clubs, equal parts fellowship and meaningful conversations with the book as a catalyst, get warped by the fact that there is an unblinking “audience.” Hughes’ Lily doesn’t mean to be provocative, yet stating the obvious seems to brush against unwritten rules. Contrast this with Bowen’s Alex, who, as an academic, welcomes and encourages debate.  Frank’s Will constantly flips between confident and unsure – and if he trips your gaydar, we all see it, too (well, not everyone). Lay as Jen gently finds necessary growth of character throughout. As for Rob, Haber’s portrayal of this go-along/get-along personality shows him finding he has lost track of what he really wants and needs.

Meanwhile, Salvini-Thompson’s character work adds wonderful comic touches – starting in full Capote mode, then a stiff Secret Service agent, down-home Wal-Mart associate, prison “dealer,” and a feisty retired librarian (with the final punchline at the end of the curtain call).

It’s all well-crafted by Josh Rooks in his directing debut, adding to past onstage experience in bringing the funny. He is assisted by producer and fellow BCP mainstay Ben Jones.

“The Book Club Play” is uproariously funny, and it might even give you a fresh perspective on books and reading – note its pitfalls if you wish to start a club of your own! Performances are Friday through Sunday, June 13-15 at the Buck Creek Playhouse, 11150 Southeastern Ave. (Acton Road exit off I-74), Indianapolis. Get tickets at buckcreekplayers.com.

‘Time to Dance’ with Summer Stock Stage ‘Prom’

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By John Lyle Belden

Indianapolis young artist program Summer Stock Stage opens its 2025 season with “The Prom,” a 2018 Broadway musical loosely based on actual events and still-persistent attitudes. This is an Eclipse production (no relation to the Bloomington company) in which young actors gain professional experience alongside experienced and Equity performers.

New York theatre narcissistic has-beens Barry Glickman (Adam B. Shapiro) and Dee Dee Allen (Lanene Charters) discover their latest musical is such a flop, it will immediately close. Commiserating with friend Angie Dickinson (Alexandria Van Paris), a 20-year veteran who can’t escape the chorus, and unemployed former sitcom star Trent Oliver (Logan Mortier) – who can’t stop talking about attending Juilliard – they decide they need to take on an activist cause to enhance their public profiles. Finding an online story about a prom cancelled because a lesbian student wants to take a girl as her date, inspiration strikes.

Meanwhile, at fictional James Madison High School in Edgewater, Indiana, Emma (Mai Caslowitz) finds herself bullied even more than usual as the other students blame her for the prom’s cancellation. Fortunately, Principal Hawkins (Ryan Artzberger) is an ally and working on both a legal remedy and persuading the PTA, led by homophobic president Mrs. Greene (Megan Raymont). That meeting appears to be about to bring about the dance’s reinstatement, when suddenly, our Broadway gang shows up to “help.”

With incurable hams in the land of the tenderloin, we get a lot of laughs and maybe a bit of schadenfreude at watching the New Yorkers fail spectacularly. On the other hand, it’s cruel to Emma, who has enough stress from the fact that her secret girlfriend Alyssa (Jocylon Evans) is Mrs. Greene’s daughter.

Still, there is a lot of heart, hope and energy in this fun musical by Bob Martin, Chad Beguelin and Matthew Sklar, based on a concept by Jack Viertel. This production is directed by SSS Artistic Director Emily Ristine Holloway, expertly managing the comical interventions and put-downs of Hoosier culture while maintaining the humanity of all the characters.

Considering the real-life 2010 incident that inspired the musical happened in Mississippi (complete with prom fake-out and celebrity aid), the show was apparently set in Indiana as a thumb in the eye of then-Vice President Mike Pence. It is good to see local companies take charge of the way Hoosiers are portrayed, even with an honest look at anti-LGBTQ attitudes. Frankly, though I understand the rules regarding scripts, I think it would be best if there were a local (fictional) setting for any conservative state where the musical is staged, lest folks think this is just poking fun at the ignorant people “over there.”

Any concerns about the story are rendered moot by the excellent performances. Charters and Shapiro are delights as well-meaning divas working to get over themselves. Van Paris, “antelope legs” and all, brings the “zazz” throughout. Mortier nimbly plays a goober who seems self-absorbed but wants to just feel appreciated, which comes about in – for him – a surprising way. Local treasure Ben Asaykwee brings his understated charm to the role of Glickman and Allen’s assistant Sheldon. Artzberger is solid as always, and a natural aid in helping the younger stars shine.

As for the youthful roles, Caslowitz gives an award-worthy, relatable, endearing performance, winning our hearts in the songs “Dance With You” and “Unruly Heart.” Evans does a lot with her principal supporting role, especially Alyssa’s signature song.

