Artistic director Andy Berkovsky has been looking forward to staging Pageant the Musical for a decade now. The comedy was put on by another company around the time City Theatre was starting up in the mid-2000s, and Berkovsky knew then that he'd also like to produce the show at some point. "We normally do one musical a year," he says, adding that City Theatre's ten year anniversary season would "be the perfect year" to finally mount Pageant.
In this audience participation comedy, six contestants (all played by male actors) vie for the title of Miss Glamouress. They compete in several categories, including swimsuit, talent, and spokesmodel, and the winner is chosen by each night's audience. So far, Miss Texas' homefield advantage has her in the lead for most wins.
Actor Kirk Kelso has also been thinking about Pageant for a while. "I saw that show ten years ago and loved it," he says. "I wanted to be Miss Texas, so ten years later, I was able to manifest that." For Kelso and the other actors, it's a fun but challenging show. As Miss Industrial Northeast, James Monreal has to play accordion while rollerskating during the talent portion of the show. "When they first told me about that, I was like 'I'm sure I'll be able to do that fine. I can rollerskate proficiently. Playing the accordion's a little different." As Miss West Coast, Boyce Templin is proud to have a couple of wins under his belt, even against the formidable Miss Texas. "I very happily broke her winning streak the first weekend," he boasts.
For Berkovsky, a big part of the fun of the show is its unpredictability. "We have the musical theater side, but it mixes in that sketch comedy [element]", he says. "You never know what's going to happen onstage."
See (and cast your vote for the winner of) Pageant the Musical through June 19 at City Theatre.
