GLENS FALLS – Drag queen story hours have been a hot topic in the news across the country, including right here in “Hometown USA,” but now they just might be the hottest show in town.
Local playwright Neal Herr may be best known for his production, “Nearby Faraway,” the musical drama about Georgia O’Keeffe, the American painter, and her husband/manager Alfred Stieglitz, which premiered in Lake George in 2022.
However, on Thursday Herr invited members of the public to join him for a participatory reading of his newest farce, “Drag Queen Story Hour,” which he was inspired to write after following the events at the Rockwell Falls Library in Lake Luzerne last year.
“The events at Rockwell Falls, which you may know about that library, a year ago, were serious, leading to bomb threats, fisticuffs, police, resignations, and library closings,” Herr said at the opening of a dramatic reading of the show. Audience participation was part of event. “Gender identity and sexual preference are serious; even life and death matters sometimes.”
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“Drag Queen Story Hour” the musical, however, is not serious. Herr described it as a full-length family friendly Gay Pride satire about book-banning, Pride flag controversies, and LGBTQ polarization here and in small towns all over America.
“The characters are like a ‘Simpsons’ episode – broadly satirical,” Herr said. “It’s just goofy fun, ultimately of course making topical, political points.”
The show revolves around the “Smallville Library” which finds itself at the center of controversy after the library assistant reads a book to a group of children featuring gay characters. The evangelical preacher of the town rallies his “Flock” to call for the banning of all books except the Bible. Meanwhile the Mayor of Smallville is struggling with how to handle a growing local movement of liberal “Yoo-Yoos” who want to fly a Gay Pride flag in front of the courthouse.
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The preacher infiltrates the library board and rouses the trustees to replace the head librarian with the contrite library assistant before sewing so much discord that all the trustees quit, leaving the preacher in charge of the library. However, the demure library assistant has a few tricks and secrets up her sleeve which save the day.
As another example of art imitating life, the local newspaper reporter covering the controversy acts as a sort of narrator, periodically exclaiming provocative “headlines” which set each scene. And at one point following up with, “Hey, I’m milking this thing for all its worth.”
The show is meant to poke a little fun at how quickly divisiveness can escalate and how all the different players contribute to the chaos.
Ultimately, Herr said, he wants it to spark conversation, and hopes presenting the subject matter in a humorous way will help people, no matter what side of the isle they’re on, feel safe discussing these very tempestuous issues.
“We’re at a point in our country, not just with LGBT, but everything is polarized. It’s to where almost you cannot talk to anybody about anything,” Herr said. “I love art that’s topical, that addresses what’s happened in the last year and is happening right now.
“I think being funny about it and having fun with it may be a way to crack the door open,” he added.
Herr said he’s lived in big cities for much of his life. He never really had a desire to move to a small town but fell in love with what Glens Falls has to offer. From that perspective, Herr said divisive issues, such as the drag queen story hour controversy, can be far more visceral in small towns.
“I’ve lived in Houston and New York City, and it doesn’t work like that at all. You do what you want, and you’ll probably never see those people again,” he said. “If you make enemies in a small town, it’s uncomfortable. You’ve got to live together and figure how to live with their barking dog, because you’re right next door.”
A self-proclaimed “hippie,” Herr said he’s known and been friends with members of the LGBTQ+ community all his life. For him, the idea that anyone could find fault with a person dressing up in costume to read and perform for children, whether it’s a man dressed as a woman, or a hippie dressed as a cowboy, is completely preposterous.
“I’ve done kid shows all my life dressed as a cowboy, dressed as a werewolf, would they object to that?” Herr posed. “Would that confuse children, no. Children know theater, they pretend. They know!”
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Read-throughs like Thursday’s event are a common step in the process of writing a play, Herr explained. It gives the author a better understanding of the pacing and the overall tone and tenor of the show outside of his own creative mind as he reworks and tweaks it for production.
Typically, a reading is done by professionals, or performers familiar with staging and theatricality; however, with “Drag Queen Story Hour,” Herr said he was hard-pressed to find colleagues in the theater community willing to tackle the topic.
“At least two actors and a music director said they could not possibly do this show, or they would get fired,” he said. “Venues said it was too touchy a subject.”
So, on Thursday, Herr invited members of the public to join in the rough draft read-through, then engage in a conversation about the show and its subject matter.
“A lot of people think it’s too teasy-hot potato, but to me, I say, ‘Art does that,’” Herr asserted. “We get to grapple and see a perspective because we can laugh at ourselves… and see each other.”
Before the reading, the show was dedicated to Jake Evans, the drag performer who was originally scheduled to read at Rockwell Falls in April, 2023.
“We dedicate this work of fiction to Jake, whose drag name is Scarlet,” he said. “Who was prevented from reading picture books to children dressed as a woman.”
Alex Portal is a staff writer who covers northern Saratoga County and Hadley/Luzerne. History and Environment are his beats. Contact: 518-742-3274, [email protected].
Alex Portal is a staff writer who covers northern Saratoga County and Hadley/Luzerne. History and Environment are his beats. Contact: 518-742-3274, [email protected].