The premise was so promising: Strippers fighting for their rights, union organizers in unfamiliar territory, nudity and social justice. However Live! Girls! Organize! does not live up to its potential. The comedy of the show consistently falls flat, and the characters are not well written enough to survive without comedy.
Live! Girls! Organize! follows two union organizers, Anderson and Coretta (Bruce Alan Rauscher and Soneyet Muhammad), as they show up in a small town to try and form a stripper’s union at Rusty’s Peek-a-boo Lounge. However, all their work may be put on the line when Anderson becomes romantically involved with a sassy stripper named Chastity.
The cast covers the spectrum in terms of experience level: Jim Brady seems miscast as a vulgar, despicable night club owner and, according to his bio, it appears to have been quite some time since he has acted regularly. Saade is inoffensively spunky as Chastity, but she misses a lot of comic opportunities, and Muhammad does as well as possible considering her character only exists to give exposition on Anderson’s past.
Rausher’s performance is the stand out of this show: since none of the characters ever become sympathetic, by the end I began to care about what happened to Anderson. Unfortunately, the end of the play leaves the audience completely in the dark. We never know if the stripper’s union changes anything, or if Anderson and Chastity make it, or if Rusty the seedy owner really changes his ways.
See it: You are in the mood for some relatively tame theater about strippers; Nothing gets to you like a good union story,
Skip it: You are a stickler for plot and character development; You are horribly offended by either strip clubs or unions.
Live! Girls! Organize!
by Malcolm Pelles
presented by New Galaxy Theatre Group Redrum
reviewed by Jessica Pearson
I agree that this wasn’t the best of shows. The experience level of the cast was subpar, at most, and rested on the notion that over enunciation equals good acting. Chastity seemed a bit uncomfortable when she actually performed as a stripper as did the two stagehands who seemed to be uncomfortable being onstage, in general. Brady couldn’t get a complete sentence out without flubbing it.
I was extremely disappointed by the show. It showed a real lack of focus, some significant directing gaffes (for example, one of the characters was supposed to be obsessed with “Guitar Hero”, but he had obviously never played it),lackluster performances, and no build to an end. The actors were either undirected or mediocre (with the exception of Soneyet Muhammad who was both compelling and believable). The script presented opportunities for both plot and character development but fell short of fleshing them out. All in all, I felt dissatisfied, not only because of the quality of the show but also because of its unexplored potential.
I liked this better than the reviewer. Still, her assessment of the actors was quite right. Jim Brady was not capable of acting his role. the stripper gew stronger as the play continued, but did not fill her character. Anderson and Coretta were both wonderful. The play didn’t have an ending. It just stopped. But I saw promise here for the company and most of the actors. The play itself needed another draft and a bit more tension. I will look for them next year at the fringe. Two stars, but go if you have an interest in labor disputes, labor organizers, or the offstage lives of strippers. There is something here.