Colman Domingo’s Wild & Bumpy Journey Lifts Us Up

by Lynne Stevens

Hop into an Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme for a crazy trip south to Disney World, where all your dreams come true. That’s what our hero does as he struggles to do the right thing when his mother dies unexpectedly.

Gil (sweet Marcus J. Paige) meets seductive Terry (charming Samuel del Rosario) at Terry’s family Funeral Home to plan for his mother’s funeral. Terry delivers a hard pitch for an elegant coffin: “Simple but classic, like a Chanel suit, only $4995.” But Gill retorts, “How about Liz Claiborne?”

It’s clear that Gil, a lapsed church goer, rejects open coffin or the usual expensive frills or flowers of a standard funeral. As much as he loved his mother, cremation will do. But Mom visits her son in a dreamy flashback, played brilliantly by super-talented, hilarious Carla BaNu DeJesus. Mother is not happy with Gil’s idea of a non-traditional burial.

After a passionate fling with flirty Terry, Gil must deal with his flighty Aunt Glo (amazing DeJesus again) .As Aunt Glo, DeJesus is wild and witty; as Adelaide she is prim and proper, bringsing comic genius to both roles. What a chameleon!

Aunt Glo cries out: “We don’t do that.” You’re supposed to come together as a family and plan! . . . I was supposed to go with you to make arrangements!” But it’s too late and the question now is what to do with it. “It” being the urn with Adelaide’s ashes.

Gil decides to take Mom’s urn to her favorite destination—Disney World. First, he picks up his New York friend Mo (brilliantly flamboyant James Arthur M.).  As Mo, Arthur M. is so outrageously gay that we laugh at his every sexual joke: “That is a nice bike! I would sure like to be that seat!”

Gil and Mo take off on the I-95, but Terry and Aunt Glo are following in her 1987 classic car. They’re all on the road to Florida’s Walt Disney World for mysterious rituals.

Inspired playwright Colman Domingo sets up two separate side-splitting road trips: one with Aunt Glo and mystified Terry. And one with Gill and Mo. Glo calls the shots for sweet Terry. Gil manipulates his provocative friend Mo. They are all working on their grief and their love—enlightening us along the way. A rich comedy journey.

Projection Designer Isaac Fine dresses up the stage with fireworks and Disney delights. Set and props by Tom O’Brien hop from plain jane mortuary to glitzy Orlando Cinderella Suite. Ava Byrd’s witty, magnificent costumes add great glamor. With chairs as the seats of the Oldsmobile, Terry and Glo conduct a hilarious awkward changing of seats!

Being trapped in a car with another person for hours on end is the perfect opportunity to unload their emotional baggage. Much cheaper than a therapist and more fun. Cruising along, they discover revelation, going from “wild with grief” to “wild with happy.”

Share their trip to Cinderella land in a laugh-a-minute raod trip! Join the Fab Four in a life-affirming comedy full of happy surprises.

“Wild with Happy” by Colman Domingo, directed by Shawnj West, costumes by Ava Byrd, sound by Alex Fakayode, projections by Isaac Fine, stage manager Liam Kirk, lighting by Kevin E. Myrick, set & props by Tom O’Brien, at New Conservatory Theatre Center, San Francisco. Info: nctcsf.org – to April 6, 2025.

Cast: Carla BaNu DeJesus, Samuel del Rosario, Marcus J. Paige, and James Arthur M.

Banner photo: Marcus J. Paige & James Arthur M. Photos: Lois Tema