PAGEANT: THE MUSICAL

Area Premiere
March 5 – 27, 1999 – Bryank Lake Bowl Cabaret Theater

Book and Lyrics – Bill Russell and Frank Kelly
Music – Albert Evans
Conceived by Robert Longbottom

You’ve never seen a beauty pageant like this one!  Pageant pits six wachy beauty queens (all played by men) against each other in an extravaganza of evening gowns, bathing suits, and not-to-be-missed talent.  While les girls swirl around the charming host in the funniest beauty contest ever seen, judges selected from the audience decide who will be crowned Miss Glamouresse.  A different winner each night ensures non-stop nail-biting fun!

Director – Steven Meerdink
Musical Director – Kevin Hansen

Cast
Miss Industrial Northeast – Doug Anderson
Miss Bible Belt – Kevin Hansen
Miss West Coast – Eric Johnson
Miss Texas – Steven Meerdink
Miss Deep South – Ryan Quale
Miss Great Plains – Steven Todd Schmidt
Frankie Cavalier – Paul Reyburn

“This musical spoof…is splendidly done, with great good humor, not an ounce of pretense and a larky sense of playfulness…What makes the show motor is how skillfully each actor has captured the essence of his character in everything from vocal subtleties to physical traits.” – Minneapolis Star Tribune

“Just because you’re seeing men in dresses, do not mistake this for a drag show.  It simply would not be as funny with real women.  These are well-crafted parodies of contestants striving to be feminine but wanting to be taken seriously.  Luckily, they accomplish neither.  The perposterous talent competition includes a laugh-out-loud interpretive dance by a sweaty and spandex-clad Miss West Coast, and such deadly combinations as roller-skating and accordion playing by the decidedly hirsute Miss Industrial Northeast.  Pageant is a crowning achievement!” – Pulse