Zanna Don't

Last year BlueRep showed Bare, a musical that tackles the topic of being gay in a conservative high school community.

This year they gave us Zanna, Don't a musical that tackles the topic of being heterosexual in a conservative, predominantly gay high school community.

The story is pretty straightforward and hardly subtle. In this world  homosexuality is the norm and heterosexuality is taboo. Girls date girls, boys kiss boys. It makes us ask a lot of questions about ourselves, about the norms of our society, about what's right and what's wrong. What does it mean to be a man. In Heartsville high, boy stuff includes shopping and baking. In this world the chess player is the sex symbol and the football player can't fit in. The message is clear and pounded on the audience repeatedly. How can anything done out of love bring you harm, Zanna asks.

But what sets aside Zanna, Don't from plays I've seen so far are 1.) the talented, energetic cast and 2.) the music. 

The music is fun and memorable. But more than the songs, it's the actors which brings this whole production to life. They dance, sing and run around the stage so un-forcedly tat the audience can't help but have fun with them. The punchlines are delivered with great comedic timing, "We're going to San Francisco, I heard there might be straight people there."

Too bad Zanna, Don't has ended its run. I hope it gets extended or is shown by some other group. 

I have to say this again, I have a newfound respect for BlueRep and I'm sure those kids will go far if they choose to stick with performing arts.