Closed for two years due to damage caused by a fire in 2022, the intimate upstairs cabaret space at The Duplex, an iconic West Village performance venue since the 1960s, has now reopened as the Fire Island-themed nightclub Ferry’s Landing NYC, with Little House on the Ferry: The Musical by Rob Gould (book, music, and lyrics) and Rob Arbelo (music and lyrics), choreography by Michael McCrary, and directed by Victoria Rae Sook. The lively, immersive, and interactive new work follows friends who meet up for a weekend on Fire Island for a surprise 30th birthday celebration in June 2011, just as the Marriage Equality Act is coming up for vote in the NY Senate. It’s a wild tale of love and chosen family, politics, business, and money, and a lot of Planter’s Punch, led by a sensational Drag Queen and her Greek Chorus of three amazing quick-change triple+ threats.
The party starts even before the show officially begins, when the audience, seated at the back and sides of the stage and the runway, where a lot of the close-up action takes place (set by Shawn Lewis), is served libations and personally welcomed by the dazzling Queen (Felipe Galganni as Xana DuMe) in a sparkling gown, along with her engaging Chorus (Kailin Brown, Manuela Agudelo, and Kelsey Rogers) dressed in LIRR conductors uniforms (costumes by Indigo Leigh). When the company enters, we are encouraged to clap along to “Give You the Clap Clap” (an indication of some of the suggestive slang humor to come, as in “Randy, You’re Making Me Randy”), then informed that the train to the Fire Island ferry is “Now Boarding.” The boat soon arrives at the gay summer mecca for a weekend of partying, though not without a few major snags along the way.
Timothy (Andrew Leggieri), who planned the celebration for Randall (Charles Osborne), his boyfriend of four years, is late, and it won’t be the first time, or the last, when he’s delayed by his work as an attorney. They and their friend Antonio (Gilberto Saenz) are staying at the guest house owned and operated by Donnie (Christopher Harrod), mourning the loss of his longtime partner George and facing financial struggles. Out on the beach, in the absence of Timothy, Randall encounters Jake (Troy Valjean Rucker) – of Jake’s Rake Blog fame, which he enthusiastically follows – who was on the same ferry and was immediately attracted to him (Antonio, a newbie to Fire Island, has already fallen for a muscular hunk who’s “Oh So Delicioso” and undoubtedly a “Steroid Queen” – no spoilers here, you’ll just have to wait and see him for yourself), and the scene is set for the funny, high-camp, buoyant story.
The entertaining cast delivers the laughs, the personalities, their thoughts and emotions, and takes us through 23 musical numbers (music direction by Quenton Ellis) that range in style from a romantic duet and show tunes to disco, pop, and country (with people from the audience invited by members of the company to join them in a spirited hoedown). There’s also a spectacular tap dance by the Queen, the Chorus appearing as a wide range of figures, including the deer (“Stagettes” and later “Staggots”), sandwich-stealing seagulls, and fish-in-the-sea at Fire Island, and as spa attendants with Eastern European accents for Timothy’s treatment (then all four dancing a tango to his “Vanity”), and one of them (Agudelo) roller-skating through a dance routine – with a wide array of changing costumes, lighting (by Zach Pizza), and sound (by Ryk Lewis) – along with an explanation of why the Happy Hours are called “Teas.” It all makes us feel totally immersed in the community, as if “We’re on Fire Island.”
Will gay marriage become a reality? Will Randall get the proposal he’s dreaming of from Timothy? Will Jake try to persuade him to consider being with him instead? What will “Randall’s Decision” be? Will Donnie and his guest house survive their economic hardships and be there for more fabulous summers on Fire Island? We already know that the Marriage Equality Act was voted into law (and is toasted by the cast in “We Got Our Rights”), and it IS a musical so you can be pretty sure there’ll be a happy “Ferry Tale Ending.” No need for a “#sadface” here, just go, join in all the fun, and have a blast at Ferry’s Landing and the long-awaited reopening of The Duplex!
Running Time: Approximately one hour and 40 minutes, without intermission.
Little House on the Ferry: The Musical plays through Saturday, November 9, 2024, at Ferry’s Landing NYC, upstairs at The Duplex, 61 Christoper Street, NYC. For tickets (priced at $85-125, including fees), go online.
If you’d like to extend the party into late night, with DJs and go-go dancers, Farandole The Dance takes place after Little House on the Ferry on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays, with doors opening at 11:00 pm. Separate tickets (priced at $20-125, including fees) are required.
