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| Photo by Rich Ryan |
Interstate is a joyful, messy ride with a trio of characters
trying to find their place. It’s at turns funny, tragic, heartfelt, and at times
a bit unsure of its footing. Just like growing up, or being in a band. Or
coming out.
Created by Melissa Li and Kit Yan, the world premiere
musical now running at Mixed Blood Theatre takes us back to the now halcyon
days of 2008, where an Asian queer band from New York City vans it across the
country in search of their diffuse online audience.
Adrian is a singer who leaves, promising her girlfriend to
stay in touch and her mother that she’ll get her law school application in on
time. Dash is a poet who has become an online hero to other transgender folks
looking for a community. He isn’t just out to see the country – he wants to
stitch a community together.
As they cross the heartland, we see the impact the tour has
on Adrian and Dash’s relationship, and the one they are having on their
listeners. We see this primarily through Henry, a teenager transitioning to
become a man; a difficult prospect in his small minded small town.
Li and Yan based the musical on their own tour from 12 years
ago as Good Asian Drivers. There are a lot of touring stories here --
Interstate is a shared bill with a puppet show short of being full Spinal Tap –
but they are often shown through the lens of gender and sexual identity.
That comes through especially in Kai Alexander Judd’s performance
as Dash. The character is learning how to be a “man” on the fly, and has
absorbed some less-than-savory lessons, which comes to a head in a South Dakota
bar where he first, kisses his musical companion without permission, and then “man
ups” against a couple of yokels.
The behavior shocks the pair, and it causes the kind of
break-up drama you expect in a band story. Adrian, you see, has label suitors who
want her as a solo act. The twists are somewhat predictable, but the end result
is not.
Much of that is down Henry, whose transition – which takes
him from Kentucky to the queer Mecca of San Francisco – gives the story its
real heart. Much of that credit can be laid at the feet of Sushma Saha, whose
touching, nuanced performance gives all of the diffuse parts of Interstate
greater focus.
Even when the show takes detours into internet trolls, bad
reviews, and harsh audiences, it doesn’t lose its cross-country heart. The
music is largely composed of everyday modern pop hooks that will fade from the
memory by the time you get home from the theater, the lyrics – and the overall
story – stay with long after the final bows.
Interstate runs through March 29 at Mixed Blood Theatre.