Excellent work as well by ensemble players Isabella Agresta, Lauren Blackwood, Keilyn Bryant, Izzy Casciani, Noah Greer, Tess Holloway, Seth Jacobsen, Day Johnson, Jilayne Kistner, Reagan Cole Minnette, Maddux Morrison, Martini Olaletan, Jacob Richardon, and Sofia Warren Fitzgerald.

The dancing is also fantastic, choreographed by Sean Aaron Carmon with choreography supervisor Phillip Crawshaw.

One week remains of this spectacle – a sort of “Footloose” for our times – as Summer Stock Stage takes on its new residence at Schrott Center for the Arts at Butler University. Performances are Wednesday through Sunday, with two shows on Saturday, June 4-8. Get tickets at summerstockstage.com or butlerartscenter.org.

Hyperion presents man’s ‘zero hour’

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By John Lyle Belden

BE ADVISED: This play explores heavy topics, including suicide.

What does the dark, serious comedy “Rocket Man” by Steven Dietz, performed for one weekend by Hyperion Players in Fishers, directed by Daniel Maloy, have to do with the 1972 hit song by Elton John and Bernie Taupin?

In my mind, absolutely nothing – and everything.

The song was reportedly inspired by a sci-fi story by Ray Bradbury about a time when being an astronaut will be just a regular job. The lyrics are less about the wonder of traveling in space and more about the ennui and loneliness of the very long commute.

In this play, Donny (Bailey Hunt), in his 40s, finds himself in a crisis he can’t just brush off as “midlife.” It’s a crisis of time and space. He’s “losing” time; hours and days seem to pass without his noticing. He plans a milestone birthday party for teenage daughter Trisha (Amelia Bostick), not realizing it was a week ago.

As for space, he’s been changing his relationship to it. Having quit his long-time successful job as a land surveyor and abandoned his past ambition to be a landscape architect, Donny cleared his house of all its objects – to the shock of Trisha, surprise of good friend and neighbor Buck (Greg Fiebig), and chagrin of his ex-wife Rita (Isabel Hunt) – except for the attic, in which he has reopened the skylight and set up his E-Z Boy recliner for stargazing.

Donny’s best friend and former survey partner Louise (Lauren Taylor) comes over as well. Her chronic insomnia has somehow led her to study at a seminary. Buck confides in her on a spiritual manner: he is sure he is hearing voices around his own house, telling him to build an ark (like in the biblical Noah story).

Rita contends with the consequences of her “year of being real,” in which she always told people what she thought of them – a factor in her and Donny’s divorce. Still, it is his unsettled mind that primarily drives him.

There is also a crosswalk sign, “terrible” cookies, the moon and stars, an umbrella, things not done, things not finished, the song, “Quiet Nights of Quiet Stars,” and some recognizable signs that a person is taking a one-way voyage.

However, once we reach that other world – where things are the same, yet different – the troubled feelings aren’t necessarily better.

This inventive look at loss and what-ifs is wonderfully presented and incredibly challenging. Hunt’s performance is of a man feeling the pressure of being between worlds – age, creativity, even literal planets – who only feels relief in a desperate plan. The others play well their unusual aspects, enriching the context for the story’s Bradbury-esque strangeness.

Fiebig also designed the excellent attic setting in which nearly all the action takes place.

This play has remaining performances tonight (as I post this) and Sunday, May 31-June 1, at The Switch theatre in Ji-Eun Lee Music Academy, 10029 126th St., Fishers. Info and tickets at hyperionplayers.com.

– – –

Can’t help but see the events of the pivotal moment between Acts in these lyrics:

“And I think it’s gonna be a long, long time
‘Til touchdown brings me ’round again to find
I’m not the man they think I am at home
Oh, no, no, no
I’m a rocket man
Rocket man
Burning out his fuse up here alone.”

Getting help with all life’s ‘Stuff’

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By John Lyle Belden

It’s the easiest trap most of us fall into: You need to save this. You must hold on to that. I’m not finished reading this. I’ll get around to making something with that… Time passes, boxes stack up. And then there are the mementos – especially when they signify a time, place, and most importantly a person, no longer around.

Suddenly, people tell you that you have a problem.

Local playwright Jan White presents, with Actors Ink Theatre Company, her comic drama “Stufferage” at The District Theatre, directed by Sandra Gay, who founded Actors Ink decades ago, and now dedicates it to providing performance opportunities for “People Of a Certain Age.”

