Show Summary

Diversionary Theatre will kick off its 2006-2007 season with Howard Crabtree’s musical extravaganza When Pigs Fly. During its long off-Broadway run, it was honored with two Drama Desk Awards including Best Musical Revue and two Outer Critics Circle Awards including Best Off-Broadway Musical. "Crabtree's creations send When Pigs Fly soaring to silly heights.... Waldrop's lyrics are skillful and funny."-- N.Y. Daily News. "A good old-fashioned revue given a gay new-fashioned twist.... Gallagher's music is glitter bright and tuneful."-- N.Y. Post."

The show will open on July 21 and is an official event of San Diego Pride. “We’re very happy to be a part of San Diego Pride again this year,” said Dan Kirsch, Diversionary’s Executive/Artistic Director. “Last summer’s production of Confessions of a Mormon Boy was an official Pride event, and it was a great way to connect to the community.” When Pigs Fly will run July 21-August 20. San Diego Pride will be held July 28-30.

Diversionary’s production will be directed by Rick Simas, who is a faculty member of San Diego State University’s MFA Musical Theatre Program, one of only four such graduate programs in the country. At SDSU, he directed the San Diego premieres of Triumph of Love, Honk! and Bat Boy: The Musical, which collectively won 6 KPBS Patte Awards, including “Outstanding Direction.” He just directed the Southern California premiere of No Way to Treat a Lady at North Coast Repertory Theatre in Solana Beach. Musical director is Rayme Sciaroni, and cast members include Trevor Peringer, Anthony Randall, Omri Schein, Erick Sunquist, Eric Vest and Matthew Weeden.

This gay musical revue gets its title from costume designer Howard Crabtree's “dream autobiography.” Howard’s Missouri high school guidance counselor, Miss Roundhole, advises him to get a real job and give up his obsession with theatre. He dreams of putting on lavish musical extravaganzas—like Florenz Ziegfeld, only gay. Miss Roundhole tells him that he’ll make it on Broadway "when pigs fly." But Crabtree holds onto his dream, for he knows he has a unique skill. He has the uncanny ability to take the most mundane items—like a shower hose, toilet plungers, vanity tables—and turn them into fabulous costumes. He uses his God-given talents to prove Miss Roundhole wrong. The results are hysterical and make for a fun-filled evening of great music, uproarious laughter, and high camp.

The show’s songs include such camp classics such as “Light in the Loafers,” “Lord of the Fries,” “Not All Man,” “Wear Your Vanity With Pride” and “Bigger Is Better.” The show’s “political torch songs” will be updated from the original 1996 production by lyricist Mark Waldrop. And when the company proudly belts out "A Patriotic Finale," you'll hear Crabtree's “Have-the-courage-to-be-yourself!” message loud and clear. Though the spirit is gay – in both senses of the word – the tone is inclusive. When Pigs Fly is for anyone who can appreciate being clever and silly at the same time.

Creative Team

Omri Schein	Erick Sunquist	Eric Ves	Matt Weeden
	Anthony Randall	Trevor Peringer

Press Photos

The cast of When Pigs Fly. Pictured l-r: Eric Vest, Erick Sunquist, Anthony Randall, Omri Schein, Matthew Weeden, Trevor Peringer. Photo credit: Barron Henzel.	Omri Schien sings about his favorite politician, Dick.
Eric Vest plays Howard Crabtree, the title character in "When Pigs Fly."	Matt Weeden as Carol Ann Knippel, channeling 'Annie 3.'
Trevor Peringer (left) and Eric Sunquist are "light in the loafers."	The cast of When Pigs Fly.
The cast of When Pigs Fly.

Reviews

THEATER REVIEW
'Pigs Fly' gaily soars to humorous new heights
By Jennifer Chung
July 25, 2006

Howard Crabtree's gayer-than-thou “When Pigs Fly” makes no bones about just what kind of show it is: “The humor is certainly low, but our spirits are high,” the six characters sing in the opening number.

But the campy mock musical revue that kicked off Diversionary Theatre's 2006-2007 season over the weekend isn't all lowbrow humor and high antics (though there's certainly plenty of that). Mark Waldrop's lyrics and skits are sharp and witty, and this talented ensemble works it with flamboyant, um, gaiety under Rick Simas and Lisa Drummond's keen direction.

