Gender Wars Reach Fever Pitch in Hilarious Happy Birthday Baby J
Here’s a play for those of us who are endeavouring to come to grips with the increasing complexities of living in a gender-diverse society where sexuality is expressed in a very fluid and ever-changing manner. Even the lexicon of describing this rainbow-coloured world is full of traps for those who may have missed the subtleties of old-fashioned words that have changed meaning, seemingly overnight. It seems that only yesterday there were only two options – gay and straight. Now you can pick from a smorgasbord – pan, asexual, queer, two-spirit, transgender, and on and on.
Into this quagmire leaps Shadow Theatre with the world premeire of Nick Green’s new play Happy Birthday Baby J. It runs in the Varscona Theatre through Feb. 9.
Green is a prolific Canadian playwright who has written many works since he moved to Edmonton in 2003 (Two Queens and a Joker, Coffee Dad, Dead Chicken Mom and The Fabulous Buddha Boy) and a whole series of comedies, farces, musicals and vaudevilles. In the past 10 years, he has moved to Toronto where he has become one of our best know playwrights. Green has won both Sterling and Dora Awards.
Green peoples Happy Birthday Baby J with a group of social sharks – blissfully unaware of the rancid waters in which they swim. The tone is admirably set by a priceless 10-minute acid monologue from Louise (Chantal Perron) right off the head, outlining a children’s party where the poor kids are pawns in the deadly social games their parents play.
One blissful summer weekend Gary (David Ley), a mature University lecturer, and his motor-mouthed wife Louise, invite friends and family to celebrate the 2nd birthday of their two-year old, Baby J. The parents are endeavouring to raise J without gender. They obviously want to be progressive – because they are convinced that many of today’s problems with young people are really all about pronouns. The party is not about the kid at all – he-she isn’t even invited, but trotted out for a short “Oh, isn’t that cute” moment.
As Louise spits out when everything seems to be going wrong, “This is my kid’s fucking birthday party and we’re going to have a fucking good time.”
Also at home is Megan (Patricia Cerra), a young university graduate harbouring a dark relationship with her family.
Tensions rise when their gay (very gay) friend Patrick (Mathew Hulshof) brings his new boyfriend Karomie (Cameron Grant). Patrick fancies himself a plain talker but has desperate needs of his own and much of his frustration is taken out on Karomie. The entire rickety structure of these arrogant, super-rich, self-absorbed people comes tumbling down. This is indeed fertile ground for Green’s sheaf of pointed arrows as he fires a fusillade of sharp ripostes, put downs and zingers as the fulcrum of power crazily shifts from one character to another.
Green is a very funny writer and Happy Birthday Baby J is a well-crafted play. His people may be high-functioning psychotics but he goes to some lengths to show that they are products of sexism, racism, homophobia and privilege – and are quite hilarious in their self-deception. They are, however, well-intentioned. The playwright’s spiky, original dialogue sparkles from beginning to end. There is even a glimmer of hope that some of them might find some degree of awareness.
Director John Hudson has pulled superb performances from his company. At one point, the director delivers a show-stopper of a scene as the characters sit in a line along a table to deliver to each other, the audience and the spheres – a series of bits, harangues and personal confessions. Perron is never less than remarkable as the wounded but tenacious family matriarch. Ley plays Gary as a bit of a twit who regards his wife with a degree of long-suffering patience. Grant is solid as the ever-patient boyfriend. Hulshof, playing the flamboyant gay, attracts the most laughter and is the one who becomes the most unglued at the dinner table. Patricia Cerra’s Megan provides a needed semblance of normalcy and pertinent observation – but even she has issues.
Happy Birthday Baby J unpacks a wealth of emotions and is both absorbing and compelling.
Photos by Marc J Chalifoux
