Photo: Deogracias Lerma
It’s hard to know where to begin commenting on Know Theatre’s holiday offering, Abraham Lincoln’s Big, Gay Dance Party,
a zany and generally incoherent but passionately conceived piece of
theater. Don’t go thinking it has anything to do with the holidays, and
despite the fact that some fourth-graders light its political fuse when
their teacher replaces a holiday pageant with a script that references a
possible gay relationship involving the 16th president, this is not a
show for kids. Who is it for? I’m not really sure, although some at the
opening performance found it hilarious.
It doesn’t really matter where you begin: The show has
three acts; an audience member randomly chooses their order.
Each offers
a different perspective on the legal fallout from reaction to the kids’
play — two aspiring Republican politicians (Robert Pavlovich plays a
veteran district attorney, while Torie Wiggins is an ambitious
African-American attorney) and a gay journalist (Jason Podplesky) with
vengeance in mind.
The order I saw made modest sense; if rearranged, I’m not sure how it would work — if that matters.
Abraham Lincoln’s Big, Gay Dance Party continues at Know Theatre through Dec. 23. Go here to read Rick Pender's full review.