Crabtree was an imaginatively wacky costume designer who died of AIDS in 1996, just after finishing “Pigs.” He wrote himself into the story, as the young man from Missouri whose high-school guidance counselor once told him he'd make it in theater the day the proverbial pork flew. She suggests instead a career in watch repair, plumbing, gardening supplies or chicken farming.

Omri Schein is wickedly hilarious as the nay-saying counselor, Mrs. Roundhole. He also plays a recurring cocktail singer who croons three innuendo-filled torch songs to Dick Cheney – whom he'd love to join at the VP's “undisclosed location.”

Eric Vest plays the lovable dreamer Howard with wide-eyed optimism and charm. Naturally, he's determined to prove the old shrewish counselor wrong with his own musical revue, with terrific accompaniment provided by Rayme Sciaroni (in rotation with Steve Withers) on piano.

And what a bold, brassy extravaganza it is, with opportunities for each of the six actors to shine and Shulamit Nelson's outrageously funny costumes, based on Crabtree's original designs. There's even some local color – a reference to the forthcoming “Wicked” at San Diego Civic Theatre, a potshot at La Jolla Playhouse's “Zhivago,” and a nod to G. Scott Lacy.

The endless costume changes include the predictable feathers, sequins, top hats and titular airborne pig. But there are also inventive, gaudily amusing outfits like the chaps made out of shag bathroom rugs, a timepiece-as-accessory dress, and a little floral ensemble complete with garden hose.

Matthew Weeden, with impeccable comedic timing, is particularly funny in a host of roles – the reluctant swine, a petulant mermaid and the small-town theater director who decides to write her own musicals. The results are such gems as “Quasimodo,” “Lord of the Fries” and “Annie 3.”

Erick L. Sunquist sparkles with a beautiful voice and legs made for dancing and, apparently, high heels and pantyhose. His showgirl strut in “Bigger Is Better” is a showstopper.

Trevor Peringer seems most at home with Aaron Pomeroy's fun choreography, and adds great physicality even when he's not dancing.

The show was originally created for five performers, but this production accommodates a sixth – perhaps Anthony Randall, who seems to be used mainly as beefcake. He's got a strong voice to match his physique, though his acting is a bit unfocused.

Amid its winkingly corny jokes, sexual innuendoes and general frivolity, the show does slip in a few left-leaning political statements. These are most apparent in the love songs to Cheney, the paean to gay marriage of “Hawaiian Wedding Day,” and the call for tolerance in “A Patriotic Finale” – you can't take the “color” out of Colorado, the “sissy” out of Mississippi or the “homo” out of Oklahoma.

But mostly, “Pigs” is a giddily jaunty, side-splitting good time that demonstrates how minor miracles on a low budget can have high impact.

Conception: Howard Crabtree, Mark Waldrop. Sketches and lyrics: Mark Waldrop. Music: Dick Gallagher. Directors: Rick Simas, Lisa Drummond. Set and sound design: Bret Young. Lighting design: Jen Setlow. Costume design: Shulamit Nelson. Accompanist: Rayme Sciaroni or Steve Withers. Cast: Trevor Peringer, Anthony Randall, Omri Schein, Erick L. Sunquist, Matthew Weeden, Eric Vest.

Jennifer Chung is a San Diego arts writer.

---

Animate objects
Costumes and continuity fuel Diversionary’s funny When Pigs Fly
by MARTIN JONES WESTLIN

One of the cool parts about Diversionary Theatre’s When Pigs Fly is the musical accompaniment—or, to put it another way, the lack of it. A lone pianist (Steve Withers) backs the six singers/dancers in what are often some serious production numbers. Withers is thus just one of the guys, left to rise or fall on his own efforts. There’s an openness and a reassurance in that; now, nobody can hide behind Withers’ mistakes, or he theirs (not that he or they make many).

Withers’ presence makes a total of seven players—eight if you count the curtain, whose chunky red pleats punctuate just about every scene. Everybody and everything, in fact, is under scrutiny in this good gay musical revue, which opens Diversionary’s 21st season. You’re in your element if the camp factor fuels your theater, because the Howard Crabtree-Mark Waldrop script is loony with it. But there’s also a lot going on under the crazy costumes and shaved legs. Watch what happens between numbers, when the actors milk the bridges and create mini-scenes unto themselves. This show is as much a physical continuum as it is a commentary on gay exuberance. No way will it impact gay and straight audiences the same—but on either side, there’s quite a bit to like.

