Moving musical proud of its agender
By FRANK SCHECK
Last Updated: 3:37 AM, October 7, 2011
http://www.nypost.com/p/entertainment/theater/moving_musical_proud_of_its_agender_Z384jmqnRDwVob8Nd1tofL (http://www.nypost.com/p/entertainment/theater/moving_musical_proud_of_its_agender_Z384jmqnRDwVob8Nd1tofL)
As touching as it is idiosyncratic, "Southern Comfort" effectively redefines the term "family musical." Based on a 2001 Sundance award-winning documentary about transgender people in rural Georgia, it features perhaps the strongest family to be seen on a New York stage.
Five of the six central characters in this musical by Dan Collins (book and lyrics) and Julianne Wick Davis (music) are transsexuals. The patriarch of the clan is the 50-something Robert (Annette O'Toole), who's dying, ironically enough, of cervical cancer. His partner is Lola (Jeff McCarthy), a hulking figure who struggles to wear blouses that downplay her massive shoulders. Robert also has two young men in his life that he treats as sons: Maxwell (Jeffrey Kuhn) and Cas (Todd Cer-veris), whose respective girlfriends are Cori (Natalie Joy Johnson) and Stephanie (Robin Skye); only Stephanie was born female.