Darren Day playing a suicidal, gay, HIV positive,
Christian crossover one-hit wonder (the Baptist Barry Manilow no less)?
Actually this is a whole heap better than it looks on paper. Loosely based on
the show’s lyricist and composer Steve Schalchlin’s own experiences, his
partner Jim Brochu wrote the book and the show became on off-Broadway hit in
1997.
Set over one evening in a disused nuclear fall-out
shelter that has been converted into a studio, Gideon, Darren Day, is recording
an album’s worth of songs reflecting on the last ten years of his life and his
struggle with AIDS. The equilibrium is upset when one of his backing singers is
unexpectedly replaced by an aspiring singer from the south who is Gideon’s
biggest fan but also a fully signed up member of the fire and brimstone bible
bashing fraternity. Previously unaware of Gideon’s sexuality, he makes it his
mission to save Gideon from the hell and damnation that is certain to await
him.
With two feisty females making up the backing trio,
Tryshia, who sacrificed her career for her family, and Vicki, who sacrificed
her career for good times and innumerable husbands, sparks fly with only world
weary Jim, the studio owner, to calm stormy waters with his well intentioned
witty interventions.
One by one the gorgeous gospel infused songs reveal
Gideon’s struggles with his sexuality and his illness, the support and
unconditional love of his partner Jack and the blackness that has bought him to
this one last recording session.
The cast really is faultless. Day has probably the
hardest role as his is the central story and there is little levity to break
the gloom, but he proves to be the flame around which all the others flutter. I
had previously dismissed Day out hand simply because of the tabloid inches he
seems to fill, his notoriety coming before any assessment of his talent, but
there is a reason he is successful and his singing voice is a rare gift, ably
conveying emotions in a line that would otherwise take pages of dialogue. I just
wish he was able to accompany himself on the piano, as his miming to an
off-stage pianist is unconvincing, especially at such close quarters. He is supported
by four great actors. Lucy Vandi and Simone Craddock sparking off each other
and scoring points as Tryshia and Vicki; Ron Emslie’s world weary Jim a
masterclass in subtle underplaying, anxious and worried about his friend but
with a wry quip never far from his tongue; and finally A J Dean, sensational in
an almost thankless role as the blinkered Christian homophobe Buddy, eventually
letting his guard slip as the humanity of the situation outweighs his staunch
Baptist beliefs. It would be tough to convince an enlightened metropolitan
audience that Buddy deserves anything less than excommunication so extreme are
his views, but Dean allows the vulnerability of the small boy alone in the big
city shine through so that both Day’s Gideon and us behind the fourth wall of
the studio can glimpse the chance for his salvation from bigotry. This in turn gives
Gideon hope that his redemption from the dark recesses of his soul is achievable
with the love of Jack and his friends.
If I’m brutally honest, there are occasions when the book does slip into mawkish sentimentality that is difficult for us Brits to stomach, but these are few and far between and are more than outweighed by the wonderful songs and the truly magnificent performances from the 5 strong cast. The first act closer, Going It Alone, has stayed with me ever since I left the theatre. There are apparently both dvd and cast recordings to come in January and I will be first in the virtual queue at Amazon.
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