Abraham Lincoln's Big, Gay Dance Party

Description
***** [FIVE STARS] Has a play ever borne a more misleading title than Abraham Lincoln’s Big Gay Dance Party? What sounds like a wacky romp turns out to be both riotously irreverent and intermittently historical, yet anything but fluffy: Aaron Loeb’s two-hour-plus work is actually a gripping small-town courtroom drama, telling the story of a schoolteacher accused of corrupting her students’ minds by alluding to the 16th President’s possible homosexual tendencies. When two local politicians take opposite sides in the case, things get messy. Using the trial as a backdrop, Loeb offers myriad nuanced perspectives on gay rights in America; smartly, he refuses to pick a clear side, instead reveling in the muddiness of the issues. Sure, there are plenty of silly dance numbers to be found here, but they only serve to underscore Loeb’s mature approach to his thorny subject matter. The outstanding cast, led by Mark Anderson Phillips as a big-shot reporter and Michael Phillis as a closeted baker, expertly navigates Loeb’s every tonal shift, from catty comedy to gut-punch tragedy.—Hank Shteamer, associate music editor