What I liked
Laser entertains and educates in a presumed dialogue with the audience, sometimes through song, sometimes through comedic and heartbreaking backstory, and sometimes through time travel. The music is honest, fresh, and light years beyond your cookie cutter musical.
The props and scenic spectacle are top notch, and I can’t say more without spoiling, other than there’s plenty of wacky eye candy.
This piece feels like the artist’s call -turning pain into art. Our hero is brave and vulnerable, commanding (with some of the most expressive hands I’ve ever seen), but at ease. What baffles me is how Laser proceeds with the confidence of someone who has known himself for a lifetime when he only recently transitioned. Perhaps he radiates with aplomb at finally being himself, or perhaps he’s just THAT good of an artist, but it’s probably both.
What I didn't like
… I guess his mic could have been turned on before the start of the show, but no! We were a lucky audience to witness that minuscule snaffu and the easy solution. Honestly, the space probably doesn’t warrant a mic, except I wouldn’t deny a musician his instruments.
My overall impression
Part history, part memoir, part musical, all raw heart. Laser Webber gives a performance that is not to be missed in this eye-popping, head-bobbing, guffaw-inducing, reality-exploding self-love fest. A must-see of HFF23!
