Written by James Mellon, Directed by Kevin Bailey
“Sissyboy” is a one-man show based on the life of its writer, James Mellon. James also performs the piece and I can honestly say I've never seen a more exquisitely crafted memoire so hilariously and touchingly performed.
James’s journey from young boy to the man we see on stage before us is life so full and funny and bold and without apology. We witness the forming of a brave and beautiful human being in such a spectacular way, his life played out in a nuanced and characterful retrospective packed full of James’s precious memories fondly told and brilliantly performed.
James Mellon became a Broadway performer, he debuted as Riff in Jerome Robbins' revival of West Side Story and also starred in A Chorus Line, and 42nd Street. As a writer he adapted Oscar Wilde’s “The Picture of Dorian Gray” into the musical “Dorian," and has written several other very successful adaptations. His original musical “An Unfinished Song” has been produced all over the world and he has received numerous awards for his work.
But although this play is about James, and we travel with him to New York and through rehearsals and professional relationships and turmoil, it is his ‘life’ rather than his ‘work’ that tellingly takes center stage in his own version of his life story.
His relationships, his search for place and love, and his tenderest and most heartfelt moments are what drives this story.
What James has created with all these moments is something that I wish we might all truly choose to see when each of us reminisces about our lives past. He has hand picked these moments of jubilation, self discovery, loss, love, triumph and the recognition of self in others. He has taken the time, his talent and the nerve to find himself in his own memory and to share that discovery with us.
And what a sweet honor it is to share, even just a little, his tremendous life with him in the theatre he built with his lovely husband Kevin. I felt as if I had been invited to an exclusive dinner party at their home and treated to the exquisite unfolding stories that can happen on very magical evenings when a little wine and a lot of love is present.
The stars align and the music flows and the tap shoes come out and we all sit around and watch, entranced, as old memories are shared and new ones made.
Expect to cry a little, along with James, and then laugh a lot, and, if you are so inclined, to shimmy in your seats. “Sissyboy” is an homage to all the ‘boys’ James had the privilege of knowing and all the life he had the luck to live… and of course it’s far from over yet!!
Perhaps a “Sissyboy 2” in a few more years?
A special mention to Kevin Bailey, James’s husband and the fantastic director of this show. What a gorgeous couple they make and what a talented family they must have!
I highly recommend “Sissyboy.” I have already emailed everyone I know that they would be fools not to rush out and get their tickets to this limited and wonderful production.
“Sissyboy” runs from February 5th to March 5th and the NoHo Arts Center, 11136 Magnolia Blvd, NoHo. (818) 508-7101
TICKETS>>
James Mellon - Writer
Kevin Bailey - Director
Ray Garcia - Choreographer
Luke Moyer - Lighting/set design
Ben Hawkins - Projection Design
Sandra Kuker - Publicist