The Sound of Music Drag Show
Do you think Captain von Trapp is a drag? Well, a production playing at this year’s Melbourne International Comedy Festival (MICF) is keen to prove you’re right. Amanda Monroe talked to Darlene Taylor about “The Sound of Music Drag Show”, and why people who go see it can leave their frocks at home.
Darlene Taylor: “The Sound of Music” has been beloved “family” entertainment for over forty years. Now it’s coming to MICF in a way that Mother Abbess probably wouldn’t approve of. What can audiences expect from the show?
Amanda Monroe: Firstly, to laugh a lot. There’s something so ridiculous about drag queens frolicking in the roles that it’s a guaranteed rib-tickler. I mean really; I’m “Sixteen Going on Seventeen”? Hardly. The audience will also be lulled into fond memories of simpler times and inviting sing-a-long sessions, before being assaulted with subversive double entendres and illusion shattering moments. I’m afraid Hollywood sold us a pig in a poke when they spun a tale about a disciplinarian single parent whose heart was melted by a confident and practical virgin following advice from a knowing Mother Superior. We’re just unravelling that tapestry really.
DT: What, ahem, deviations will there be from the story audiences know and adore? Will Rolf come to his senses and question his commitment to Nazism, and will Maria stay in the convent and shag other nuns?
AM: We can’t give away too many surprises but the true story of what Rolf and Liesl got up to in the garden comes out. The Baroness turns out to be a lot friendlier to Maria than she ever was in the film. Mother Superior’s “Mountain” works out to be much ‘rockier’ than you’d imagine and the children actually do warm to discipline from the Captain, much to Maria’s chagrin.
DT: The media blurb for the production states:
They’ve stirred up a famous musical, added more than a twist or three to the plot, peppered it with pop culture, spiced it with innuendo and baked a deliciously witty, colourful and clever satire on family dynamics, sexuality and gender stereotypes.
How important is it to you to make audiences think about issues surrounding sexuality and gender, as well as give them a fun night out?
AM: The wonderful thing about this show, and especially drag as a performance milieu, is the ability to be more than a bit subversive in your subtexts. I’m sure most audiences just find the silliness, colour and satire screamingly funny, but there’s also (people) who’ll find themselves questioning values, images and concepts, and discovering new ways of thinking about issues that have received scant attention before.
One of the things about the show I really enjoy is hearing laughter ripple through the audience. It’s almost like you can hear different groups of people understanding the different ideas and levels of intention in some of the scenes.
DT: You played the part of “Strong Drag Queen” in an episode of “Kath and Kim”. Although drag has been criticised for supposedly demeaning women, it can be a celebration of the strength and survival skills of both females and gay men. Can you discuss what you think drag is about, and whether you believe one can be a fragile drag queen?
AM: At a philosophical level, I think drag’s the basic challenge to binary thinking and from that challenge springs all art.
The attachment of drag to gay culture is fairly recent in historical terms, which is probably why its manifestations these days are generally so ‘Priscilla’. If you think more out of the box…you end up with drag performances like Mark Trevorrow’s “Bob Downe” character. Not quite big hair and impossible lashes.
As for being a fragile drag queen, you have to have a fairly solid sense of self to slip across such a fluid divide as male-female and return unscathed, and that’s probably what distinguishes a drag queen who can communicate in performance versus one who entertains you with the process rather than the message.
DT: Apart from possibly getting the chance to hear the sublime “Climb Ev’ry Mountain” (you’ve got to love that sexy Mother Abbess), why should comedy fans frock up and see “The Sound of Music Drag Show”?
AM: Well, frocks are optional – that’s our job actually. Probably the best reason is summed up by our initial motivation: We wanted to make a show for people who love the film but also a show for people who hate (it), and I think we’ve managed that quite well.
There’s also a bit of deep thinking and humorous subtext available for the comedy connoisseurs out there. For those who just like clowns and slapstick, there’s our approximation of synchronised choreography and Mother Abbess’s air guitar talent.
As a famous Zen master said, ‘Nothing is left to us, but to have a good laugh’, and if you’re hoping to die laughing this is the show (for you). Well, maybe not actually die, but at least have a bit of a laugh. In fact, you should plan to have a whack of Botox before you come if laugh lines are a big issue. I’m “Sixteen Going on Seventeen” so I don’t worry about that.
The Sound of Music Drag Show is on at MICF from the 5th to the 15th of April at the Bosco Theatre, Federation Square. Tickets available from Ticketmaster or at the door.