★★★★ “Charming … wry … endearing … clever … over the top … infectious … an absolute delight” — Marin IJ

“This one’s a lot of fun.” Robert Hurwitt, via Facebook

“Impossible to resist ... a rousing good time” Chad Jones, theaterdogs.com

“Full of sass and good spirits” — The New York Times

Times are tough for Elvis impersonator Casey, who performs his act for an audience of zero in a Panama City, Florida dive bar. With the rent long overdue and a baby on the way, desperate Casey watches as a seasoned drag queen named Miss Tracy Mills brings her show to town. After filling in for one of Tracy’s regular girls on short notice one night, Casey decides to trade in his sequin jumpsuit for a sequin dress, and under Miss Tracy’s tutelage, finally achieves stardom. With The Legend of Georgia McBride, MTC joyfully and campily brings a very different side of Matthew Lopez’s repertoire to the Bay Area with this fierce, fabulous and heel-toting showbiz comedy.


Mr. Lopez’s The Whipping Man received both Obie and Lucille Lortel Awards and the John Gassner New Play Award from the New York Outer Critics Circle. 


Performance Schedule

Evenings

Tue - Sun 7:30pm

Matinees 

Sun (Preview) June 11, 4:00pm
Thu (Perspectives) June 22, 1:00pm
Sat, June 17, July 1 & 8, 2:00pm
Sun June 18 & 25, July 2 & 9, 2:00pm

Ticket Prices

Performance Center
seating
Side
seating
Previews (June 8 – 11) $37 $37
Opening Night (June 13) $60 $55
Sat Eve $60 $55
Tue*, Wed, Thu, Fri & Sun Evening $49 $44
Matinees $49 $44
Best Deal (all shows, limited availability) n/a $25

* Excludes Opening Night.

Prices subject to change. 

Phone orders subject to a $10 per order fee; online orders subject to a $3 per order fee

Disabled seating is currently only available through the MTC Box Office (415.388.5208 or in person). We apologize for any inconvenience.

Discounts

GROUPS – Bring eight or more people to receive a $7 discount on tickets. Click here or call 415.388.5208.
SENIORS (65+) – $4 off any performances
MILITARY – $6 off all performances. Learn more
UNDER 30 – $22, all performances
EDUCATOR – $12, all performances (limit 2). Must teach at a Marin County School. Contact the Education Dept. to request.
TEENS – $10, all performances

Discounts and special rates available only by calling or visiting the Box Office in person: (415) 388-5208
Promo Codes distributed for online redemption subject to availability. 
Only ONE (1) Promo Code will be valid per order. 
Promo Codes do not apply to Best Deal ($25) tickets.

Select a Performance

To begin your ticket purchase, select a performance from the calendar below:

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Cast

  • John R. Lewis*

    John R. Lewis*

    Eddie

    John R. Lewis (Eddie) was last seen at MTC as Baloo in The Jungle Book. Other favorite recent credits include The Memory Stick at San Jose Stage Company; The Unfortunates at the American Conservatory Theater; Don Quixote at Marin Shakespeare Company; The Tempest and Much Ado About Nothing at Cal Shakes; and Cymbeline at the New Orleans Shakespeare Festival. This fall, he will play Bottom in A Midsummer Night's Dreamwith the Davis Shakespeare Ensemble. Lewis received his training at Southern Oregon University in Ashland.

    + Show more
  • Jason Kapoor*

    Jason Kapoor*

    Rexy/Jason

    Jason Kapoor (Rexy/Jason) previously appeared at Marin Theatre Company in Guards at the Taj and The Invisible Hand. Born and raised in San Jose, he has appeared in both the world premiere and the recent off-Broadway productions of Ideation by Aaron Loeb. Mr. Kapoor was recently seen in American Conservatory Theater’s A Thousand Splendid Suns, and, prior to that, in California Shakespeare Theatre’s Life is a Dream and A.C.T.’s Indian Ink. He has also appeared at San Jose Repertory Theater in The Dresser and on tour as Lennie in Of Mice and Men. Mr. Kapoor earned his B.A. in Theatre Arts from San Jose State University and his M.A. in Classical Acting from the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art.

