(l-r) Ryder Bach is Will and Curt Hansen is Mike
By Darlene Donloe
Regardless of what side of the fence you’re on regarding
same sex relationships, you’ll feel good about the show Girlfriend, currently playing through Aug. 9 at the Kirk Douglas
Theatre in Culver City.
The audience is witness to a high school coming of
age love story between a nerd named Will (Ryder Bach) and a popular jock named
Mike (Curt Hansen). It’s an unlikely relationship on a couple of levels.
Traditionally high school jocks and nerds are polar opposites, do not
associate, are not friends, wouldn’t be caught dead with the other and
certainly wouldn’t become intimate.
Todd Almond’s brilliant Girlfriend explores the notion of this unusual, unexpected
blossoming of love between two male teens who would otherwise never share air
space.
The musical, inspired by Matthew Sweet's 1991 alternative rock album of the
same title, takes the audience on a slow, but sweet journey to love.
This
two-character musical, backed by a live, kick-ass, all-female rock band led by
Julie Wolf and featuring Vivi Rama, Janet Robin and Jyn Yates, is now playing
at the Kirk Douglas Theatre in Culver City.
The
show takes place in Alliance, Neb., in 1993.
Will
and Mike are leaving high school and about to embark on adulthood. Mike, who loves music, is going away to
college to study medicine in order to please his father. Will, who is just
happy his high school days are over because of the lack of acceptance, is not
sure what he’s going to do.
One
day, unexpectedly, Will receives a call from Mike who invites him to the
drive-in. Huh? Yeah! The film, which
Will doesn’t like but endures because he wants to get to know Mike, is
apparently hilarious and very campy.
It’s a violent comic-book adventure about a nun who becomes a superhero
and then morphs into a space alien.
When
they first meet Mike gives Will a mixed tape of his favorite music. When he
receives the tape, Will exclaims, "I thought: my life has finally become
the musical I always suspected it was."
Mike,
who has a girlfriend who attends a different school, has decided to throw
caution to the wind and live in his own truth. While he’s still concerned about
his reputation, he’s tired of the lies. On one of their drive-in dates, Will
spots some of Mike’s friends in another car. Mike asks Will to duck down so no
one can see them together. But as soon as Will complies, Mike regrets his
requests and asks Will to sit up. He decides right then to stop the hiding.
Both
Will and Mike are incredibly patient – to a fault.
After
about a million trips to the drive-in to see the same movie, yes, the same
movie, Will and Mike, who have only had superficial conversations that usually
end up with one word answers like, “yep” and “ums,” finally decide to explore
their feelings. First, it’s a simple touch, sitting closer and finally – du du
duuuuu – the kiss.
Girlfriend is an incredibly romantic,
sweet and touching story that could easily swap out the characters with two
females, or a heterosexual couple. After all Love is Love!
Girlfriend,
book by Todd Almond and directed by Les Waters, stars Ryder Bach and Curt
Hansen. Choreography by Joe Goode, music and lyrics by Matthew Sweet.
Kudos to a fabulous set by David Zinn.
On the DONLOE SCALE: D (don’t bother), O (oh, no), N
(needs work), L (likeable), O (oh, yeah), E (excellent), Girlfriend gets an E (excellent).
Girlfriend, Kirk Douglas Theatre, 9820
Washington Blvd., Culver City; 8 p.m. Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays; 8:30
p.m. Thursdays; 2 and 8 p.m. Saturdays; and 1 and 6:30 p.m. Sundays through
Aug. 9; $25 to $59 (ticket prices subject to change); (213) 628-2772, www.centertheatregroup.org
Running time: 1 hour, 35 minutes, with no intermission.
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