Gloaming Productions and out playwright and actor Sean Glass promise outrageous laughs in his long-gestating new production, “Hungry: The Musical,” which runs June 16-24 at First Unitarian Church of Philadelphia.
Glass started writing the genre-hopping play in 2006 but said it really picked up speed about a year ago.
But you really don’t care about that, do you? Neither do we. We just want to know what is in this musical that might spark riots, protests, jihad and other forms of social unrest.
How outrageous is the play?
Well, it stars Nia Charles as the hero Marsha, whom we’re told exists in an alternate reality.
“It’s actually based on a real-life person, a drag-queen friend of mine from Pittsburgh, Marsha Mellow,” Glass said. “She’s just a larger-than-life character. She’s done Wigstock.”
Yes, Pittsburgh is an alternate reality.
OK, Glass. We have a drag queen hero. What else have you got for us?
“Aliens come to earth and the heroine, she saves us all,” he said. “She figures out their weakness. Oh, and if they bite you, you become one. It’s got a zombie element as well … I based it on ‘Little Shop of Horrors’ and ‘Rocky Horror Picture Show’ all rolled into one and put my own twist on it.”
Personally, we’d like to see a play in which, if a drag queen bites you, you become one. Wouldn’t that kick ass?
Back to “Hungry.”
Drag-queen hero and aliens are nice, but we need something more.
“I play a fledgling demon sent to earth by a drunken God,” Glass said. “I play opposite a character who’s a young angel. We were making too much racket and God sent us to Earth to shut us up. So my character is the mischievous one who hits it off immediately with the star, who’s a rabble-rouser herself.”
OK, a drag-queen hero, aliens, horror, sacrilege and music?
“The alien weakness is part of the comedy. It does stand out from the other works that influenced me. I think it stands out because of the little twists.”
Catch the premiere of “Hungry: The Musical” 8 p.m. June 16-17 and 23-24 at First Unitarian Church of Philadelphia, 2125 Chestnut St. For more information, go to seanglassisamazing.com/tickets.html.