Den Theatre Feels Like a Sex Soaked Carnival as THE FLY HONEY SHOW Happily Flaunts Sex Positivity –Sexuality, Gender and Sexy in Every Six Ways To Sunday Way
Making quite the entrance with graceful athletic moves following the songs he struck with tuning forks in his hands, A. Raheim White slithered on to the center stage runway near the evening’s half-point mark. He was chanting “Om…” and soon got us chanting along with him. He introduced silence to what had been din. His graceful glides were then taken over by his lecture on yin, yang and the in between called just queer. His rap waxed to become a rant far more in keeping with the beginning, middle and end message of THE FLY HONEY SHOW. That message is that sex—six ways to Sunday variants all—is not only okay, but as cool as it gets.
Den Theatre Feels Like a Sex Soaked Carnival
The Den Theatre space has been transformed to have more the feel of an arena. Many have grabbed the less expensive standing only tickets, adding to the feel of commotion just like they did at Shakespeare’s Globe back in the day. For this writer, the show begins long before the doors open, when you get to see your fellow enthusiasts on the queue, many of whom are sporting leather halters and other styles that would invite Central Casting to consider them as able understudies.
This celebration of sex positivity begins and ends with T&A spotlighted by such black leather halters, fishnet stocking variants, g-strings and the like. Actually, it’s not just T & A in the traditional definition but also some free swinging male parts and them their parts of the gender unspecified. The ideology of The Fly Honey Show – that is conveyed loudly and repeatedly—is that all bodies are cool. Well, not exactly all-- as any boomer in the crowd will likely similarly note that the casting choices seem to leave to Ivan Albright the artistic challenges of capturing gravity-born geriatric sexual splendor.
There’s a band-- not exactly in tune, but with moments of striking rhythm—helping to set the pace along with lighting designer Heather Sparling who transitions something akin to scenes with purple, orange and other colored explosions of quick klieg effects. There’s three singing emcees that feign dominatrix postures from time to time. Separate comedians come along with routines that touch on sex and race and meeting the costume requirements of barely there.
Most of what is going down is dancing feigning copulation—and if you somehow are in a coma and unable to grasp which body parts are in heat there are fans, pasties and other hit you over the head visual clues galore. You begin to realize early on that any clothing suitable for the street is the most transient of costumes that can be. Hey, were her pasties REALLY made from the electrical tape we imagined them to be?
From time to time, the show’s namesake dancing group emerges from the sea of scantily clad bodies-of-all-types as oases of choreographed pros. They’re pretty darn good, in this writer’s view, but choreographed in moves that-- like the show’s patter --comes off a bit one-note in the end, especially if one is familiar with this choreographer’s work in other productions (Choreographer: Breon Arzell).
This is the tenth season of The Fly Honey Show, and it features a rotating cast of over 300 performers, Featured Artists, and one-night-only special guests, including Vocalo’s Jill Hopkins; comedian Shannon Noll; Chicago-based hip hop duo GLITTER MONEYYY; Chicago’s first all-female mariachi group, Mariachi Sirenas; BAPS Comedy; a performance off of Synergy, the first all-women produced, performed and engineered hip-hop album; author Britteney Black Rose Kapri, dancer Ysaye Alma, Chicago-based transgender musician SuperKnova; Indian classical dancer Laksha Dantran; poet McKenzie Chinn, and more.
One note though the show strikes this reviewer as being, it’s a very good and proud note that’s been too long in coming. This millennial mindset is a huge trade-up!! Ozzie and Harriet- make a note!!
Most of good cheer will likely want to join in this celebration at least once. For those whose lives might be dominated by craving sexual acceptance and finding ways to express their drives it’s quite clear why The Fly Honey Show might become somewhat addictive. Judging by the crowd, there is no shortage of returnees.
Grab a beer and welcome to the hive!
