Taylor Mac’s Queer-Friendly Farce Inspires Hope & PRIDE

by Jenyth Jo

I’m certain Eleanor Roosevelt never imagined her words “With freedom comes responsibility” would inspire a play set in a theater ball-crawl pit.

And what a world we enter! We are treated to a Greek spectacle and become the ball-throwing Chorus. We echo booyahs, otter claps, and are invited to wallow in the ball pit. Instead of throwing rotten fruit, on video cue we throw off-color brown and orange plastic balls at the actors. Talk about immersive theater!

In the pit, The Fre—a noisy crowd played by Kiril Bolotnikov, Schuster, Juleanne Millan Antunez, Danni Blackman, and Bobby the Puppet—form a smug, farting, cynical crew. As a degraded civilization (much like US), they lounge between two bridges on their days off from blue-collar work. The Fre never change and never try to escape.

Their leader, self-satisfied Frankie Fre (Bolotnikov in cowboy costume) perfectly embodies super-patriotic U.S. virtues, spouting mindless slogans. Frankie Fre has as much vision as a president who hosts UFC cage fighting at the White House. There’s no middle ground in this Land of the Fre, reminding us of our current political chasm.

Into this pit arrives delectable Hero (seductive Myles Bell), an intellectual who flaunts a white tutu and femme shrug. Hero’s strip tease makes us wonder if he, too will succumb to the down and dirty manners in “The Land of the Fre: Between Two Bridges.” Hero longs to escape, entering through one fantastic bridge and heading for the second, to a New World.

Hero speaks in beautiful and pretentious Shakespearean verse, irritating at first. Hero forces the rhymes, so they clash and alter our perceptions. With a knowing wink, he makes sure we are in on the joke. Rejected by The Fre, Hero looks down on them, too. He’s not one of them, and neither are we.

Will our Hero free himself from the conformist, oppressive Fre family, led by cowboy Frankie Fre? A familiar question.

The judgmental, red-necked Fre groupies chant, “Nasty!” as Hero celebrates gay love. Bell replies, “Hang me on a fence to bleed and weep,” a gut-check reminder of Matthew Shepard’s homophobic murder. What’s at stake? Simply, the freedom to live your own way.

Party leader Frankie leaves behind the clowning, strums an acoustic guitar, and displays vulnerability for the first time. His singing silences the theater, and his surprising lines suggest a transformation.

A Young Taylor Mac, played by delightfully young Kendrick Omolade, brilliantly tells the story of her doomed quadriplegic sister. Omolade brings the festivities to a touching climax. Her story forces The Fre to rethink their mindless ways of jumping on the bandwagon to punch, bully, and torture those who are different.

Hero must make a choice: Will he stay and battle the Fres’ conformity in its most absurd and useless forms?  Or will he destroy the bridges and make a better life elsewhere?

In a strangely powerful production, Oakland Theater Project reveals the dangers of group think. Under the sharp direction of Mylo Cardona, they open the door to love.  A kiss can do so much more than a slap in these testy times. Escape to “The Fre” and share the joy during Pride Month.

“The Fre” by Taylor Mac, directed by Mylo Cardona, set design by Sam Fehr, props by Heidi Button, costumes by Ashley Corso, lighting by Ashley Munday, sound by Pher Ellis, at Oakland Theater Project, Oakland, California.

Info: oaklandtheaterproject.org – to June 28, 2026.

Cast: Myles Bell, Kiril Bolotnikov, Schuster, Juleanne Millan Antunez, Danni Blackman, Arielle Powell, Kendrick Omolade, and Bobby the Puppet.

Banner photo: Bobby the Puppet, Danni Blackman, Juleanne Millan Antunez, and Kiril Bolotnikov. Photos by Adam Elder Montanaro