gay

IndyFringe: Terror on the High Seas

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By Wendy Carson

In-laws. We all have dealt with them or heard horror stories from friends about theirs at some point in time. Now, imagine being stuck on a 10-day cruise with them, in Alaska of all places. Thus begins Les Kurkendaal’s tale.

Being a liberal, gay, black man from L.A. was hard for his partner’s conservative, gun-toting, Trump-supporting, Bakersfield family to accept, but they have repeatedly made some effort. They brought him along on this cruise to celebrate the patriarch’s 70th birthday. Their original destination was the Mediterranean, but it was deemed to be “too hot!” by his brother-in-law. Therefore, since they’ve all wanted to see Sarah Palin’s home state, Alaska was decided on.

From taking every excursion offered in order to escape them, to making some hilarious new friends on the boat, Kurkendaal’s tale swings from one crazy situation to another. However, even among all of the zany people he meets, and the crazy antics of the family, some sobering situations are also encountered.

The storytelling skill it takes to maneuver all of these issues while still keeping everything compelling is impressive, and Kurkendaal does not fail. Every show he brings here is so much better than the last. In fact, my biggest annoyance was that I wished the show had been longer.

Whether you have seen one of Kurkendaal’s shows before, or are experiencing him and his family for the first time, you should really do yourself a favor and come aboard for some laughs.

One performance left during this Fringe: 3 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 27, at ComedySportz. Get tickets at indyfringefestival.com.

Fringe review: I’m Not Gay

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By John Lyle Belden

Senator Bobby insists, “I’m Not Gay,” but in this comic drama by Matthew Barron, presented by Submatter Press at the Marrott Center, no one believes it. The press seems to prefer taking the word of the man he was sleeping with.

Russell Lee Watson plays the Indiana Senator, who doesn’t understand why no one believes him. He’s sure that all men have his urges, but since being gay is wrong, they just suppress them better than he does. This is frustrating to his wife Margaret (Kerra D. Wagener), who accepts him regardless, and his closest advisor George (Aaron Cleveland), who has been in love with him for years.

These characters struggle to sort out how they feel and what they mean to each other, generating quite a few laughs on the way. Daniel Klingler rounds out the cast as gay bar worker Billie Joe, who dispenses much-needed wisdom as only a way-out-of-the-closet bartender can.

The play doesn’t come down too hard on hypocrisy or the state of politics today, focusing on the very human struggles of three personalities stuck in a world where appearances are everything and you are only as good or relevant as your last soundbite or headline. Between these actors’ performance and Barron’s words, they actually make us feel for a conservative blowhard; yet that may not be a bad thing.