Nightmare in Bakersfield

It wouldn’t be hard for a tale of attending a high school class reunion as the less-accomplished trophy wife of a man who made it big after leaving the campus to turn into into a morass of self-pity and cruelty. But if it did that, it wouldn’t be a Les K story, that is to say an insightful romp of hilarity and compassion that takes no prisoners when examining uncomfortable truths, yet retains a sense of shared humanity. “Nightmare in Bakersfield” is the latest installment of K’s life with his longtime boyfriend. We last we met the couple during “Christmas in Bakersfield,” when K was off to be introduced to his partner Michael’s conservative family, who didn’t know K was black. Complications ensued. This time the couple return to Baker... full review

Pam Noles' review captures the strengths of this show and performer admirably. I caught the last performance, and the standing ovation was well-earned: LK's insights--into our culture and into his own inner workings--are unflinching and yet delivered with a rare combination of humor, humility, and compassion. He enters, as the lone black man, a horrifying environment--the twentieth high school class reunion of Bakersfield's Garces High school--where he is repeatedly mistaken for the school's lone African American of that year, the star basketball player (despite that LK is 5'4" tall). In reality, he is the spouse of a white class grad, a film producer who is A-listed as one of Bakersfield's top 100 by Bakersfield Magazine. He leaves us, ... full review