As White notes in the program, roughly six percent of people have some sort of hoarding disorder. This gets further complicated by aging as well as other likely mental issues. In the play, inspired in part by actual people and events, Marty (Chad Pirowski) persuades his aunt Georgia (Sheila Wright), a therapist, to come out of retirement to aid his mission-oriented business, Stop Stuffering, in honor of his recently-deceased mother (Georgia’s sister), a lifelong serious hoarder. His idea is to help others with similar issues to declutter and organize their stuff to better deal with their lives.

To seek interest, they set up a “Help for the Overwhelmed” Facebook group and in-person meeting. They already have one client, Barbara (Melody Ware), who refuses to leave her overflowing home so is ordered by a judge to at least attend via Zoom.

Arriving in person: Sarah (Mary Hardin) let things accumulate during the Covid isolation period and is still nervous about venturing out. Married couple Jim and Donna (Rob Young and Tina Nehrling) see each other as the problem – her overflowing craft room, his overstuffed garage – but with additional endless piles of mail and magazines, their adult children let them know it’s both of them. Mimi (Stephanie Reinert) is obsessed with puppets, but the ever-growing accumulation of pieces, projects, and finished figures has ironically taken control of her life. Darrell (Brian Shobe) misses his late wife and, after several months, can’t bear letting go of any of her possessions.

Rick Northam is handy as various supporting roles, crew director, and the foley for an opening scene that, with awkward humor, gives us a sense of how bad things get for the “stuffering” and those who love them.

The narrative shows us the various ways these characters work through their issues, both the accumulated objects in their homes and learning to “clear the clutter from your heart.” There are varying degrees of success, with Barbara – “I have a right to my stuff!” – being the most difficult, her unsettled personality nearly as colorful as the exploded flea market of her front yard. The excellent scenic design, including piles and stacks capable of moving on and off stage as needed, is by Carlos Teeters.

We get compelling performances all around. Pirowski and Wright portray sincere empathy – hers more professionally, his with the sense of a son who wishes he had helped his mother more. Hardin and Shobe each pull our heartstrings. Young and Nehrling add more humor than rancor to their couple who seem to have arguing as a love language. Reinert is endearing and an inspiration to crafters everywhere as Mimi strives to actually make some puppets! Ware takes on the most complex role with appropriate gusto while keeping Barbara’s mental issues true to life.

A light-hearted and hopeful look at a serious problem, experience “Stufferage” Thursday through Sunday at The District Theatre, 627 Massachusetts Ave., downtown Indianapolis. Get tickets at indydistricttheatre.org.

Jewish Theatre of Bloomington: Herzog play goes the distance

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By John Lyle Belden

How far would you go for a friend? For someone you love?

The Jewish Theatre of Bloomington presents “4000 Miles,” the 2013 Pulitzer finalist dramatic comedy by Amy Herzog.

Bill Simmons, who directed the Indiana premiere in 2012, is at the helm again. He said that the time that passed between these productions has given him better perspective on the main characters, 21-year-old Leo (Ryan Eller) and his 91-year-old grandmother Vera (Martha Jacobs, who was also in the 2012 Phoenix Theatre production).

Leo arrives unexpectedly around midnight at Vera’s New York apartment. He is excitable with hair-trigger moods, while she is patient and understanding, though a bit bewildered. He brings in his bicycle, having ridden not from his family’s home in St. Paul, Minn., but all the way from Seattle. He does not want his mother to know where he is.

Through 10 emotional scenes we learn what has brought Leo here, and the feelings and issues he must work through. This includes his relationship with Bec (Sofia Salgado), also in New York to attend college. One night, he brings home a young woman he just met, Amanda (Laura Rong), who resembles his adopted sister Lily (Rebecca Von Kirk). He has a lot to deal with, along with a sense that others believe he’s handling it all wrong. Meanwhile, Vera is dealing with her own feelings of things slipping away, including the passing of a dear friend in her “octogenarian club.”

The sharp script, excellent acting, and Simmons’ touch combine to make these strangers feel familiar, like people whose pain we don’t mind sharing. The generation gap and Vera’s feisty attitude generate a good amount of welcome laughs as a little absurdity finds its way into even the most serious situations. Beneath the problems is a genuine sense of feeling and connection, which leads to a hopeful outcome we can all feel as the play concludes.

Travel the much-shorter distance (from Indy) to experience “4000 Miles,” Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday, May 15-17-18, at the Waldron Art Center Rose Firebay, 122 S. Walnut St. (ground floor off 4th Street), Bloomington. Get tickets and info at jewishtheatrebloomington.com.

Mud Creek goes ‘Barefoot’

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By John Lyle Belden

Seeing a comedy by Neil Simon is kind of like treating yourself to a really nice meal. It just feels so good and satisfying. This is certainly true with the highly-quotable silly-even-when-serious fun of “Barefoot in the Park,” presented by Mud Creek Players, directed by Michelle Moore.