RECOMMENDED
Fly Honey 10 Cast:
Alyssa Gregory, Bear Bellinger, Bran Moorhead, Bri Buckley, Cassandra Porter, Dee Alaba, Erin Kilmurray, Ginny Cook, Jillian Endebrock, Kasey Alfonso, Marta Jean Evans, Mary Williamson, Molly Brennan, Nora Sharp, Quinn Tsan, Ryan Tang, Sydney Charles, Tia Monet Greer
FLY HONEY 10 FEATURED ARTIST LINE-UP
<<>>
WEEKEND ONE - AUG 8 - 10
Maggie Kubley + morgan mcnaught Shannon Noll
Mariachi Sirenas
Laksha Dantran
8.8 - Michelle Zacarias 8.9 - McKenzie Chinn 8.10 - Maureen SanDiego
<<>>
WEEKEND TWO - AUG 15 - 17
Dalton Rhodes
Britteney Black Rose Kapri The Synergy Collective Arti Ishak
8.15 - Angelica Grace 8.16 - Jill Hopkins 8.17 - Emily Rogers
<<>>
WEEKEND THREE - AUG 22 - 24
BAPS Comedy GLITTER MONEYYY Nora Sharp
A. Raheim White
8.22 - Chris Aldana 8.23 - Mia Vivens 8.24 - Nexus J.
<<>>
WEEKEND FOUR - AUG 29 - 31
Melissa Duprey Ysaye Alma Irregular Girl Karari
8.29 - Niki Gee
8.30 - Karmen Elaine + Natalie Alford 8.31 - Jason Jackson + Darling Shear
<<>>
WEEKEND FIVE - SEPT 5 - 7
SuperKnova Felicia Holman Krystal Ortiz Ambe'r Johnson
9.5 - Cinna Marie 9.6 - Ryan Tang 9.7 - Breon Arzell
Creator + Director: Erin Kilmurray
Producing Director: Missi Davis
Writers: Mary Williamson + Shannon Matesky
Music Director + Arrangements: John Cicora
Choreography Team: Erin Kilmurray + Alyssa Gregory + Kasey Alfonso
Associate Director: Dani Wieder
Lead Curator: Bindu Poroori
Associate Curator: Aaliyah Christina
One-Night-Only Artist Coordinator: Quinn Tsan
Digital Composition: Misha Fiksel
Assistant Music Director: Ayanna Woods
Host Trifecta: Mary Williamson + Molly Brennan + Sydney Charles
Hive Choreographer: Breon Arzell
Assoc. Hive Choreographer + Hive Captain: Ryan Tang
Production Manager: Madeleine Borg
Stage Manager: Ellen Willett
Assistant Stage Manager + Band Manager: Liam Minetti
Rehearsal Assistant Stage Manager: Maddie Barton
Set + Props Designer + Scenic Charge: Eleanor Kahn
Lighting Designer: Heather Sparling
Lighting Director: Slick Jorgensen
Sound Designer: Robert Hornbostel
Sound Engineer: Millie Sloan
Technical Director: Bran Moorhead
Master Carpenter: Jacob Mulcahy
Creative Director: Jen L'Amour Dorman
Video Producer: Abraham Werewolf
Production Assistants: Maddie Barton + Nadya Naumaan
Audience Services Manager: Jillian Endebrock
Front of House Manager: Chris Perez Zamiar
When:
Thru September 7
Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays 10 PM
Where:
The Den Theatre
1331 North Milwaukee
Chicago
Tickets:
$35+
*Sold Out - except, 25-30 tickets released nightly at the box office at 8pm.
A portion of ticket sales is donated to feminist agenda organization Ultraviolet.
For more information visit THE FLY HONEY SHOW website.
Photo: Studio shots by Anjali Pinto; Performance images from Glitter Guts Eric Strom
About the Author: Amy Munice
Amy Munice is Editor-in-Chief and Co-Publisher of Picture This Post. She covers books, dance, film, theater, music, museums and travel. Prior to founding Picture This Post, Amy was a freelance writer and global PR specialist for decades—writing and ghostwriting thousands of articles and promotional communications on a wide range of technical and not-so-technical topics.
Amy hopes the magazine’s click-a-picture-to-read-a-vivid-account format will nourish those ever hunting for under-discovered cultural treasures. She especially loves writing articles about travel finds, showcasing works by cultural warriors of a progressive bent, and shining a light on bold, creative strokes by fledgling artists in all genres.