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Faggy at 50: Smart, Funny, Touching – Recommended

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When Joe Gulla was 14, his Italian Catholic father bought him a lifetime subscription to Playboy Magazine. The boy was neither shocked nor interested. An entire wall of Gulla Sr.’s art studio was covered by a collage of big-breasted, Antonio Vargas pin-up girls.* Joe was so acclimated, he innocently cut examples of foods causing “tooth decay” out of a handy stack of Playboys while in class, thoroughly confusing Sister Maryann.

Gulla was determined to be manly for his father. Emulation went only so far, however. When the services of a prostitute were offered as a 16th birthday gift, the teenager requested tickets to They’re Playing Our Song. “Joseph, I’ve always thought of you as a person open to anything,” his father said with puzzlement. “Dad, I don’t want a person for my birthday,” the boy countered. First physical contact with a naked breast (in high school) caused vomiting. Catholicism was a great excuse for not having misguided, early sex.

This captivating monologue, the second with Bronx Queen in a planned trilogy, is warm, surprising, and always honest. Relating his tale in short, Calvin Trillinesque episodes, Gulla conjures incidents involving ballsy and wise family, friends and acquaintances in denial of who he was or they were, and community often coping with discomfort. Outbursts of laughter for which television sitcoms would kill are bridged by stillness evoked by moving dialogue.

01 Faggy at 50

Our hero’s home life provided him with an internal gyroscope which prepared him for love, gay sex, and self acceptance despite expectations and societal reaction. “Suddenly I understood what all the songs were about…Love makes sense. It’s why we’re here… Did I sleep with my college roommate? Yes. Did I deny it? Yes.” Readiness is all.

The piece is cleverly punctuated by actual telephone calls and correspondence with minions at Playboy Magazine (Incident 14821) which curiously stopped arriving when Joe came out at the age of 23.  “Coming out is the least faggy thing a gay man can do.”

Writing is pithy and economic. Themes originate in one story and deftly tie up during another later on, a kind of literate cat’s cradle. Well timed punch lines are crackerjack. Almost every narrative choice is relevant. Without a shred of rancor or shtick, Joe Gulla’s Faggy at 50 is as rewarding as it is entertaining. One leaves grinning, ready to buy the show’s creator a drink.

Director Brian Rardin skillfully keeps his thespian’s expansive character in format, away from freefall. Emotion is never milked, yet Gulla soars where humor dictates. Pacing is brisk. Were Gulla not predominantly reading, he could occasionally get up from, lean on, or walk around a table both varying the visual and allowing us to more consistently see his eminently expressive face. A loss, I feel.

*Iconic Vargas Girls were featured in every issue of Playboy Magazine until the artist stopped painting. Antonio Vargas’s work is considered the finest in its genre.

Photos by Nancy Zito

United Solo presents
Faggy at 50 –Written and Performed by Joe Gulla
Directed by Brian Rardin
Additional Performances:  November 1 at 9:00 pm; November 9 at 7:30 pm-more if these sell out
Theatre Row
410  West 42nd St.

Check out other solo shows- there are 130!
For the complete schedule, go to the United Solo website.
Tickets available at  Telecharge or 212-239-6200 and at the Theatre Row Box Office (410 West 42nd Street).

The post <i>Faggy at 50</i>: Smart, Funny, Touching – <i>Recommended</i> appeared first on Woman Around Town.


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