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  • Adam Magill*

    Adam Magill*

    Casey

    Adam Magill recently appeared at Marin Theatre Company as Jan in Native Son and Arthur de Bourgh in Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley. Bay Area credits include: Macbeth (Berkeley Repertory Theatre), Stupid F**king Bird(San Fransisco Playhouse), The Whale(MTC), The Mousetrap (Shotgun Players), and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (City Lights Theater Company). Mr. Magill is a graduate of the Foothill Theatre Conservatory.

    + Show more
  • ​Kraig Swartz*

    ​Kraig Swartz*

    Tracy

    Kraig Swartz is thrilled to be making his MTC debut. Off Broadway, he appeared in The Voysey Inheritance, The Madras House, A Picture of Autumn and Donogoo at the Mint Theater, Tartuffe at The Pearl and So Help Me, God starring Kristin Johnston at the Lucille Lortel. Regionally, Kraig has worked at the Guthrie, Goodman, Milwaukee Rep., St. Louis Rep., Chicago Shakespeare, Asolo, Coconut Grove, Pioneer, The Wilma and the Kennedy Center. For his work at Philadelphia Theatre Company, Kraig has twice receive the Barrymore Award. Kraig has spent the last 21 summers in the mountains of NH at the Peterborough Players, where he has appeared in over 60 plays, including Six Degrees of Separation, starring MaryBeth Hurt, Romeo and Juliet, starring Jayne Houdyshell, and Our Town, starring James Whitmore. He has appeared on SNL and in the film World And Time Enough.

    + Show more
  • Tatiana Wechsler*

    Tatiana Wechsler*

    Jo

    Tatiana Wechsler is a New York City-based actress and is thrilled to make her MTC debut. Off-Broadway credits include Drama Desk-nominated The Golden Bride (National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene), Julius Caesar (The Acting Company/The New Victory Theater), and the world premiere of Marcus Gardley’s X: Or, Betty Shabazz v. the Nation (The Acting Company/The New Victory Theater). Regional/NYC credits include Girl Versus Corinth (Joe’s Pub/Capital Fringe/NYC Fringe). Film credits include Better to Live (Tribeca Film Festival). Other credits include the concert of Bombshell at the Minskoff Theatre and various appearances at Madison Square Garden, 54 Below, the Skirball Center, Joe’s Pub, Town Hall, Yankee Stadium, the Beacon Theatre, and Radio City Music Hall. Ms. Wechsler is also a writer of songs and words. She is a proud graduate of the New Studio on Broadway at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts, where she received her BFA in Drama.

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Creative Team

  • ​Matthew Lopez

    ​Matthew Lopez

    Playwright

    Matthew Lopez is the author of The Whipping Man, one of the most celebrated and widely-produced new American plays of the last decade. The Legend of Georgia McBride premiered in New York last fall at MCC Theater following a world premiere at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts, where Matthew is serving as the theatre’s inaugural Playwriting Fellow. Other works include Somewhere, Reverberation, The Sentinels and Zoey’s Perfect Wedding. He holds new play commissions from Hartford Stage, Manhattan Theatre Club, Roundabout Theatre Company, The Geffen Playhouse and South Coast Rep. Matthew was a writer on the HBO series The Newsroom and is currently writing the film Dr. Q for Disney and Plan B, for whom he also wrote the screen adaptation of Spanish novelist Javier Marias’ Your Face Tomorrow trilogy.

