Editor’s Note: This is a reposting of Kurt Brighton’s review from August. Theatre Group has brought this show back for a run through Dec. 28. All other information in the ticket box below applies to the current run as well.
Advice to ambitious artistic directors of small theatre companies: Even if you find the flow of rights to new musicals coming out of New York are drying up, for the love of God, don’t write your own musical. Just . . . don’t.
This is but one of many lessons that can be learned from Theatre Group’s hilarious production of “Howard Crabtree’s When Pigs Fly,” which transports us to The Melody Barn (as portrayed by the New Denver Civic Theatre) where young Mr. Crabtree pursues a career in musical theatre.
In this manic revue, somehow held together adroitly by director Steve Tangedal, one of the more memorable characters is Melody Barn’s artistic director Carol Ann Knippel. She’s played by Preston Lee Britton with a blend of the delusional enthusiasm and overcaffeinated lunacy common to the breed.
In her segment we are treated to previews of a few new musicals she has penned for the company’s upcoming season: “Quasimodo!,” “Lord of the Fries,” and “Annie 3,” in which Ms. Knippel has cast herself in the lead.
But this is just one short segment of a rip-roaringly silly and over- the-top show, loosely held together by the conceit of Crabtree (played with a self-effacing, wide-eyed hopefulness by Todd Black) trying to get his own show together. All the while he is simultaneously placating his performers and fighting against the inner voice of his high school guidance counselor Mrs. Roundhole, who suggests somewhat less fabulous careers in chicken farming and plumbing.
Things don’t always go as planned for Crabtree’s cast. There is an aborted piece in which Britton has a ball appearing as a diva in a ridiculous mermaid costume and another in which he was to play the Tree of Knowledge — complete with a giant stuffed snake peering out over his head — in an Adam and Steve piece.
And, yes, the show is gay-themed, with enough insanely extravagant costumes to send even the most jaded drag queen into glitter-speckled waves of ecstasy. But even the more risque and political numbers are presented in a gentle way. OK, aside from Adam Lee Brodner’s boisterous turn as a slightly tubby lounge singer belting out “Bigger is Better,” while teasing audience members with his feather boa.
The real Howard Crabtree died of AIDS in 1996, reportedly just six days after he completed work on the show. In a way, it’s a love letter, a celebration of gay culture and the strides that have been made in terms of equality and acceptance — while still tweaking the noses of those who have been slow to catch up.
The show loses a bit of steam in the second act, but overall it’s an extremely frothy concoction. There’s only the most tenuous string tying it all together, so don’t look for a whole lot of buried subplot or deep symbolism. But the laughs are almost constant, and aside from a few minor costume mishaps — when you have actors dancing and singing while wearing 3-foot-tall Restoration-era wigs, for instance, there’s bound to be some bobbles and adjustments — there’s really nothing to complain about here.
“When Pigs Fly” ***1/2 (out of four stars)
Drag revue Presented by Theatre Group at the New Denver Civic Theatre, 721 Santa Fe Drive. Conceived by Howard Crabtree and Mark Waldrop; music by Dick Gallagher. Directed by Steve Tangedal. Through Aug. 16. 1 hour, 40 minutes. 7:30 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays (no shows July 25-26), special 2-for-1 show Aug. 7. $27.50-$22.50. 303-309-3773 or
