Watch them burn, baby, burn! (Image by Eric McNatt) On Thursday, I ventured to NYC's Dixon Place — where experimental theater has gone to live for over 30 years — to see the premiere of a new work by Nora Burns of Unitard and David's Friend.
The Village, a Disco Musical! has one of those disposable titles that makes you think of farce, but in fact, while as broadly funny as expected, this 60-minute show slowly reveals itself to have wit, fangs, a big heart and impressively fresh takes on nostalgia and death.
But again, the important part is: It's funny. Aggressively narrated by a stage manager character (Glace Chase), who is always happy to shout out the subtext, set the scene or hit on one of the omnipresent go-go boys (Richard Schieffer, Valton Jackson), the show is centered around Trade (an effervescent and effortlessly sexy Antony Cherrie), a stacked hustler living the high life as a kept boy in the snazzy apartment of well-to-do queen Old George (Chuck Blasius) in the '70s.
Trade doesn't mind closing his eyes to have sex with a 10 who has aged into being a 5, especially since it grants him the freedom to fall in love with a new boy every week.