The Metropolitan Community Church (MCC) of San Diego will be presenting Follies at the Met, Saturday, Oct. 15 at 7 p.m., for one night only. The event will also include a spaghetti dinner that starts at 5:30 p.m. And, during the dinner hour, there will be a silent auction consisting of 15 home decorating items from around the world.
The Follies was a long-standing annual tradition to raise funds for MCC. The first production was in 1975. It was one of the “biggest gay events of its time” according to writer/director/composer David Root, who has written an entirely new Follies for this year.
“The original Follies had three performances held at Lewis Jr. High School in Mission Gorge,” said Root. “The show was a mix of dance numbers, comedy sketches and singing acts and special guest performances by groups in the gay community. The Lavender Fillies, Iron Spur Dancers and The BJ Broncos were featured in dancer numbers. I performed in my first Follies in 1984 as a member of the gay male song and dance group The Bugle Boys. We did a comedy ballet number called Les Sylphides.”
Tough times hit the MCC in the mid 80s due to the AIDS epidemic and the church lost a number of members putting the Follies on hold for many years.
“We had to put the Follies on hold and put our energy into helping out those who were being devastated by this horrible disease,” recalled Root. “Instead of putting together a show to celebrate our many talents, we were organizing blood drives, funerals and prayer vigils. We lost so many members of the cast and church that we were burying them sometimes three in a week. All these wonderful and talented people whisked away; and so too went the Follies.”
Root also mentioned that the pastor at that time, Rev. David Farrell organized a 24-hour prayer vigil and invited other churches and clergy to join the MCC. That vigil is what is known today as World AIDS Day, an event that started right here in San Diego.
As for the Follies; they are up and running again, but with some notable changes.
“Times have changed since the eighties, and one of the fastest growing segments of MCC San Diego is the heterosexual membership,” said Root. “What used to mostly be a congregation of gay men and women is now a very diverse and eclectic mix. In the 80s you had so many guys wanting to play the drag roles that you had to almost hold auditions to decide who to cast. In this production our opening number is from La Cage which features four guys playing drag show girls. It was so hard to find enough guys willing to put on heels and a dress, so one is a straight girl, playing a guy, who is playing a drag queen. In the Hawaiian number we have two straight guys playing drag hula girls. I think this is a wonderful testament to how the Follies brings people together for a common cause, eliminating prejudices and labels.”
Root also added, “[The fact] that we can have straight guys who are playing drag queens and they feel comfortable to invite their friends and family to come out to see them perform is amazing. This is what MCC is all about, ‘Bringing people closer to God and one another.’”
This years Follies will be presented at the Metropolitan Community Church, 2633 Denver St. in San Diego. The dinner will take place in the Social Hall and the Follies will be presented in the Sanctuary. Ticket prices (suggested donation) are $15 for the show and $10 for the spaghetti dinner and are available at the church bookstore on Sundays and at the church office Monday – Thursday. For more information call 619-521-2222.
