SALT LAKE CITY — Over the past year or so, it feels like I’ve seen a million online performances. Scixxy’s Greater Shows’ Gonzo Rising: All-Weirdo Revue at the Alliance Theater is the first online performance that I truly wished I could have been in the live audience for—not because the livestream was bad, but because the live audience looked like so so so much fun. The show, available both in person and streaming on Twitch, is a series of variety acts performed by fantastic weirdo artists.
Show closes August 8, 2021.
I don’t want to spoil the show, but I do need to highlight all the performers. First was Scix himself, who hosted the evening with some wonderful jokes, and in an Orville Peck-esque mask: “A fringe mask for the fringe festival.” Next was Fr. Griggs, who I would describe as a Resident Evil style villain themed around an extreme southern preacher. Fr. Griggs put on a thrilling show, and I kept craning my head to try to figure out how his act worked, even though my head does not move the camera.
Ms. Varrie Warm was the first drag queen of the night, and one of the first queens I’ve ever seen perform with sign language, which was impressive. It’s difficult enough to lip sync to spoken words, but she did it perfectly, and in two languages at once! Ms. Warm had one of the coolest wigs I’ve ever seen, and her own hair gave the cool effect of changing color with the lights.
Mandragora, the second drag queen, with one of the absolute best drag names I have ever heard, also gave such a good performance with great facial expressions. There are many drag queens out there right now, but not many of them can sing just as well as they can lip sync, which is something that makes Mandragora stand out.
Sasha Pinegar sang two songs: the first was the best a cappella, “One Song Glory,” I’ve ever heard, and the second was the first time I’ve ever wished I could have heard the entirety of, “The Bonnie Banks of Loch Lomond.” I believe it was during Sasha’s performance that I wrote in my notebook, “It feels like a group of friends just having fun performing together!”
Jonny Brandin, the stellar run crew for the evening, gave a performance that I don’t know I can describe, and I don’t think I want to, because it is absolutely worth seeing it with all the surprises. What I will say is that the ability to kick grocery bags up and catch them on the first try, while wearing a full body suit, including the face covering, was surprisingly impressive.
Bunny gave what were two of the most astonishing acts of the performance. The first was a reverse strip tease that kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time. The second act was the best food pun-based Radiohead cover I could ever hope to hear in my entire life. Bunny’s singing voice is truly incredible, and I hope to hear it again.
Throughout the show, the lighting and projections were so fun and were a great addition to the show. As I mentioned at the beginning, I really wish I could have seen this performance live, not only because it looked like such a great environment, but also because they mentioned that there were otter pops in the lobby afterwards.
These reviews are made possible by a grant from the Salt Lake County Zoo, Arts, and Parks program.
