For a locally produced and original play, I was expecting "Blue Galaxy" to be little more than bunch of high schoolers saying "Hey, kids, let's put on a show." It was nothing of the sort. Kim Porter's play was a nuanced, moving, and at times heartbreaking story of the self-destructiveness that accompany being a "fat chick."
Elizabeth Mueller, was phenomenal as Lana. The part seemed almost created for her as she was stunningly lovely, but still tormented by her weight issues. Her presence was such that it was hard to look at much else when she was on stage, This was actually a detriment, as often two stories were going on at opposites sides of the stage and her side of the stage took focus away from the main story on the other side,
Miss Mueller's presence, singing, and acting almost completely eclipsed the other cast members. The notable exceptions were Doug Waldo's invalid and hateful Buddy Dale, Rodney Dickerman's delightful Betty (aka Steve's mom,) and Amy Carpenter's clueless but subtly underplayed transgender Tina. Tina was especially original and fresh, as there has NEVER been a trans character portrayed without at least some shock value. Tina was "just one of the girls" and had it not been for a clever bit of blocking, you would never have known she was anything else.
On a personal note: had this been a movie, it would have been a serious chick flick. Since I realized that I enjoyed it much more than the recent spat of superhero movies I seen, I decided that I guess that six years of HRT have finally taken their toll and changed my tastes in shows.
Blue Galaxy's final performances will be today and tomorrow at Space 55. Do not fear though, It was so good that I'm sure that it will eventually be played elsewhere.
