'Ms. Blakk for President' Off-Broadway review — where politics, theatre, and drag collide

Read our review of Ms. Blakk for President off Broadway, Tina Landau and Tarell Alvin McCraney's new play about the 1992 presidential campaign of Terence Alan Smith/Joan Jett Blakk.

Summary

• Ms. Blakk for President is inspired by the true story of drag queen Joan Jett Blakk's 1992 presidential bid during the AIDS epidemic
• Ms. Blakk combines elements of a drag show, jukebox musical, bio-play, memory play, and issue play into a production that's energetic but unfocused
• The highlight is the production design that toes the line between the reality and memory of the era
• The show is recommended for fans of co-writer Tarell Alvin McCraney's work (Moonlight, Choir Boy), history and political buffs, and fans of shows about LGBTQ history and culture

The President of the United States is as much a person as a persona. Amid the governing and legislation involved in their job, politicians are projections of the communities they're supposedly dedicated to serving, and thus they put on the greatest show on earth for their audience. JFK’s camera-ready charisma, Nixon’s peace signs, Clinton’s erudition, W. Bush’s folksiness, and Obama’s stateliness were all amalgamations of the presidents' own personalities and the characteristics we the people project onto them. No wonder politics are so theatrical — but today, it sometimes feels like that theatre is collapsing. So suggested Joan Jett Black in her 1992 campaign slogan, “If there are so many bad actors in politics, why shouldn’t the president be a good drag queen?”

Drag, as both an exaggerated, satirical art form and a conduit for authenticity, positions it as a perfect tool to send up American politics. And surely there are as many queens doing so as there are cities on the map. Therefore, a play-with-music about the first drag queen to launch a presidential campaign should be as easy as bedazzling heels in a shoe closet. Yet Ms. Blakk for President, co-written by Tarell Alvin McCraney and director Tina Landau, is strangely disappointing. Without leaning hard into either a nimble character study or raucous fantasia, the text has the feeling of a bio-play, hitting the highs and lows of the months leading up to drag queen Joan Jett Blakk (Ato Blankson-Wood), born Terence Alan Smith, planting her heels on the floor of the Democratic National Convention at Madison Square Garden in 1992.

When Smith is in full regalia as Blakk — wearing screaming pink with black-accented Chanel, lavalier-like pearls, and a blonde bob wig, like a Black Jackie O — the show is at its best, with a charming Blankson-Wood speaking lines like they're in glittery cursive. As Blakk, he wiggles out of police confrontations, wins over an initially indifferent non-voter, and deflects a confrontation with a security guard. There’s wit and warmth, the exact traits we’re told Smith has.

But the show sandwiches these moments between duller summaries of events, with Smith racing montage-like through various Queer Nation meetings and direct actions. McCraney and Landau are seemingly disinclined to let any scene last too long, lest we sit with the characters and better know their gestures, habits, and psychologies. That Ms. Blakk also crams in classic rock and funk songs (Fleetwood Mac's “Don’t Stop,” David Bowie's “Starman,” Janis Joplin's “Piece of My Heart”) to try and uphold its drag-show framework creates a structural unevenness, making the show struggle to see dramatic elements through.

There are fascinating ideas at the center of Ms. Blakk: the travesty of modern politics and how their absurd artificiality is laid bare in the most lively spaces. The tension in queer politics over representation as an end unto itself. The pull between doing things for a greater community and for oneself. It’s not that the show’s hybrid nature — as history bio-play, jukebox musical, issue play, drag show, memory play — is bad in and of itself, but its desire to cover as much ground as possible makes it strain to offer much insight into anything. Ms. Blakk for President needs a makeover to figure out what kind of show she wants to be.

Ms. Blakk for President summary

When a friend, Mark, encourages Terence Alan Smith to join the activist group Queer Nation to fight to end homophobia at the height of the AIDS crisis, Terence and Mark concoct a plan to create a Chicago mayoral candidate to reveal the sham of modern electoral politics. Together, they birth Joan Jett Black, a fabulous and funny drag queen with heart and a real message. When that campaign goes surprisingly well, they set their eyes on the presidency. The show is inspired by true events.

What to expect at Ms. Blakk for President

Vineyard Theatre has a refreshing willingness to transform its space for whatever show it's doing, like creating a skating rink for Bowl EP. For Ms. Blakk, set designer David Zinn has redone the Vineyard’s space in jewel-toned pink and black, the walls beautifully crowded with various Queer Nation and AIDS epidemic-era posters. Chandeliers with pink bulbs hang above, and the stage displays protest slogans in zigzags to resemble a bent runway.

Also hanging from the ceiling are early-90s era CRTV monitors displaying music videos from MTV and newscasts from the era, in smeary color. The lights by Bradley King are wonderfully atmospheric, conjuring the club and the DNC from one moment to the next. The production design is the reason to see this show, doing an excellent job of both placing you in the show’s world and in the slightly imaginary space of our collective memory of the era.

What audiences are saying about Ms. Blakk for President

As of writing, Ms. Blakk for President has an 86% audience approval rating on the review aggregator Show-Score, averaged from 7 reviews. Theatregoers have largely praised the show's energy and spectacle.

• “Ms. Blakk for President is an immersive, club venue spectacle, with song, dance, a live band, and a lot of history of the 1980s/19990s with drag queen Joan Jett Black’s run for mayor of Chicago and eventually for POTUS at the 1992 Democratic National Convention. A joy filled rave of an evening at the Vineyard Theater.” – Show-Score user Patrick Mc 6043
• “Dun night, good performances and relevant, timely story.” – Show-Score user dianefe
• “Ms. Blakk is a wild ride. Political statement, party, concert, play, extravaganza. It is so very queer in the best way.” – Show-Score user Sarah 630859

Read more audience reviews of Ms. Blakk for President on Show-Score.

Who should see Ms. Blakk for President

• Fans of Tarell Alvin McCraney’s work, including Broadway’s Choir Boy, Off-Broadway’s The Brothers Size, and the Oscar-winning film Moonlight, will definitely want to check out his and Landau's take on the life of Joan Jett Blakk.
• History buffs, particularly about the AIDS epidemic era, will want to see the show to learn about the first drag-queen presidential bid.
• Theose interested in the interaction of theatre, art, LGBTQ culture, and politics will definitely want to check out Ms. Blakk to see how it synthesizes these various concepts and cultures.

Learn more about Ms. Blakk for President off Broadway

Joan Jett Blakk has a story to tell, and a couple of jokes, too. When she’s in her element, she’s a blast, even at her shaggiest. But Ms. Blakk for President is sprawling at the expense of creating a truly rich and focused study of character, time, place, and politics. While I would have loved to see Joan’s drag act, Ms. Blakk still needs to work on its lip sync of history.

Learn more about Ms. Blakk for President on New York Theatre Guide. Ms. Blakk for President is at Vineyard Theatre through November 29.

Photo credit: Ms. Blakk for President off Broadway. (Photos by Carol Rosegg)