THE Family Players and Friends are set to stage their annual festive drag offering called Bent Broadway.
Hinged on the life (and after-life) of a Broadway star, the show journeys through the glitz and glam of Broadway’s musical history.
Tonight caught up with Allan Quihampton, a performer and the show’s conceptualiser.
He explained what the show entails: “Bent Broadway is the behind-the-scenes parodies of Broadway where we pull in a parade of famous characters; Dame Judi Dench, Carol Channing, Annie, Andrew Lloyd Webber, all to sing your old favourite songs – but not in the way we know them.”
With a plot that traces an actress’ journey from auditions to her prime in a show and then to the deterio-ration of the show, the entire production is done in drag.
“The show has widespread appeal. Drag shows are a comic look at life. In this piece we are looking at an actor’s life. The drag aspect just adds a bit of humour to it, there is nothing explicit or vulgar; it’s good, clean humour. There is very little dialogue, it’s more musical. If there is any dialogue, it’s mainly to introduce a character,” said Quihampton.
Only two years in the game, Quihampton started with the Family Players in the show The Bad Habits.
“I’m fairly new at this and Family Players have been together for a long time as a group, so they really are like a family. If there’s one thing I’ve learnt from them, it’s not to hold tightly on to something I do, but to bring what I have and contribute to the team,” he said.
• Bent Broadway, November 30 to December 9, at the Rhumbelow, Umbilo, Friday to Sunday. 8pm Friday and Saturday, 6.30pm December 2, 2pm on Dec 9. R100 at Computicket, call 031 205 7602 or e-mail [email protected]