The Disney Diaries
Gay Pride Week is being celebrated over at the Laurie Beechman Theater in midtown this week, which is premiering Phil Geoffrey Bond’s new one-man play The Disney Diaries.
As its title suggests, the story is about a young man’s decision to take a solo vacation to Disney World for a few days surrounding Gay Day in early June. Jonathan Whitton, playing the vacationer, enthuses near the beginning of the play of a place with "umbrella drinks and moonlight swims . . . our own version of utopia."
He is quick to find out that it is not such a paradise for him, staying at a Best Western and encountering a bevy of unpleasant characters during his time there. During this recall, Whitton plays no less than seven or eight characters, including a whining promoter with a cell phone glued to his ear, a screaming seven-year-old girl, Melanie, the enthusiastic entertainment director, and a Dominican room service maid who understands none of his requests except the money for the bill.
"I felt like Bambi after taking the bullet," the exasperated traveler says at one point.
The Disney Diaries offers witty observations about American consumer culture in the tackiness of that world, using Bond’s remarkable, colorful language.
"Donning our red shirts, we descend upon the World of Disney to celebrate gay sex with Mickey and Donald," Whitton says. "I felt sorry for those poor, unfortunate straight people who happened to be wearing red on the wrong day."
Bond certainly found the right actor in Whitton to deliver his words. Whitton has the winning combination of being not only instantly likeable but, with his angular features and toothy, shark-like smile, has the right look to deliver this brand of satire without coming across as tiresome or bitchy.
Whitton’s energy, contained in a lithe, elastic frame, is boundless and seems, at times, to want to break free of the direction he’s given by Broadway’s Michele Pawk. There are some lovely lighting and sound choices (a memorable scene of him floating in a pool against a dappled, lighted wall stands out), but on the near-bare stage, he’s given little else to do but change shirts and sit on the stool and give characterizations.
In terms of the play, Bond’s language and pacing are exceptional. However, the problem with the diary structure, for the stage, is that it is too linear (I-did-this, then-I-did-that) and the tone of the wry observer lacks a certain amount of drama.
After a while, one wishes for some self-analysis on the part of the main character or more about the gay life; most of the satire is directed at middle-class, straight America.
The dramatic denouement doesn’t come until the last five minutes of the nearly 75-minute play, but it is a good one.
At the end of the long day, an unmasked Tigger (who, in costume, showed affection for the main character) reminisces about how special the day is for the gay staffers there and wonders about lost identity when gays and straights become homogenized into one seamless society.
Although not stated explicitly, in these times of demanding equal rights, it’s a fair and largely unasked question. That Bond is willing to ask it and explore the issue suggests that there is a deeper soul in the playwright, beyond the witty repartee and well-chosen word.
For this reviewer, a little less of going for the easy laugh and a little more of the thought-provoking drama would push Bond toward the Broadway stage.
For now, The Disney Diaries is recommended for seeing a talented young actor at the top of his game and a talented young playwright reaching for a greatness that is surely within his grasp.
The Disney Diaries plays at the Laurie Beechman Theatre (407 W. 42nd Street) for three more dates, Sat. 6/27 at 4 pm, Sun. 6/28 at 7pm, and Mon. 6/29 at 7 pm.
212-695-6909. $20 cover and $15 food/drink minimum.