In a sense, the play is a biography—not only did Crabtree help write it, he’s also the main character. Here, he (played by Eric Vest) is mercilessly chastised by high school guidance counselor Miss Roundhole (Omri Schein), who advises him to give up his obsession with the Ziegfeld-style musicals he wants to mount in New York one day. Roundhole predicts Crabtree will make it to Broadway “when pigs fly”—but it’s a cinch Crabtree will get there amid his talent for transforming innocuous objects into outlandish costumes. The finale, “Over the Top,” is his testament to unwavering perseverance.

Crabtree, who died of AIDS in 1996, was a highly regarded costumer, which explains a lot about the garb-driven nature of the piece. There’s so much drag in designer Shulamit Nelson’s wardrobe that co-directors Rick Simas and Lisa Drummond could have staged this thing at a speedway. Matthew Weeden’s frock and wig are a hoot in “Coming Attractions with Carol Ann,” wherein Weeden’s frumpy Carol Ann Knippel announces an imaginary season of musicals at the Melody Barn. Schein dresses down for his cocktail ballads—three sick, too-funny numbers in which he dishes on the torch he carries for Dick Cheney and how he’s pining to “do for you what you are doing to our nation.” At either extreme, choreographer Aaron Pomeroy has done double-edged due diligence. He’s blocked nicely to both the cast’s body types and composer Dick Gallagher’s musical scope.

But it all comes back to Crabtree’s original ideas for the outerwear. It’s amazing how a toilet plunger or a shower hose can enhance gay fashion. Even dressing tables are de rigueur as Crabtree hammers on Broadway’s door in “Wear Your Vanity with Pride.”

Erick Sundquist, by the way, makes a strikingly pretty girl—and he, Trevor Peringer and Anthony Randall do some of their smartest ensemble work between scenes. A look, a kick, a swish, and we’re off to the next Waldrop sketch amid lingering memories of the last, replete with quippy takes on KY jelly and Staten Island fairies.

Has it all been done before? Exactly 1 million times. Gay-inspired cavalcades have been all over the place since the 1950s. Will it all be done again? Exactly 1 million times, especially as gay culture meets with mainstream acceptance. But the thing is that these guys clearly know that. Nobody has any preconceptions about this show’s uniqueness. That takes the pressure off, and a freedom of spirit results at a minimum of personal expense.

Except for Cheney’s. And that’s fine by me.

This review is based on the performance of Aug. 3. When Pigs Fly runs through Aug. 20 at Diversionary Theatre, 4545 Park Blvd., University Heights. $9-$27. 619-220-0097.

---

San Diego Reader
August 3, 2006
Reviewed by Jeff Smith

The mere existence of Howard Crabtree's musical revue's a heartfelt Bronx cheer to the high school counselor who said Howard would only get into showbiz "when pigs fly." Crabtree, who died of AIDS in 1996, is a character in the piece. He reenacts that moment with his counselor and (in a running bit that grows tedious) how the show still might not go on. The message: freedom of expression means becoming more yourself, which for Crabtree meant pushing the envelope of outrageousness. Diversionary costumer Shulamit Nelson matches this impulse with designs (based on Crabtree's originals) so bizarre that every time the red curtains open, on the stage-within-the-stage, you don't know what to expect: four playing-card Queens; for the "Light in the Loafers" number, the loafers light up. And the wigs, especially the preposterous 18th Century hairdos for "Wear Your Vanity with Pride" (as if each performer had donned an Alp), are a hoot. Matt Weeden, terrific in Diversionary's Twilight of the Golds, plays all the divas and makes petulance an art form. Eric Vest gives Crabtree a sunny "let's put on a show" optimism. Trevor Peringer, Anthony Randall, and Erick L. Sunquist (especially in "Bigger Is Better") all contribute. And Omri Schein grabs big laughs in several roles, including that nay-saying high school counselor, and the crooner of a torch song to Dick Cheney ("For you I feel a fever forming / Or is it just global warming?").

Diversionary Theatre, 4545 Park Boulevard, University Heights, through August 13; Thursday at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday at 8:00 p.m. Sunday at 7:00 p.m. Matinee Sunday at 2:00 p.m. 619-220-0097.
Rating: Worth a try.