    + Show more
  • Kent Gash

    Kent Gash

    Director

    Kent Gash is the founding Director of NYU Tisch School of the Arts’ New Studio on Broadway, where he has directed The Mollyhouse, The Who’s Tommy, A Little Night Music, Sweeney Todd, Merrily We Roll Along, The Seven, Nine, and 1776 among others. Kent recently directed the acclaimed Public Theatre production of Robert O’Hara’s Barbecue, The Mountaintop at Trinity Repertory Company and The Comedy of Errors for Oregon Shakespeare Festival. With Broadway veteran Walter Marks, Mr. Gash is co-author and director of Langston in Harlem, which received four 2010 Audelco Awards, including Best Musical. Mr. Gash is the former Associate Artistic Director of The Alliance Theatre at the Woodruff, recipient of the 2007 Tony Award for Excellence in Regional Theatre. Directing credits include God of Carnage, 26 Miles (world premiere), Radio GolfSophisticated Ladies (Suzi Bass Award, Best Choreography), Pacific OverturesJelly’s Last Jam (Suzi Bass Awards, Best Musical, Director and Choreography), and Topdog/Underdog (Co-Production, Alliance, Trinity Rep and New Rep;  Elliot Norton Award-Best Director) tick, tick… BOOM at The Alliance, as well as many others in Atlanta, New York and around the country. Mr. Gash is a Doris Duke Foundation Artist in Residence at Studio Theatre, Washington DC and is a member of the Board of Directors of the National Alliance for Musical Theatre. Mr. Gash has served on panels for National Endowment for the Arts, Theatre Communications Group and is on the Board of the Princess Grace Foundation. He is a graduate of Carnegie Mellon University (B.F.A. in Acting) and the University of California (Master’s in Directing for the Theatre and Television). Future productions include: Tarell Alvin McCraney’s Wig Out at Studio Theatre DC, Gem of the Ocean at South Coast Rep and The Wiz at Ford’s Theatre.

    + Show more
  • Dell Howlett

    Dell Howlett

    Choreographer

    Dell Howlett (choreographer) is full time professor in the NYU/Tisch School of the Arts in the Department of Drama's New Studio on Broadway. He is the recent winner of the prestigious Suzi Bass Award for his choreography for The CA Lyons Project. Directing/Choreography highlights include: WigOut (Choreographer, Studio Theater), The Wiz (Choreographer, Ford's Theater 2018), Crazy for You (Director/Choreographer), DREAM (composer Michael McElroy), All the Kids are Doing It, Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court (dir. Ian Belknap), Ragtime (dir. Erin Ortman), Assassins (dir. Kent Gash), The Boyfriend (dir. Brian Hill), Nine (dir. Kent Gash), and Tearing Down the Walls (dir. Daniel Beatty). Performance highlights include: Aida (Broadway), Andrew Lloyd Webber's Bombay Dreams (Broadway), Pippin(National Tour), West Side Story (Intl. Tour/La Scala Opera House). Dell teaches Ballet, Jazz, Movement Dynamics, runs the summer high school program, and does acting based movement work for a variety of other classes. He is the Artistic Director for YOUNG PERFORMERS OF AMERICA — working closely with his dear friend, Dina Slawson.

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  • Jason Sherwood+

    Jason Sherwood+

    Scenic Designer

    Jason Sherwood is a New York-based set designer. He previously designed Choir Boy at MTC, for which he received a San Francisco Critic's Cricle Award. He is a Drama Desk Award nominee, a Lucille Lortel Award nominee, and an American Theatre Wing Henry Hewes Design Award nominee. Recent designs include The Chainsmokers on Saturday Night Live, New York Theatre Workshop, NY Fashion Week, the Old Globe, the stage adaptation of Frozen for Disney Creative Entertainment, the Culture Project, NY Stage and Film, the Denver Center, Seattle's 5th Avenue Theatre, Shakespeare Theatre, the Alliance, Goodspeed Musicals, Portland Center Stage, and many others. Sherwood is the recipient of the USITT's Rising Designer Award, a LiveDesign Magazine "Young Designer to Watch," several Suzi Bass Award nominations, a Gregory Award nomination, and several BroadwayWorld Award nominations. His work has been profiled in the New York Times, American Theatre Magazine, and LiveDesign Magazine. He is an NYU graduate.

    + Show more
  • Kurt Landisman+

    Kurt Landisman+

    Lighting Designer

    Kurt Landisman has designed lighting for over 50 of MTC’s productions, including August: Osage CountySwimmers, Choir Boy, The Whale, August Wilson’s Fences, Jacob Marley’s Christmas Carol, Topdog/Underdog, Othello, the Moor of Venice and Seven Guitars. His lighting designs have been seen at most Bay Area theaters including A.C.T., Berkeley Rep, San Jose Rep, Aurora Theatre Company, Center REP, San Francisco Opera, Cal Shakes, Magic Theatre and TheatreWorks. He has received numerous San Francisco Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle and Drama-Logue awards. Nationally, Landisman’s designs have been seen at Arizona Theatre Company, Laguna Playhouse, Los Angeles Opera, Minnesota Opera, Sacramento Opera, Virginia Opera, Tulsa Opera, Ballet Arizona, Guthrie Theatre and Cincinnati Playhouse, as well as Off-Broadway at Circle Rep and Douglas Fairbanks Theatre. His association with playwright Sam Shepard included the world premieres of True West and Fool for Love. Internationally, his designs have been seen in Tokyo, Singapore and Shanghai. kurtlandisman.com

