Lifestyle

By Mark A Leon

Last night at Queen Street Playhouse, the Footlight Players opened their new production of “The Legend of Georgia McBride” written by Matthew Lopez and directed by Kyle Barnette.

A strong indicator of an excellent piece of live theater is the traditional standing ovation, but when the theater is so electrified you can feel the positive power of love and excitement with the cheers, screams, singing and glowing vibes, you realize you have something special.

This is something special.

At its core, “The Legend of Georgia McBride” is a love story.  Love for family, dreams, passion, acceptance, and the celebration of life.  Though it is structured in two-acts, this play takes on four unique journeys through the articulate direction of Kyle Barnette.  Over the course of this 90-minute production, you will see the struggles of young lovers, risks of sacrifice, passion and self-discovery and finally concluding with a jubilee of love, inclusion, and family.

Casey is played remarkably by Charleston newcomer Brandon Chinn transforming both physically and deep in the heart of his soul.  His portrayal of a passionate singer/songwriter, Elvis Impersonator, drag queen, impending father and local townie struggling with to find his own identify with done with poise, charm, and incredibly timed humor.   On stage, Brandon shined through expressive non-spoken acting sequences that left the crowd going wild.  His internal struggles between his two lives finally coming together were one was well crafted.

Imani Lloyd, plays Casey’s beautiful wife whose performance was relatable to so many in the audience dealing with the financial struggles of livability and realities of starting a family.  Lloyd maneuvered her way through her own emotions with strength and compassion.  Her style had a natural glow that lit up the stage.

To say that Jackson Clark Haywood, who plays Miss Tracy Mills, could own the stage with every scene, would be an understatement.  Jackson became the persona of Miss Tracy Mills from the attitude to the outfits.  Even through all the flamboyant scenes, there was an unmistakable charm you could not help but gravitate towards.  Bravo to Miss Tracy Mills.

Chad Estel plays Eddie, the owner and operator of Cleo’s Bar, a down on its luck nightclub in the heart of Panama City Beach, who in a time of desperation, finds a savior in Miss Tracy Mills, Rexy and Georgia.  Chad is truly at his most comfortable as a greedy, desperate bar owner with a heart of gold.  Each scene he was in was filled with awkward beauty and we loved it.

Finally, the chameleon Matthew Lombardo who had the dubious task of playing a drunk drag queen (Rexy) and a landlord with low self-esteem with a kind soul.  If you didn’t read this and saw the show, you wouldn’t even realize it was the same actor who played both parts.  Matthew pushed the limits on how far you can take a character, but when Rexy gives Casey a speech about accepting who you are, homophobia, the dark struggles of coming to terms with your true self and the calling of a drag queen, the audience was pulled it.  It was a riveting scene that tied the entire core of the show together.

“The Legend of Georgia McBride” is hysterical!  It is filled with the elements of wit, charisma, passion, love, hope and struggle.  What truly makes this a performance worth seeing is the balance.  At times you will feel empathy, cute spurts of love, excitement, joy and ultimately a deeper understanding of the universalness of dreaming and how love can carry that so much further in life.

Go see “The Legend of Georgia McBride”.  It may be the most fun you will have at the theater.  After all we have been through, we need that.

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