Savannah Cabaret promises big dumb '80s fun with "Time Traveling Drag Queens"
Save the prom, save the world.
No, this isn’t a prequel to the hit NBC show “Heroes.” It’s Savannah Cabaret’s “Time Traveling Drag Queens in the 1980s!” at Club One, 7 p.m., on May 12 and 14.
“Last year we did ‘Time Traveling Drag Queens in the 1940s!’ which was where the three drag queens find a time-traveling device,” said Rick Garman, founder and producer of Savannah Cabaret. “They don't know what it is. They hit the big red button on it, and they wind up in the 1940s and have to help a USO troop put on a show for the troops.”
The night of big band songs and American standards was such a hit that Garman decided to bring it back. This time the time-traveling device propels the drag queens to the 1980s where they are tasked with helping some high school kids save prom.
“We've got the nerd and we've got the jock and the mean girl and virgin, and all those great stereotype characters you saw from '80s high school movies.”
As it turns out, Garman explains, there’s a greater purpose for their trip through time. The drag queens aren’t just helping a USO troop or a bunch of high school kids. These quests are actually saving the world.
“They have to fix something or bad things will happen in the future. So, saving prom has bigger consequences.”
The hard task of culling an '80s song list
Of course, as with any show from Savannah Cabaret, there will be lots and lots of songs. The '80s had so many hits that are still well remembered today. At the surface level, it seems as if it would be easy to choose which songs to include, but Garman said that was not the case.
“I'm a child of the '80s, and I wanted to do it right.”
Garman started with a list of 1,000 songs and managed to narrow it down to 300. After pitching the list to the cast, they collectively narrowed it down to 50 including “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” by Cyndi Lauper, “Physical” by Olivia-Newton John, and “Total Eclipse of the Heart” by Bonnie Tyler. That’s still a lot considering most of their shows only include about 20 songs. Garman said even after writing the script, he kept discovering more songs and artists he forgot to consider.
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“I'm like, oh my God, how do I not have the Eurhythmics? How do I not have the Bangles? It's like every song kept coming on and I'm like, oh, I don't have Huey Lewis & The News. It was like breaking my heart. So, we might have to do another '80s show to get everything else in.”
Not only is this the biggest song selection for any Savannah Cabaret show, “Time Traveling Drag Queens in the 1980s!” has the biggest cast with 13 people. Garman said as soon as he announced the plan to have another “Time Traveling Drag Queens” show, he was bombarded by requests from actors to be in it.
“It's an enormous show. It's the biggest one we've ever done.”
There will be familiar faces, such as Sallie Just Sallie and Hannah Dodson, and newer faces to the cabaret such as Lauren Ledger and Ethan Goble. There will also be a returning performer from last year’s “Time Traveling Drag Queens.”
“It was actually [Kevin Hincapie’s] first time in drag. He'd never done drag before. Since doing the show, he moved to New York and then Miami, and he's been performing regularly. When I wanted to do this show, he sent me a text. He’s like, 'I will come back. Is there any way you could move it to May? If you can, I will come back for that show.' So, we moved it to May, and he is coming back from Miami and is going to spend two and a half weeks here just to do this show.”
Since Savannah Cabaret performs at Club One, the club will be making it an entire week of '80s fun with one night being '80s drag bingo, another night being '80s karaoke, another being an '80s dance party and much more. To find out more about all of these events, and to purchase tickets for “Time Traveling Drag Queens in the 1980s!”, go to ClubOne-online.com or SavannahCabaret.com.
“It's going be big and dumb and fun like the 80s were.”
If You Go >>
“Time Traveling Drag Queens in the 1980s!”
7 p.m., May 12 and May 14
Club One’s Bay Street Theatre, 1 Jefferson St.
This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Savannah Cabaret Time Traveling Drag Queens promise big dumb '80s fun
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