Special to the Gazette
Jamaica Plain’s historic community theater, The Footlight Club, closes out its 149th season in a celebration of radical joy, presenting the Go-Go’s jukebox musical, “Head Over Heels” this May. In its Broadway debut, the show became part of Broadway history, with RuPaul Drag Race legend Peppermint becoming the first transgender woman to originate a principal role on Broadway. “Head Over Heels” opens Saturday May 2 at 8pm, at 7A Eliot St, Jamaica Plain, the longtime home of America’s longest continuously operating community theater. Tickets are $28, $25 for seniors and students.
Featuring the infectious music of the Go-Gos, “Head Over Heels” is a musical comedy conceived by Jeff Whitty (Avenue Q) as a reinvention of the medieval romance, Arcadia. It is a celebration of love that follows a royal family as they race to save their kingdom, only to discover the key to its survival lies within their own hearts. This hilarious and exuberant musical shows us the joyful power of radical love and openhearted community connection, which can unite us all in a world beyond gender, categories, binaries and ‘shoulds’.
The show’s creative team is led by director Jill Tokac, producers Esther Daube-Valois and Valerie Tracy-Indrakaran, music director Bethany Aiken and choreographer Carly Martin. Rob Nunes, Adena Walker, Morgan Kaplan, Tori Vance, Jasper Pasciuto, Kat O’Connor, Peter Tone and Dayna Reichert lead an unforgettable ensemble of players, singers and performers on stage overrun with enthusiasm and good vibes.
Founded in 1877, the Footlight Club is the country’s oldest continuously operating community theater. It is located in Eliot Hall, which is itself a historic building, built in 1832. For over a century, the Footlight Club has brought the residents of Jamaica Plain and nearby Boston neighborhoods together to share, expand and experience the joys of creating and presenting theater. For more information about Eliot Hall, the Footlight Club, or “Head Over Heels”, please go to the club’s website, www.footlight.org where you can also purchase tickets.