By Diane Johnson

The opening night of Kinsey Sicks at the Waterfront Playhouse was a lively evening full of laughter and songs served up with a healthy portion of delicious mayhem.

Kinsey Sicks initially appeared to be a comedy about four players on a reality TV show, but it quickly emerged as a hilarious commentary on politics and what its like to be LGBT in America. The name of the reality show is “America’s Next Top Bachelor Housewife Celebrity Hoarder Makeover Star Gone Wild”. The challenges are crafted in such a way that the strengths of each player are revealed, along with the blatant manipulation of the show’s contestants by the management. The Kinsey Sicks were real contestants in Season 3 of America’s Got Talent, so their stories are in fact based upon true experience.”

The foursome is billed as a Dragapella Quartet, since they dress like drag queens and sing a cappella. Do not underestimate their many talents; those voices were gorgeous and had tremendous range. Trixie proved he could sing opera and Winnie sang an entire song in Yiddish! This gifted gay performance troupe is more than just a pretty face. They are all activists in the LGBT community whose goal is to introduce everyone to diversity and stimulate critical thinking.

The personalities and character type of the four actors was highly diverse and yet intertwined beautifully. Irwin Keller played Winnie, the somewhat nerdy and shy one who tried unsuccessfully to keep order in the show. Ben Schatz became Rachel, the no nonsense Jewish girl whose love of food extends yes, to insects. Spencer Brown was Trampolina, the daughter of a Mom who ran a meth lab, and always has to pee. Jeff Manabat portrayed Trixie, the former chubby whore who wants to win the reality show contest at any cost.

Their costumes ranged from the beautiful golden strapless dress Trixie wore to the Monica Lewinski-esque Rachel, whose hairy pubes threatened to attack the audience!

Trampolina wore some amazing sparkly red lipstick with her big hair and Winnie is the “good” girl who sported the old-fashioned giant sized glasses with the pointy corners. Each of the girls wore bright sparkly heels in different colors: red, purple, gold and blue to perfectly match their dresses, of course.

Key West celebrates Pride week like no other city on the planet, and the Kinsey Sicks proved to be a perfect fit. This production was sheer entertainment with an edge and a message to embrace diversity. My only wish is that this internationally acclaimed production would stay in town for a couple of weeks, not just days. In fact, why wait until Pride Week to bring in the Kinsey Sicks for 3 days? They should make an annual pilgrimage to Key West and stay awhile.