Casey (Jordan Ahnquist) earns a meager salary and poor tips as an Elvis Presley impersonator in a drag queen theater. Bills are unpaid, rent is overdue, and his wife, Jo (Kira Sarai Helper), has just informed him they're going to become parents. Things only get worse when Rexy (short for Anorexia), played in convincing drag by Dyllan Vallier, is too drunk to appear in the evening show. Casey is chosen to be Rexy's replacement. Horrified at the thought, Casey refuses, until the manager, Eddie (Barnstormers veteran Bob Bates) tells him to either put on the dress or be fired. Having no choice, Casey agrees. With the assistance of Miss Tracy Mills (Brian Charles Rooney in a marvelously over-the-top performance), Casey changes into all the accoutrements of drag in full view of the audience, egged on by their cheers.
Casey assumes the name Georgia McBride and with Miss Tracy Mills' coaching his drag performance is a smashing success, the tips are non-stop, and he comes home to show Jo a fistful of cash, enough to pay the rent and all their bills, and the promise of more of the same. In an omission that will come back to haunt him later, he doesn't tell her how he earned this windfall.
Jo remains unaware of Casey's new role until one day she stops by the theater and discovers him in full drag costume. Stunned and humiliated, Jo packs Casey's things and orders him out of her life. I won't give away all the details of the ending, but suffice it to say all's well that ends well.
This was a pretty risqué play for the Barnstormers, but the audience loved it. Their enthusiasm, laughter and cheers had to be gratifying for the actors. There's a lesson here. In mostly conservative New Hampshire, any lifestyle you choose to pursue, as long as it causes no harm, is OK with us.
Taylor Shubert was the director and choreographer. Rachel Rose Burke designed the scenery. The many costumes Patty Hatch Hibbert designed were an important part of the production.
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