Sister Mary’s Playtime. ★★★★★
The Red Room Provincetown
In a town that has more drag performers per square mile than it has muscle men (and cannabis stores !) it seemed appropriate that this particular Sunday evening we forsake them all for a more religious experience. Sister Mary is from the UK …. in fact she was a foundling, discovered on the steps of St Peter’s of the Sisters of the Third Removed, in the heart of London’s West End. (a fact she consistently trots out at the speed of light).
She is in her best habit and is here to spread her own gospel intertwined with musical numbers that range from The Sound of Music to Abba’s Mamma Mia. (Her version on Blow Gabriel Blow would make the Bishop apoplectic! ) She credits her singing voice to the that fact she was the illegitimate child of the star of Cats! (NO, not Betty Buckley ….. but Elaine Paige)
In a jam packed hysterically funny hour we are treated to her very un-catholic jokes ……..like how the Pope complimented on her homemade flapjack by saying she had the best flaps in London!!!
Audience participation is not normally my thing as I am the shy retiring type (!), but it ended up being one of the best parts of the show. Even for the very cute young straight man Sister dragged out of the audience to be one of her chorus for the finale ….. which is below.
Sister Mary’s Playtime is like a breath of fresh air that sets it apart from all the other drag shows from performers that got their breaks on THAT TV show which relies so much more on looks and lip-syncing. She’s actually breaking her routine this summer as she usually performs at the legendary Edinburgh Fringe Festival all August
Being different is what sets PTown apart from all other places, and that’s one of the reasons Sister Mary has rightfully been made to feel so very welcome here.
Sister Mary's Playtime https://redroom.club/ Fri Sat Sunday until Sept 1st
Sister Mary is created and performed by actor, ariter and theatre director Tim McArthur. Brother Matthew
is performed by Buster Freeze. It is produced by Adam Weinstock.
ROGER WALKER-DACK Creator, Editor-in-Chief Miami Beach, FL / Provincetown, MA IG @QUEERGURU Member of G.A.L.E.C.A. (Gay & Lesbian Entertainment Critics Association) and NLGJA The Association of LGBT Journalists. and The Online Film Critics Society. Ex Contributing Editor The Gay Uk & Contributor Edge Media Former CEO and Menswear Designer of Roger Dack Ltd in the UK
Labels: 2024, Provincetown, review, Sister Mary's Playtime, The Red Room