When Joey Married Bobby

When Joey Married Bobby

at Theatre 80 St. Marks

Reviewed by Mark Peikert

February 07, 2010

PHOTO CREDIT

Delgar

Blame it on "Designing Women" Syndrome, but "When Joey Married Bobby" turns out to be an entertaining and touching comedy, despite its sometimes sloppy script and genial shabbiness. Like the indomitable Julia Sugarbaker of "Designing Women," Sarah Edwards (Tina McKissick) is a fiery Southern woman whose mouth gets her in and out of trouble. While fighting to be named Christian of the Year and simultaneously planning the wedding of her gay son Joey (an amused and confident Matthew Pender), Sarah has plenty of opportunity to annoy practically everyone in her family.

If playwrights John William Gibson and Anthony Wyatt Morris—writing under the pen name William Wyatt—owe a debt to the oeuvre of Del Shores ("Sordid Lives"), there are far worse influences out there. Their women all drip honeyed words from beneath big hair while secretly gossiping about each other; racism is blindly indulged in; and Jesus, despite the belief of Sarah's daughter Sally Joe (Rebecca Dealy), was definitely a white man.

Somehow, between labored David Paterson and Andrew Cuomo jokes (just where is this small Southern town and why would New York's governor be invited to a wedding there?), director Gibson manages to elicit enough fresh, funny performances to keep us amused and interested. Foremost among them are McKissick's and Deborah Johnstone's, as Sarah's mother-in-law, dropping withering bons mots and disdain from the cocoon of her fur coat. But everyone gets the chance to shine—in drag legend Lady Bunny's case, literally, as the sequined wife of the Baptist minister. The entire company seems to be having as much fun as the audience.

But in order to be entirely successful, the cast—particularly McKissick—must slow down. Sarah's big moment comes late in the play, when she proves that despite her innate selfishness, she's really a mother lion. McKissick almost flubs it by delivering her lines at breakneck speed. But we desperately want to savor every sugarcoated jab. When so many gay-oriented plays are intent on cramming their message down audiences' throats, it's pleasant and refreshing to find one that also makes room for a good time.

Presented by and at Theatre 80 St. Marks, 80 St. Mark's Place, NYC. Opened Feb. 6 for an open run. Thu.–Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 3 p.m. (212) 388-0388 or www.theatre80.org.