THEATER
Chaotic, Campy Queer Fantasia
Musical romp throbs with wit, charm
BY DAVID KENNERLEY
If you went to Cherry Grove
on Fire Island, had one too
many Cosmos at the Ice Palace
Underwear Party, passed
out while stumbling through the
Meat Rack wearing nothing but
your Nasty Pig jock strap, and
had a wild fever-dream, it might
be something like “Camp Morning
Wood: A Very Naked Musical.”
The title pretty much says it
all. The musical comedy, fully revamped
since its popular run in
2019 just in time to celebrate Pride
month, is as campy as it gets. And
yeah, for much of the show, the
guys are fully naked, letting it all
hang out. Conceived and directed
by Marc Eardley, with a book
and lyrics by Jay Falzone, this
zany romp is a demented mashup
of “The Wizard of Oz,” “Into the
Woods,” and “Rocky Horror.”
I should probably note that this
is a live, in-person Off-Broadway
show whose main aim is to tickle
the funny bone, titillate the limbic
system, and forget your troubles
for a spell. There’s no point in calling
out fl aws in production values,
narrative logic, pacing, or acting
and singing abilities. It’s scrappy
and slapdash by design, and that
adds to the charm.
In fact, you could say “Camp
Morning Wood” carries on the illustrious
way-gay tradition of Charles
Ludlam and the Ridiculous Theatrical
Company from the 1960s and
70s, which parodied classics with
a wry, fl amboyant fl air.
The plot, such as it is, centers
on a handsome horndog named
– what else – Randy (Thomas Delgado).
He’s driving deep into the
Catskills, in pursuit of a “super-hot
twink” he’s been chatting up on
Grindr, but gets lost, both physically
and emotionally. He’s just
turned 30, you see, and he’s looking
for love and validation in all the
wrong places.
After Randy blows a tire and
runs off the road, he wakes up to
fi nd himself in the magical, gay
naturalist retreat of the title, where
he meets a motley band of campy
Check out “Camp Morning Wood: A Very Naked Musical” at the Asylum Theatre.
campers. There’s Titus (Da’Merius
Ford), a savvy Black man who enjoys
shattering stereotypes and
Derek (Chris Ogren), an unassuming
cutie with a dark streak. He
also meets Hunter (Anthony Logan
Cole), a geeky bear with a taste for
leather, Jacques (Brady Vigness),
a spirited, fl irty optimist with a
French accent (think Lumiere from
“Beauty and the Beast”), and Kincaid
(Sean Stephens), the cocky,
condescending, aforementioned
super-hot twink.
“Are you a good bitch or a bad
bitch?” Titus asks the dazed newcomer,
in one of the many hat-tips
to, well…you know.
When the closeted, money-grubbing
Republican Senator Snatch (a
badass Shelton Lindsay) threatens
to take over their land, the campers
spring into action. But will they
be able to save their beloved sanctuary?
“Camp Morning Wood” is at its
best during the musical numbers,
where the witty lyrics and sly references
to other musicals, from
Sondheim to Disney, are highly entertaining.
To its credit, the show
refuses to take itself too seriously,
with self-referential quips like
“This whole song is just one big
metaphor.” The zippy pre-recorded
score is by Trent Jeffords, Derrick
Byars, Matt Gumley, and Jeff
Thomson.
Not that “Camp Morning Wood”
is total frivolity. What with all the
pendulous penises and talk of
“taking care of morning wood,”
the ethos is more sex-positive
than boner-inducing. What shines
through is the importance of positive
body image, exposing vulnerability
without the barrier of
clothing. The actors were thoughtfully
cast to represent a full range
of male body types, and, let’s be
frank, penis sizes.
“Everyone is beautiful,” Eardley
said of his casting strategy. “Bodies
are beautiful and confi dence
can come from the inside if humans
are supported the right way.
We hope our show reminds everyone
of that.”
In the expository number near
the top of the show, the campers
sing a ditty with an inclusive message:
“Come one and all, ‘cause big or
small…ev’ry ugly duck’s a swan
here. We leave our judgements at
the gate: there’s no fi ght and no
debate. The only thing we hate is
hate.”
JEFFREY JOHNS
The Asylum Theatre, normally a
comedy club, is an ideal venue for
this production. The intimate basement
space has an appealingly
gritty underground vibe, and has
a bar where theatergoers are welcome
to buy drinks (highly recommended)
throughout the 90-minute,
intermissionless show.
As I see it, the joy was intensifi ed
because, for most of the audience,
including myself, this was their
fi rst in-person performance inside
a theater since the shutdown due
to COVID some 15 months ago.
People seemed beyond thrilled to
be sharing a communal experience
of live theater once again. Proof of
vaccination is required, and masks
are optional.
If you’re not yet comfortable literally
rubbing elbows with cheering,
unmasked strangers in a confi ned
space, you may wish to sit this one
out. May I suggest hopping the next
train and ferry to Cherry Grove?
CAMP MORNING WOOD: A
VERY NAKED MUSICAL | Asylum
Theatre, 307 W. 26 St. | June 11
and 18 at 9:30 p.m.; June 12 and 19
at 2 p.m. and 5 p.m.; June 13 and
20 at 2 p.m. | $60; campmorningwoodthemusical.
com | 90 mins., no
intermission
June 24 - June 30, 2 68 021 | GayCityNews.com
/GayCityNews.com
