Ladies of Eola Heights

Description
*** [THREE STARS] A plateful of Southern character comedy served up with a liberal dose of Streisand numbers, Michael Wanzie's drag fest "Ladies of Eola Heights" opens with tawdry, big-haired Ruby (Tommy Wooten) arriving home in Florida for her father’s funeral. Within minutes the audience is introduced to her oxygen-sniffing, wheelchair-bound sister Pearl (Wanzie), who’s struggling with a QVC addiction, and her cross-dressing brother Jackson/June (Miss Sammy), who only communicates through show tunes. Then there’s the eldest sister, Opal (Doug Ba’aser), a prudish born-again Christian adamantly opposed to Ruby’s hard-living, foul-mouthed style. As one might imagine, this combustible mix of personalities quickly deteriorates, as the women humorously attack one another, using guilt and righteousness as weapons. The show takes a regrettable turn when it delves into an uncomfortable exploration of incest and the lasting emotional scars inflicted by their father—-a difficult subject, and perhaps a questionable one for men in campy drag to tackle. But the show has many funny moments, and its one-liners keep the audience engaged. Wanzie's comedic timing deserves special mention: He delivers his rants about sex and booze hilariously well, and also convincingly plays mediator between his very fractious sisters.—-Dan Derouchie, Freelance Writer