    + Show more
  • Kara Harmon+

    Kara Harmon+

    Costume Designer

    Kara Harmon is a Costume Designer living in New York City. As a storyteller, her job is to enhance the emotional, historical and personal stories of each character. Kara’s work has been seen in theatre, film, television, commercials and events. She earned her MFA from Tisch School of the Arts for Design in Stage and Film and BFA from Ithaca College. Recent Costume Design credits include The Mountaintop (Trinity Rep) directed by Kent Gash, Barbecue (Geffen Playhouse) directed by Colman Domingo, Dot (Vineyard Theatre) directed by Susan Stroman, Ethel (Alliance Theatre) directed by Kenneth Roberson, Seven Guitars (Actor’s Theatre of Louisville) directed by Colman Domingo and Much Ado About Nothing (OSF) directed by Lileana Blain-Cruz. Select Associate Costume Design credits include Flashdance the Musical (1st National Tour) Magic Bird (Broadway) Favorite Assistant Design Credits include The Crucible (Broadway) Daredevil (Netflix/Marvel) Boardwalk Empire (HBO) First Date (Broadway) American Idiot (Berkeley Repertory Theatre), and Memphis (Broadway and 1st National Tour). Upcoming projects include Native Gardens (Guthrie Theatre) directed by Blake Robison and teaching Costume Design at Ithaca College.

    + Show more
  • Chris Houston

    Chris Houston

    Composer and Sound Designer

    Chris Houston (composer & sound designer) is a pianist, composer, and sound designer. He has composed music and/or designed sound for over 30 productions at Marin Theatre Company, including Guards at the TajThe Invisible HandThe Oldest Boy; The Convert; The Whale;Failure: A Love Story; August Wilson’s Fences; Jacob Marley’s A Christmas Carol; The Whipping Man; Waiting for Godot; It’s a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play; Topdog/Underdog; Othello, the Moor of Venice; The Glass Menagerie; the world premiere of Bellwether; Seven Guitars; and In the Red and Brown Water. Locally, his designs and compositions have been featured at American Conservatory Theater, Aurora Theatre Company, SF Playhouse, Center REP, Magic Theatre, and the San Francisco Shakespeare Festival.

    + Show more
  • Devon LaBelle

    Devon LaBelle

    Props Master

    Devon LaBelle has created and curated props for Bay Area Children’s Theatre, Berkeley Playhouse, Crowded Fire Theater, Golden Thread Productions, Impact Theatre, Just Theater, Piedmont Players, SF Playhouse, San Francisco Shakespeare Festival, Shotgun Players, TheatreFIRST, and Z Space. Ms. LaBelle also created the scenic design for CFT's Brahman/i: A One-Hijra Stand-Up Comedy Show.

    + Show more


* Denotes member of Actors Equity Association
+ Member, United Scenic Artists
^ Member, Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers

Reviews

  • Life’s a charming drag in Marin Theatre Company’s ‘Georgia McBride’

    A struggling Elvis impersonator finds unexpected success as a drag queen. That’s “The Legend of Georgia McBride,” the comedy that closes out Marin Theatre Company’s 50th season. Written by Matthew Lopez, whose thorny Civil War slave drama “The Whipping Man” MTC produced in 2013, “Georgia McBride” premiered in Denver two years ago and has played several other theaters across the country before coming to Marin for its Bay Area premiere.

    Maybe Casey is a decent Elvis impersonator and maybe he isn’t. The tiny snippet of his act that we see isn’t enough to form much of an impression, although it does tell us that he’s the kind who lip-synchs along to Elvis recordings instead of singing. What we do know is that he’s dedicated. Performing in a Florida dive bar is his passion and the closest thing he has to a job. But nobody even comes to see his act, and he’s being replaced by the owner’s cousin’s drag show — right after he finds out that his wife’s pregnant and they’re on the verge of being kicked out of their home for bounced rent checks. 

