Dot’s Bar of Ponsonby comes to the stage in a new play, 'PEOPLE LIKE US', playing at the Pumphouse Theatre next February.
Directed by David Blyth with Musical director Lavina Williams, and starring Cindy of Samoa, Ramon Te Wake and Luke Bird, the show has a great line up. There are 23 original songs of several styles, from ballad to rap, that bring this wholly Auckland show to life.
Author Joanna Jayne St John came out at Dot’s in 2008 and was inspired to write some short stories with cross-dressing and transgender themes. These later morphed into the musical.
“The place was amazing, people of all gender and racial backgrounds met and had a ball. Pete and Rodney could always be relied on to lend an ear to people’s problems. It was a special haven for cross-dressers and transgender people as well as the gay and lesbian communities. I have made lifetime friends from being part of Dot’s family,” says Joanna.
The show opens with Cindy leading the cast in the grand opening number ‘From the Black Lace Prison’, depicting becoming free from our closets, whatever they may be. Here transgender woman Sheena (Ramon Te Wake) meets cross-dresser Bianca (Luke Bird).
They fall for each other. While Sheena’s ex (a pimp) tries to break things up, Bianca has to finally come out to family with disastrous consequences for the new couple. Eventually there is a wedding. A major theme is audience participation and Cindy leads them in a selection of choruses. The two best-dressed couples are picked from the audience to join the wedding scene and finale.
PEOPLE LIKE US at the Pumphouse Theatre, T: 09 489 8360,
www.pumphouse.co.nz