Review: Wig Out

Hey readers!
It's time for my review of Wig Out.
In Washington D.C. we were fairly limited with choice for theatre shows to see, so I had a long look on several sites to see what theatre was playing and I thought Wig Out looked quite interesting. Wig Out was playing at the Studio Theatre, which was a very interesting theatre due to it being a very trendy place. Sadly though, the show itself was a let down. Whilst I enjoyed the majority of the performances, I did not care for the storyline. The show follows many storylines, but the majority of the show revolves around a competition to become the 'House Mother' of the 'House of Light'. There are parts of the show where the storyline picks up, but then it goes back to the competition to be the 'House Mother' and effectively becomes a drag show. The competition ends with no major impact on any of the characters, which made it seem like the show had an anti-climactic ending. It just seemed to be a little all over the place; there were so many different storylines to follow and there was a lot of it that just did not make sense. Wig Out has a specific target audience (mainly LGBTQ, but also African American drag ball culture) and I personally believe that a major reason I did not love the show as much as others in the audience was because I am not a part of the target audience. I suppose I would say this show was "not my cup of tea". I hate to be so negative, but another critics I have for the show is that I was not a fan of the choice to have characters narrate their actions. I could see what was happening onstage, so I just felt that the narration was really unnecessary and quickly became annoying. Luckily though, there were still some good features of Wig Out. For example, there were some excellent performances, with Michael Rishawn as Wilson, Jaysen Wright as Eric, Edwin Brown III as Venus, Desmond Bing as Deity and Jamyl Dobson as Rey-Rey standing out. They all had brilliant characterisations and physicality. There are parts of the show which are good, specifically the middle of act one. There were parts where the writing picked up and became very interesting, but sadly every time that happened, it seemed to go downhill again. My favourite storyline to follow was the relationship between Wilson and Eric. I was rooting for both characters and I would have been more than happy with the whole show revolving around the two of them. The set design and lighting design were both very effective and I thought that they worked very well. I am pleased to say that not all was bad, but I just do not think this show was for me. I hate being so negative, but there will always be the odd show here and there that isn't as likeable as others.

The featured star of Wig Out is, drum roll please... EDWIN BROWN III!

This decision didn't come to me that easily. The 5 actors that I mentioned earlier in this review were all exceptional and it was very hard to choose a favourite. In the end, I was able to whittle it down to two actors: Edwin Brown III and Michael Rishawn. I went back and forth on the choice, but in the end I chose Edwin. The show didn't really appeal to my sense of humour, but I found Edwin hilarious! His comic timing was perfect and I enjoyed following Venus's storyline. In addition to this, his physicality was very good.

Now for my final verdict on Wig Out. I give Wig Out...

There are parts of the show that deserve 3 stars, but on the other hand there are parts of the show which are on the side of 1 star. I would feel too cruel giving Wig Out 1 star, because there are parts of it which are good and therefore I award Wig Out 2 stars.

Think it should have got a higher rating? Agree with my rating? Think it should have got a lower rating? If so comment below.

Thanks for reading!

-The Reviewer