    Played with endearing awkwardness by Adam Magill (who was in MTC’s recent productions of “Native Son” and “Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley”), Casey is sort of aimless and irresponsible, not really thinking things through. But he and his wife, Jo (sympathetically aggravated Tatiana Wechsler), clearly adore each other, even though she’s frustrated by having to be the responsible bad cop all the time. 
    Casey falls into drag performance suddenly and involuntarily when he’s drafted into filling in for an incapacitated drag queen. Watching his drag persona develop from deer-in-headlights panic to playful, charismatic self-assurance is a long process, but it’s also the great joy of the show. As terribly awkward as they start out, the drag numbers eventually become an absolute delight in this lively production by director Kent Gash (who also helmed MTC’s productions of “Choir Boy” and “Seven Guitars”), with charmingly comical choreography by Dell Howlett. 

    It’s similarly enjoyable to watch the gradual blossoming of bar owner Eddie as an emcee from painful clumsiness to basking in the limelight, portrayed with cheerful venality by John R. Lewis (Sancho Panza in Marin Shakespeare Company’s 2015 “Don Quixote”).
    Kraig Swartz is marvelously wry as Casey’s drag mentor and performing partner Miss Tracy Mills, a middle-aged drag queen who’s come down in the world and clings to this gig as her last chance. Jason Kapoor (who was in MTC’s last show, “Guards at the Taj,” as well as last year’s “The Invisible Hand”) is hilariously sharp-tongued and prickly as younger full-time drag diva Rexy, in some entertainingly ludicrous costumes by Kara Harmon. Kapoor also plays as Jo and Casey’s amusingly laid-back buddy-turned-landlord. 

    There are certain things that generally happen in this kind of story, so much of the plot of the play is pretty predictable. For one thing, the eventual consequences of Casey not telling his wife about his new job are obvious not just to any observer but to the characters as well. The callbacks to Casey’s previous Elvis obsession feel a little halfhearted and obligatory, but they don’t detract from anything.
    It’s the cleverness of Lopez’s dialogue and the sheer over-the-topness of the lip-synch numbers (from Tammy Wynette and Dolly Parton to the Weather Girls and Lady Gaga) that really sell the otherwise fairly standard-issue finding-yourself narrative, and make the show’s two hours without intermission not feel at all overlong. It’s hard not to get swept up in the infectious energy of the musical numbers, and I don’t know why you’d even want to resist.

    — Sam Hurwitt, Marin IJ Read full review
  • Lip synch or swim! Drag fun in Marin’s Georgia

    When you’re already an Elvis impersonator, could drag really be that far behind? Not according to the glittery, big-hearted drag comedy The Legend of Georgia McBride now closing the 50th anniversary season at Marin Theatre Company. Playwright Matthew Lopez dips into territory previously covered by The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything, Julie Newmar, Kinky Boots,  Tootsie, Sordid Lives and Some Like It Hot, and while there are certain formulaic aspects of the story of a straight man embracing his inner drag diva, it’s all done with such sincerity and good humor it’s impossible to resist.

    One question Lopez doesn’t really answer in his script is why Casey (Adam Magill) is so invested in being an Elvis impersonator at a rundown club in Panama City, Fla. He had done some musicals in high school, but now that he’s a married adult, his choice of profession is swiveling his hips and lip-synching to Elvis songs for about seven indifferent people in the audience. His wife, Jo (Tatiana Wechsler) is living the cranky life as a waitress and serves as the family’s bread winner. During a fight involving a bounced rent check, the loss of the Elvis gig and impending eviction, Jo announces she’s pregnant.

    Even though he can’t don his rhinestone jumpsuit (complete with cape!), Casey returns to the bar to serve as bartender, but wouldn’t you just know? The drag duo the bar’s owner, Eddie (John R. Lewis), hired to drum up some audience interest has hit a snag: one of the performers, Miss Rexy (Jason Kapoor) has passed out cold. So in true show-biz fashion, the older, wiser drag queen, Miss Tracy Mills (Kraig Swartz) whips Casey into a wig, a dress, heels and makeup and forces him onto the stage. Somehow, the number works in spite of Casey’s awkwardness and the fact that the Piaf song he was saddled with was in French (just mouth the words “watermelon motherfucker” is the advice he’s given, and it sort of works). A drag star is born.

