Boys Don't Wear Lipstick.Brian Belovitch's one-man show reveals the face behind the makeup mask * Written and performed by Brian Belovitch * Directed by Keith Greer * Players Theatre, New York City New York City: see New York, city. New York City City (pop., 2000: 8,008,278), southeastern New York, at the mouth of the Hudson River. The largest city in the U.S. (runs indefinitely) For many gay men, accepting their sexual orientation sexual orientation n. The direction of one's sexual interest toward members of the same, opposite, or both sexes, especially a direction seen to be dictated by physiologic rather than sociologic forces. can be a difficult experience. For Brian Belovitch, it included becoming a woman. In his new off-Broadway solo show, Boys Don't Wear Lipstick (at the Players Theatre in Greenwich Village Greenwich Village (grĕn`ĭch), residential district of lower Manhattan, New York City, extending S from 14th St. to Houston St. and W from Washington Square to the Hudson River. ), Belovitch recounts his unusual journey to manhood by retracing the defining moments of his life--primarily those pertaining to the creation of a persona named Tish. Early in the evening the writer-performer says, "Imagine not knowing what you really are." With that left dangling in the air, Belovitch quickly begins tucking, taping, implanting, and hormoning as he reenacts the audacious rise and ultimate fall of Tish. Through a series of flashback flash·back n. 1. An unexpected recurrence of the effects of a hallucinogenic drug long after its original use. 2. A recurring, intensely vivid mental image of a past traumatic experience. monologues, Belovitch takes us along on his ride from '60s sissy sis·sy n. pl. sis·sies 1. A boy or man regarded as effeminate. 2. A person regarded as timid or cowardly. 3. Informal Sister. boy to '70s sassy sas·sy 1 adj. sas·si·er, sas·si·est 1. Rude and disrespectful; impudent. 2. Lively and spirited; jaunty. 3. Stylish; chic: a sassy little hat. Army bride to coke-snorting '80s showgirl. What makes Boys so compelling is Belovitch's edge of authenticity: You never forget that this is his real life story. Set against a projected collage of pictures culled from Belovitch's family photo album (beautifully arranged by multimedia designer Elaine J. McCarthy), Boys becomes a soul-searching memory play bent on Adj. 1. bent on - fixed in your purpose; "bent on going to the theater"; "dead set against intervening"; "out to win every event" bent, dead set, out to recovering the little boy who discovered a cylinder of lipstick among his mother's things, smeared it on his mouth, and found that behind a mask of cosmetics there was a way of coping with being gay--or at least hiding it. But like all masks, this one inevitably cracks. As the play explains, bottoming out on drugs and getting sober may have assisted in Belovitch's final confrontation with the reality of his body and the truth of his sexual orientation, but there is something else at work here. I suspect it dwells in the spiritual realm. It occurs in Boys' final moments, as Belovitch stands before the audience nude--in his own masculine skin, breast implants Breast Implants Definition Breast implantation is a surgical procedure for enlarging the breast. Breast-shaped sacks made of a silicone outer shell and filled with silicone gel or saline (salt water), called implants, are used. surgically removed--and steps into a shower. As he begins to bathe his body, a wave of transcendent joy suddenly leaps through the theater as the boy whom Belovitch has been hiding all along is finally reborn. For more information about Boys Don't Wear Lipstick, go to www.advocate.com Drake is the writer-performer of the play and feature film The Night Larry Kramer Kissed Me. |
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