---

Curtain Calls
By Pat Launer
San Diego Theatre Scene
August 4, 2006
SUMMER CAMP…

THE SHOW: WHEN PIGS FLY, the wacky gay musical revue created and costumed by Howard Crabtree (book and lyrics by Mark Waldrop, music by Dick Gallagher), who died of AIDS at age 41, just days before the show opened Off Broadway in 1996 (and just after he finished his final costume for it). Pigs ran for a whopping 840 performances, winning an OBIE, the Outer Critics Circle Award for Best Musical Review, and the Drama Desk Award for Best Off-Broadway musical.

THE STORY: The grand finale says it all: “Over the Top.” Actor/costume designer Crabtree was absent the day they taught ‘subtlety’ in school. But he didn’t miss his life-changing encounter with a pinched and bitter guidance counselor in his small Missouri town, who inadvertently gave him the title for his show. That’s how she told him when he’d make it as a performer and costume designer. So, this is his revenge play. It’s also his fantasy autobiography. In the show, Howard is an idealistic visionary/fantasist who never met a marabou he didn’t like. Sequins and feathers were mother’s milk to him. He was inspired by everyday objects; Crabtree could take a shower hose, a toilet plunger, a vanity table and turn it into, if not high art, then certainly high camp. His costumes, reproduced (more or less) for every production, are alone worth the price of admission. First, we meet Howard as ‘Dream Curly’ (one of many references to Broadway musicals, this one recalling Oklahoma—or maybe he predicted its late sequel, Oklahomo). In a very fey/gay show, Howard is the straight man (so to speak); he’s the sweet optimist who’s sure he can put on the elaborate, outrageous revue of his dreams, despite costume malfunctions, prima donna diva behavior and other assorted ills. And don’t think that purse-lipped guidance counselor doesn’t make repeat appearances, to rub his nose in his potential for failure. A few sly political comments aside, this is feathery-light fare, with a bubbly, feel-good ending -- when the titular porkers do, in some way, take flight.

THE PLAYERS/PRODUCTION: Director Rick Simas (with co-director Lisa Drummond) has gathered three of his talented and versatile SDSU musical theater alums to drive the action. And drive this big unwieldy, outrageous tank of a show they do. Omri Schein, a really funny/gifted guy, is especially comical as the soul-destroying guidance counselor, Miss Roundhole, and the white-tuxed lounge lizard singing torch songs to Dick Cheney (uproarious new lyrics added for this production by lyricist Mark Waldrop). Matt Weeden plays the head Queen, and also the side-splitting Carol Ann Knippel, artistic director of the Melody Barn, a small-town theater that specializes in musicals of its own creation, such as (not really that funny or unlikely any more) Quasimodo (there is/was a musical version of “The Hunchback of Notre Dame”) and Annie 3. Adorable Eric Vest plays the ever-cheerful Crabtree with an endearing innocence. Trevor Peringer (with his million-dollar smile) and Erick L. Sunquist (who makes a great-looking woman in any costume) carry most of the dance moves (choreography by Aaron Pomeroy). Anthony Randall (stiff but incredibly hunky) provides eye-candy in his small roles.

The costumes (inventively constructed by Shulamit Nelson and Linda Pate, based on Crabtree’s original, off-the-wall designs) are the highlight of this goofball evening. And the wild wigs (created by Peter Herman and Cindy Kinnard) are to die for, especially those far out, foam French-fop creations. The skits and scenes are variable and often silly, but the lyrics (like the text, written by co-creator Waldrop) are witty and the music is bouncy (composed by Dick Gallagher, who died last year at age 49). Accompanist Steve Withers brings the songs to life, and gets into the act for a moment or two.

But honestly, how many shows of the ‘We’re Here/We’re Queer’ variety have been produced in the past decade? Too many to count. And this one feels decidedly retro. It was the perfect entertainment for Pride weekend. The audience ate up every minute of it. Still, there’s a fine line between intentional corn and insufferable camp, and it’s crossed a few too many times. I firmly believe that the clever, rousing first act ender, “A Patriotic Finale,” should be the official gay anthem. It’s about diversity and the contributions/importance of gays to America: “Without US there is no U.S.A.” Some of the verses, like, “You can’t take the color out of Colorado,” “You can’t take the Mary out of Maryland” and “You can’t have New York City without Queens,” are really really good, but my all-time favorite is “Just try to take the K-Y from Kentucky.” Now THAT made me laugh out loud.