    Casey doesn’t exactly tell Jo why they can suddenly pay the rent, so of course that will catch up with him. But apart from the requisite drama, the fun in director Kent Gash’s production comes from some delightful drag performances featuring a parade of beguiling outfits designed by Kate Harmon. Swartz has real panache – his Garland and Streisand bits are priceless – and the ever-appealing Magill oozes sincerity and sensitivity and makes his drag persona, Georgia McBride, really shine when his performances are more organic and less choreographed. Kapoor, who does double duty as Casey’s friend/landlord, also has an impressive Lady Gaga moment of his own. I’m not sure we needed another drag performance of the Weather Girls’ “It’s Raining Men,” but the choreography by Dell Howlett is awfully fun.

    As you might expect from such a likable play, this is an extremely likable cast, and it’s especially nice to feel such warmth between Casey and the women in his life: his wife, to whom he gives foot rubs and his eternal devotion, and Miss Tracy, the mentor who will actually make him a better man (i.e. an adult who can see more clearly who he is and what he wants). As Miss Tracy puts it, Casey is a straight man in drag and she’s a drag queen in hell. Lopez gets off some nice zingers, and there’s a sustained sense of laughter and good cheer through much of the show’s intermissionless 115 minutes. We get an unnecessary lecture about what drag really means, and the play doesn’t know quite how (or when) to end, but as long as Swartz’s in-charge Miss Tracy is actually in charge, it’s all good.

    Drag is complicated, especially in terms of its relationship to gender, sexuality and good old-fashioned camp. Georgia McBride isn’t the play that’s going to delve into and unpack or illuminate all of that. But it is a rousing good time with a zippy soundtrack, Florida panhandle glitz and endearing, open-hearted characters.

    — Chad Jones, theaterdogs.com Read full review
  • The Legend of Georgia McBride a solid hit at Marin Theatre Company.
    Rating: ★★★★☆1/2

    When Marin Theatre Company (MTC) Artistic Director booked The Legend of Georgie McBride for its San Francisco premiere he did not intentionally schedule the opening during Pride Week. But it is Pride Week and Georgia McBride could not be a better suited to celebrate the week. The five member cast playing six roles had the audience clapping and at the curtain call giving a standing ovation as the final drag number blasted across the footlights.  It is a should/must see production.

    The adage of when life gives you lemons do not complain make lemonade. That is what Casey (Adam Magill) an unsuccessful Elvis Presley impersonator does after being cut from the show in a second-rate bar in the Florida Panhandle run by Eddie (John R. Lewis) who is bringing in a drag show in an attempt to make a buck or two.  The two drag queens he has imported to replace our erstwhile Elvis are Miss Tracy (Kraig Swartz) and Rexy short for Anorexia nervosa (Jason Kapoor).
    When alcoholic Rexy passes out the show must go on and the recently fired but still available Casey reluctantly wins the brass ring choosing the name Georgia McBride who is destined to become a legend. Even though author Matthew Lopez has slipped in some very cogent dialog about Rexy’s tough life as a teenager brought up gay in Houston the play is a satirical comedy written for laughs and entertainment.

    To create a plausible reason for Casey to perform in drag Lopez has created a pot boiler twist with wife Jo (Tatiana Weschler) being pregnant and money is needed to prevent being evicted by the mean landlady wife of friendly Jason (Kapour again). Inexplicably he does not tell Jo about his new gig/personae and you know that will add a bit of drama before the evening ends.

    The transformation of Casey into drag with the donning of each costume piece ending with a wig and makeup is a kick and a holler. Tall handsome Magill’s body/fat ratio must be near zero and thus perfect for drag even though his size 13 feet may cause a problem. Tracy, the ultimate professional, is a great teacher. Casey’s terrible first performance as Edith Piaf with lip-synching of the lyrics nonexistent is the start of the Legend.

