When's
the last time you heard
a street-wise Latino drag/hustler
name-
drop British philosopher Alfred
North Whitehead? Or
learned the mythic secrets of ancient Japanese
Samurai from a source more "Gilda Radner"
than "Joseph Campbell" in spirit? Or
witnessed archaic Sappho stride across a stage
poetizing, with just a touch of Joey Heatherton
in her gait?
You
can see all of that and more in
Jade Esteban
Estrada's charming, ambitious and, yes,
scholarly one-man show "ICONS: The Lesbian
and Gay History of the World, Vol. 1,"
currently touring the U.S.
Though
I had only heard of him as a musical performer,
Estrada appears perfectly at home on the
theatrical, (and especially the comedic), stage.
With a keen, coy and sometimes wicked wit, he
skillfully blends gay silliness with academic
erudition in a way that both entertains and
educates.
Through
original songs, dance, costumes and monologues,
Estrada gleefully channels such famous
characters as Sappho, Michelangelo, Oscar Wilde,
Gertrude Stein, Silvia Rivera (of Stonewall
Rebellion fame) and even Ellen DeGeneres. He
lovingly takes on the roles of these historic
"icons" and relishes speaking their
great thoughts aloud.
Onstage,
Estrada carries himself through his characters
with flowing, self-assured body language.
Amusingly, he has the ability to come off as
both innocent and naughty at the same time--with
a kind of Barbara Eden-as-Jeanie demeanor. He
delivers his icons' thoughts via beautiful
smiles and loving eyes (so much so that when,
late in the show, he arrives at the
ultra-deadpan persona of Gertrude Stein, the
change comes as a shock).
Here
and there, to punctuate a poignant idea or to
just make us laugh, he purposely steps out of
character to briefly deliver a side comment or
wisecrack using his own sweet personality, to
great effect. Since some of his icons lived
hundreds, even thousands of years ago,
Estrada
is thus time-traveling at high-speed all over
the stage.
"ICONS"
emphasizes the universality of each gay/lesbian
icon's contribution to the world, the value
contributed by each icon's life and thoughts not
just to GLBT people, but to all people. Indeed,
the message of
Estrada's
play may well be that all our lives and thoughts
are of importance to all people. I particularly
enjoyed the choice of quotes in "ICONS." It managed to create
more than a few "I never knew that about
him/her" murmurs among the packed
opening-night house during the evening.
In this day and age, it's heartening to see a
young person so into the teaching, awareness and
appreciation of the humanities and world
history. While "ICONS" will surely
succeed in its current tour of theatrical
entertainment venues across the U.S., I hope
Estrada also gives a thought to it's potential
in high schools as a valuable tool for educating
students in both GLBT history and the
humanities. It is a show worthy of a grant.
©2005
AfterElton.com
