NEW YORK — When Terrence McNally's "The Ritz" debuted more than 30 years ago, bathhouses were the center of many gay men's universes _ a place where one could find sex, work out, get a massage, see a show or even participate in "amateur night."
McNally captured that 1970s underground gay sex scene so remarkably well, it feels fresh and lively three decades later. This probably has as much to do with the Roundabout Theatre Company's ambitious restaging of "The Ritz" on Broadway, though, as it does with McNally's play.
The Roundabout has assembled a delightful cast, including Rosie Perez, Kevin Chamberlin and former gay porn star Ryan Idol who looks far too comfortable dressed only in a sheer white towel. Pluses also include the work of Tony Award-winning set designer Scott Pask, who has created what could be the Pantheon of all bathhouses _ a three-level palace of cherry-red doors, hidden passages and cutaway rooms.
Under the direction of Joe Mantello, the show starts off as a boisterous romp, with Gaetano Proclo (Chamberlin) checking into the Ritz bathhouse to hide from his brother-in-law, Carmine, who is out to kill him. Proclo stumbles around in a bad wig and sunglasses, bumping into the seminude denizens of the bathhouse as they saunter about.
Then he meets Googie Gomez (Perez), the Ritz's in-house talent, who thinks Proclo is a Broadway producer who could finally discover her prodigious talents. Proclo, meanwhile, thinks Googie is a transvestite who wears bad wigs of her own.
Set against the backdrop of the farcical comedy are McNally's observations about gay life, seen through the eyes _ in this case _ of a heterosexual man trapped in a den of sexual eroticism. McNally mostly pokes fun at his characters, who include an effeminate drama queen wrapped in a lavender kimono and a self-described "chubby chaser" who is only attracted to fat men.
Such stereotypes are deeply ingrained in gay culture, which could cause McNally's characters to come off as tiresome or worse, offensive. But the actors play with restrained campiness, and it's almost impossible not to laugh at Brooks Ashmanskas' overly affected Chris (the drama queen) or Patrick Kerr's disturbingly creepy Claude (the chubby chaser).
To avoid making his audiences too uncomfortable, McNally only alludes to gay sex (all the real action takes place behind those closed, cherry-red doors) and the most homophobic comment uttered by one of the straight characters is when Proclo indicates that two of the bathhouse employees are abnormal because they are in a relationship; the play is so politically correct, he immediately apologizes.
But McNally isn't interested in being political with "The Ritz." The play is meant to be a farce and he gets top-notch performances from his actors, chief among them Perez. She plays the washed-up lounge singer so perfectly, one almost wishes the play revolved around her rather than a silly Italian family squabble.
Dressed like a Latina "Annie" in a turquoise, sequined pants suit and blond, curly wig, Googie puts on one of the worst performances the Ritz nightclub has probably ever seen, complete with bad choreography, off-key singing and only one high heel (the other she kicks through the curtain backstage). Perez bares her teeth in frustration through it all, showing off her tremendous comic abilities.
Mantello keeps the action under control throughout the more subdued first half, but things get manic in the second act when Carmine shows up and the thin plot line returns. Suddenly, Carmine and Proclo are diving under beds, a detective with a gratingly high-pitched voice mixes up their identities and Proclo's wife's mink gets stolen, sparking an obligatory chase scene.
Dialogue gets lost in the mayhem and the hilarity seems a little forced. Relief comes in a final confrontation between Carmine and Proclo on the Ritz's nightclub stage, but by then, the farce has run a little flat and all those 1970s haircuts are starting to look a bit outdated.
Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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