    Tracy/Kraig  rarely gets out of drag and you might question whether he/she is a woman. Lopez does not rely on the usual wig removal by drag queens at the end of their performances allowing the audience to give an appreciative gasp. He sets up a single scene with Tracy out of costume and Kraig playing it straight.
    The fun of the show relies on the actors playing drag must take their role changes seriously and ham it up just enough to elicit appreciative laughs. Magill, Swartz and Kapoor make their internal/external switches from male to female personalities fun to watch and appreciate.

    The role of Eddie the bar owner is necessary for plot construction and John R. Lewis milks the role to the limit or is it a directorial conceit? Experienced director Kent Gash who helmed MTC’s famed productions of Choir Boy (2015) and August Wilson’s Seven Guitars (2011) allows structured mayhem but always in control.  Tatiana Wechsler makes the most of the underwritten role of wife Jo and her reconciliation kisses with Casey/Georgia are touching.  

    The acting and directing must share accolades with the multiple costumes fashioned by Kara Harmon. In each scene she brings out startling/garish color with hysterical touches each trying to outmatch the previous one. Jason Sherwood’s multi-area appropriately seedy set is perfect for the show and is enhanced by lights (Kurt Landisman) and sound (Chris Houston).  Last but not least Dell Howlett’s choreography (including the roller skating) is the icing on the cake. Running time 115 minutes without an intermission.

    — Cedar Adour, For All Events Read full review
  • Unlikely Friendship Blossoms in The Legend of Georgia McBride

    Amid the glamour and show stopping montages of dynamic drag queens shimmering with personality is the story of a young man floundering to discover himself and finding an understanding mentor in the least likely place imaginable. What begins as Miss Tracy Mills feeling pity for the washed out Elvis impersonator she is replacing becomes a strong friendship that is a joy to watch unfold. The Legend of Georgia McBride is filled with compassion and hope that with the support of a community, dreams can come true and life will turn itself around to be something worth fighting for.

    Casey (Adam Magill) accidentally finds himself onstage as a queen in a “show must go on” situation, with a gloriously awkward first attempt, tottering in high heels and barely managing to lip sync. His affection for the persona of Georgia McBride fights with his identity as a straight soon to be father, causing havoc in his relationship with Jo (Tatiana Wechler), his wife. Wechler portrays a no-nonsense, practical woman deeply in love with her husband, and the two of them have heartwarming scenes together, particularly in the final act.

    Kraig Swartz as mature drag queen Miss Tracy Mills is a natural—perfectly comfortable in heels, wigs and skirts. It takes hours before each performance for the transformation, and it is worth it; from the moment Miss Tracy Mills appears, in an elegant gown with vintage bob of a hairpiece and kind, warm demeanor, she is sensational. Diva in every sense of the word, Rexy (Jason Kapoor) is the over-the-top sort of queen, relishing her “shades” and obnoxiously arrogant, until a lapse into vulnerability reveals complexity beneath the hard exterior.

    While Casey’s gradual transformation through practice and talent is an ongoing theme, the club owner Eddie (John R. Lewis) is perhaps the most dramatic shift in character. Suspicious of drag queen culture, he is not interested in participating, until he observes the positive impact it is having on his business. By the end of the play, he is donning flashing light-up glasses and twirling his way into the spotlight, excited to be part of the team.

    Lighting designer Kurt Landisman had way too much fun with this production—from starry night fields surrounding a glittering disco ball to pulsing colors bouncing off the silver waterfall backdrop, he unleashes a party atmosphere that is infectious. The audience is encouraged to interact during the drag performances—go ahead and shout, applaud, and react as if it is an actual club, rather than a theater. The script has leeway for a remarkable amount of creative freedom, and the team at Marin Theatre Company went all out with music and lightning fast costume changes thanks to designer Kara Harmon. Standouts were “I Will Survive” and “Born This Way” in runway style.

    The Legend of Georgia McBride is a tinsel draped coming of age spectacular that celebrates acceptance and being true to yourself, even if it is not the person you wanted to be. The cast is genuinely enjoying the show, creating a confident, positive atmosphere. For a transfusion of creative enthusiasm, drive to Mill Valley for this one-of-a-kind theatrical experience.


    — Alexa Chipman, Imagination Lane Reviews Read full review

Learn More

Select a Performance

To begin your ticket purchase, select a performance from the calendar below:

June 2023
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