There is an audience for The Avenue’s raunchy new comedy “The Bootyguard,” and it’s potentially as wide as writer and star Andrew Shoffner’s booty.
It’s pretty much anyone who loved or loathed Whitney Houston’s breakout film, “The Bodyguard,” or has a taste for, say, Charles Busch’s campy sense of humor.
That’s not me. But it might be you.
“The Bootyguard,” directed by the reliable Nick Sugar, is performed by some of Denver’s best comic actors and harkens to an era in local theater when the late Theatre Group regularly packed ’em in for snappy drag comedies like “Psycho Beach Party.”
The Avenue has taken up the slack, recently having staged Busch’s “Die, Mommie, Die!”
Shoffner, a Busch disciple and Denver native, helped popularize the genre here more than a decade ago with his memorable prison romp, “Cellblock Sirens of 1953.”
He’s been threatening to unleash “The Bootyguard” on Denver for years — a staged reading of it was held four years ago. But that means audiences are another four years removed from the cheesy 1992 Kevin Costner film it satirizes.
Which asks an obvious question: Houston became a superstar singing “I Will Always Love You.” But 18 years later, do audiences still love — or remember — “The Bodyguard” enough to want to see it spoofed on a stage?
Again, it depends on your comic sensibilities. I didn’t laugh much at Friday’s final preview performance, but I was in the minority. Frankly, I found it more often gross than funny. I was put off by its crudeness, by the dearth of comic potential for the supporting cast and by the confusing comic tone.
Make no mistake: Shoffner makes for one feral, foul-mouthed, finger- snapping Veronica Falana, the aging, pill-popping diva who’s unaware that a deranged fan has threatened to kill her. Enter Benjy Schirm as The Bootyguard, an ex-Secret Service man who falls for her hard. Schirm’s a charming guy and pretty much the one who comes out of all this with his dignity intact.
But even now, I couldn’t tell you whether Shoffner loved or hated “The Bodyguard.” Or whether his play is intended to be a parody, homage or satire. Shoffner doesn’t show the slightest love for Houston’s character. There’s nothing remotely humanizing about her, so there’s nothing for Schirm — or us — to credibly fall for. Even that lousy movie, through song, gave us a window into the addled pop singer’s fragile emotional state.
Shoffner’s play is straight-up mean, without being all that clever about it. Without the essential ingredient of glee, it’s hard to see “The Bootyguard” as homage. But if it’s hatred, given that so much time has passed, why bother?
Kevin Copenhaver’s intentionally horrifying costumes are good for a few laughs, and the supporting cast works hard to bring some levity to things. But there’s precious little for them to work off of — Amanda Earls as the homely assistant who secretly envies her childhood pal’s success; Carla Kaiser Kotrc, first as an immobile “Fargo”-like groupie, then as a thug record producer; Steven J. Burge as a sassy celebrity journalist looking for a scoop; Jack Wefso as the smarmy British manager who just wants to keep cashing in. Everyone has a motive for wanting nasty Veronica dead — including us.
Our obsession with pop-culture celebrity has only intensified in the past 18 years. Shoffner adds trendy references to “American Idol,” “Punk’d,” and even Denver’s own Patsy DeCline. But we’re also 18 years wearier of the Lohans and Hiltons of the world. Celebrity antics have become so outrageous that they’re impossible to effectively satirize.
“The Bootyguard,” short on wit, warmth and class, just isn’t as funny as the promise of its premise to likely connect with a wider audience.
John Moore: 303-954-1056 or jmoore@denverpost.com
“The Bootyguard” ** (out of four stars)
Drag comedy. Presented by The Avenue Theater, 417 E. 17th Ave. Written by and starring Andrew Shoffner. Directed by Nick Sugar. Featuring Benjy Schirm, Steven J. Burge, Amanda Earls, Carla Kaiser Kotrc and Jack Wefso. Through May 29. 80 minutes with no intermission. $20. 7:30 p.m. Thursdays-Sundays 303-321-5925 or
Read a script sample from “The Bootyguard”
The Denver Post allows readers to read short samples from new plays being performed around the area. Here’s