In the anything can happen time and place of 1960s New York, newlyweds Paul and Corie Bratter (Matthew Blandford and Piper Williams) move into their first apartment – a fifth-floor walk-up. Corie eagerly awaits a delayed furniture delivery, but the only arrival is the phone company man (Kevin Smith), who feels every step of the five flights (plus stoop). Soon Paul arrives from his job as a lawyer and while his wife giddily accepts their new place, he can’t help but see its many flaws.

Next to ascend the eternal stairs is Corie’s mother, Ethel (Barb Weaver). To see the apartment after it’s furnished, she agrees to return that Friday for dinner.

Paul is also annoyed – while Corie is pleased – to find that their brownstone is full of eccentric tenants, especially their upstairs (attic) neighbor, aging worldly raconteur Victor Velasco (Chris Otterman). Feeling her mom could use some spice in her life, Corie invites him to dinner Friday as well. And that weekend, things get very spicy.

Simon likes to throw together odd couples, and Williams and Blandford portray well their tested love in a comic clash between one who leaps into life and one who prefers to just sit and get some work done. Corie gets almost too manic, yet that overwhelming nature plays into the second-act antics as Paul finds himself literally on the edge. Weaver nicely plays the woman feeling her adventurous years were behind her, finding herself in her wildest one yet. Otterman’s Victor is a gentlemanly force of nature, not so much chewing the scenery as serving it up with the perfect seasoning.

Smith gets to be charming while his AT&T tech catches his breath. In addition, Jackson Hawkins plays the Delivery Man, who not only finally brings furniture at the end of the first scene, but also appears at major scene changes to summon the stage crew – including Alexandra Sarell and stage manager Dallas Ganz – to move things around as needed.

So feast your senses (and “don’t forget to ‘pop’ it!”) at “Barefoot in the Park,” Thursday through Saturday, May 15-17, at Mud Creek Players “Barn,” 9740 E. 86th St., Indianapolis. Get tickets at mudcreekplayers.org.

Omigod you guys(?) – Indy Drag goes to law school

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By John Lyle Belden

(Note: Out of respect for the art form and its performers, they are identified by their Drag names as given in the show program.)

Many of us are familiar with the 2001 film “Legally Blonde,” and perhaps with the 2007 stage musical, however for Indy Drag Theatre, it was a parody tribute to this fun comedy in 2022 that got the company rolling. Now, this clever melding of both movie and Broadway – acted, danced and neatly lip-synched by local Drag Queens and Kings – has returned to The District Theatre.

Also notable as an actor in conventional musicals, Parker Taylor makes a stunning transformation into Honey Bunn, who plays our blonde heroine, Elle Woods. To win back the love of her ex-boyfriend Warner (played by Cadence), she leaves UCLA to enter Harvard Law School. Needless to say, it won’t be easy for her but very funny and entertaining for us. In Boston, Elle gets help from teaching assistant Emmett (Eli Rose) and local beautician Paulette (Sydnie Blair), but no help from Vivienne (Kalinda), who is with Warner now.

Elle finally gets to prove herself as part of a team of interns for Professor Callahan (Kristen N. Peterson), who is defending a famous fitness expert Brooke Wyndham (Vera Vanderwoude St. Clair) charged with murder.

The cast includes Axel Brozie as classmate Enid, and AJ Thoma, Kitt St. Clair, and B.B. Rosè as Elle’s Delta Nu sisters Margot, Serena, and Pilar, who appear as her literal Greek Chorus. Sean Seager is dog-gone cute as anthropomorphic pooch Bruiser, as well as hot UPS man Kyle.

A tip of the wig also to Ilana a la Mode, Madison Avenue, Kami Kamora, RoDick Heffley, Josè Dos Santos, Ellen Vander Missen, DeLuLu De Vant, Justin Sheedy, Sophie Sweany, Tiffany Rae, and CiCi Pasion.

Directed by IDT co-founders Blair St. Clair and April Rosè (who choreographed), stage manager is Natalie Port-Ma’am, with costumes by Alish Forner, makeup by St. Pussifer, wigs by Hair By Blair and sturdy sets by Josh Vander Missen.

While the Queens usually get the attention in these shows, it takes all kinds to make the magic work, and I must note the stellar King performance by Peterson as conniving, cruel creep Callahan.

With its energy, flair, and embrace of all things pink and shiny, this musical meshes perfectly with the Drag Theatre format, providing a wonderful experience all around. Get “Legally Blonde(r)” this Thursday through Sunday, May 15-18, at the District Theatre, 627 Massachusetts Ave., Indianapolis. Get tickets at indydistricttheatre.org.