Sex and the City began its six-season run on HBO in 1998, and not even 9/11 interrupted its fantasyland vision of a Manhattan where Manolo Blahniks were fetishized, cosmopolitans were swilled, and sex was always a la mode. The series, as popular as it was, took a lot of hits for its portrayal of the "modern" woman. "Sex and the City is to feminism what sugar is to dental care," wrote one prominent female journalist. Which all adds up to a perfect storm for the kind of drag cartoons that Heklina and cohorts have created from other television series.
Well, near perfect (more on that later), but the two episodes now on view live at the Victoria Theatre turn the series into a burlesque satire that acknowledges original vicarious pleasures while emphasizing the self-absorbed excesses of its characters. This is the flipside of The Golden Girls, the most popular of these drag reinterpretations, which may have had its Social Security-qualified characters discussing sex. But the scripts used for this Sex and the City run have been edited and salacious-ized to brightly shine the spotlight on all manner of carnal activities.
For those who were regular watchers of the series, the sexual peccadillos of each of the principal characters will be familiar �" and there is a pivotal moment for each to have hers showcased in some exaggerated fashion. The sights of plus-sized Lady Bear as the sexually traditional Miranda Hobbes discovering the pleasures of "tuchus-lingus," D'Arcy Drollinger as the usually hot-to-trot Samantha Jones encountering a plus-sized penis beyond her capacity, Alaska! as the prim Charlotte York practically needing wrestling moves to fight off a date's efforts to get a blow job, or Heklina as the always flawless Carrie Bradshaw letting loose a fart (greatly amplified for our amusement) while in bed with her beloved Mr. Big (Leigh Crow) are pretty damn funny �" at least if your sense of humor is bent in the right direction. Andy Alabran and Jordan Wheeler play the ladies' other sex toys.
While director Drollinger's production has go-go energy, it doesn't solve the problem that these scripts often incorporate brief scenes that on screen can flow into each other but on stage require a blackout and regrouping that, as quick as they are handled, can be as long as the scene itself. TV series such as The Golden Girls are basically written like a stage comedy, with scenes having an arc that end with a button, usually leading to a commercial, that the more movie-like Sex and the City doesn't offer.
But that's most likely a problem for the dramaturges in the audience, with the overall slam-bang exuberance of the production rolling everyone else merrily along its filthy, funny path.
Sex and the City: Live! will run at the Victoria Theatre through Aug. 10. Tickets are $30, available at sexandthecitylive.eventbrite.com.