Casa Valentina

I have to admit that Harvey Fierstein is some sort of theatrical genius and, to boot, he has been out and proud for a hell of a long time.  The majority of his projects (but not all) have been gay-themed and he has reaped the rewards for going mainstream both as a playwright and as an actor.  Within the theatrical community in New York you might call him “beloved” since he makes a huge amount of money for the people who back his projects, both gay and straight.  He has used this power to benefit LGBT rights and does his best to right gay wrongs when and where he perceives them.  His voice is gravelly and loud and he can be heard from miles away, both literally and figuratively (and creatively).

Ostensibly his new Broadway play, Casa Valentina, is not “gay-themed,” but if you agree with that you’ve got your brain up the wrong pair of underwear.  Admittedly, there are no gay characters in CV (well, maybe at least one) but that doesn’t make it not a gay-themed play.  Does that make any sense?  The timeframe of the play is the early 60’s and the setting is a resort in the Catskills (New York) where a group of cross-dressing heterosexual men seek the freedom of living and, yes, breathing that particular personal fresh air in an atmosphere in which they can feel safe (and uninhibited).  The concept of this play is based on historical fact.

Two things make this a gay-themed play.  One is that the serpent in this “safe” garden is the fact that 97% (that might be a made-up number but it has to be close to the truth) of the world thinks men who dress as women are homosexual, but the men depicted in the play hate that and some of them are actually, and factually, homophobic.  Secondly, being a play written by Harvey Fierstein, there are innumerable and sometimes hilarious “gay” zingers delivered campily (is that a word?) in grand, drag-queen RuPaul-worthy style.  Fierstein even has the audacity to make one of his characters an aficionado of Oscar Wilde so he not only gets in his own time-honored zingers but he gets to quote Oscar’s.  So we get a double-whammy of flamboyant gay (and sometimes vicious) cleverness.

I think it was probably a choice the playwright and the director had to make as to just how feminine these men would be portrayed (including a lip-synched and nicely choreographed amateur musical number in the second act) as opposed to essentially masculine men who don’t change their basic behavior but are just dressed in women’s clothes.  I mean, did these men go to this resort to dress as women and relax or did they turn into drag queens as opposed to just being basic transvestites?  This question is not answered, at least to my satisfaction.

Most of the actors (all rumored to be straight) are really good at disappearing into their feminine roles; but a couple were obviously uncomfortable and, therefore, I think they failed in supporting what the play intended.  But, hey, it was fascinating to see how these theatrical veterans coped with what they were given.  Their bravery is admirable.  The two women in the play are merely bland foils to the men (presumably as directed) but also it seemed to me that neither actress really had any insight as to what drove their character’s, well, character.

The climatic ending struck a nicely ambiguous note, leaving the audience wondering what happens next.  At first I objected to this and felt a bit snookered but then, upon further reflection, I’ve decided that’s how it should be.  We don’t need to have the play “wrapped-up” and presented to us like a present.  Overall, I think Casa Valentina needs some judicious editing, especially in the middle of the first act, and I wonder if Mr. Fierstein just couldn’t bring himself to cut some of those campy, and admittedly delicious, drag-queen zingers.