“Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.”
Or so recites Pru Perez, the bingo caller and ship entertainer of the Celesbian, a famed lesbian cruise ready to sail across the globe in all of its messy, promiscuous glory in “Swimming With Lesbians,” the newest performance to hit The Marsh. She has gained a reputation as a confident alpha lesbian but is, in fact, the meekest link of all — secretly violating the Meekness Clause of her employment contract aboard the Celesbian. The Bbible quote can only bring Pru so much solace.
Isabelle, a lLacrosse player battling a head injury and a bewildering “foreign accent syndrome,” spills all in her exclusive memoir (and ambiguous transatlantic accent) narrating the events of the ship. Aboard the Celesbian lies the most absurd assortment of lesbians, — spearheaded entirely by solo performer Marga Gomez — across the seven seas in an absolute triumph of comedy and drama.
Alongside Pru and Isaebelle is Captain Debbie, a stern and intimidating leader ready to go down with her ship; Arlene, Pru’s old boarding school bully; Aurora, the ship’s astrologer; and so many more. This raucous ship is primed and ready for uproar as Pru is forced to confront the ghosts of her past as they sail through lust, awkward tension and storms.
Gomez is an absolute triumph onstage. With so many hats to wear as seven different characters wander the intimate stage of The Marsh, it would be incredibly easy for a performer to spread themselves thin trying to balance such radically different characters. But Gomez handles these transitions with ease, emanating talent as she rapidly switches between Pru’s awkward nerves and Isabelle’s confident demeanor in all of her enthusiastic, transatlantic glory. Gomez ensures that there is never a dull moment aboard the Celesbian.
This one-woman show is a delightful divergence from Gomez’s typical performances; while the playwright and performer has often drawn from her own life experiences in her works, “Swimming With Lesbians” is a comedy show made up of diverse characters that really allow Gomez’s acting skills to shine through.
Gomez doesn’t stick to just one flavor of humor either, alternating between physical comedy, innuendos, running gags and so much more over a jam-packed 65 minute performance. This isn’t just a sign of a skilled comedian but also an indication of a refined performer as Gomez can discern exactly what style of comedy to favor during different scenes. From Pru’s clumsy encounter with other patrons (set in a cramped elevator where she grapples with how much she communicates with her hands), to her climactic, hilarious confrontation with Arlene, “Swimming With Lesbians” is the perfect dive into a fantastic hour of jokes and laughter.
The audience doesn’t just sit back and passively watch as the Celesbian slowly erupts into lesbian lunacy; Gomez invites everyone aboard to join in on the antics. The audience gets opportunities to banter a bit with the characters on stage — most often Isabelle and Pru — and to clap along, guiding the beat for yet another sea shanty. The audience is as much a part of the Celesbian as the characters are.
But while the comedy is truly something to revel in, the drama is just as intriguing. There’s a multitude of plot threads running through “Swimming With Lesbians”. While Pru’s continuously complicated relationship with Arlene takes the forefront of the play, the menagerie of characters the audience grows familiar with have their own running arcs too. Captain Debbie tries to keep Pru in line while looking for fresh meat, Isabelle is on the hunt for her first lesbian affair come hell or high water and Aurora is always excited to practice her dubiously accurate astrological skills.
Commanding the stage with confidence while juggling so many characters it could make your head spin, Gomez is a force to be reckoned with. But in “Swimming With Lesbians,” Gomez handles herself with ease as viewers get to board the Celesbian and experience the absurdity and dramatics of the lesbian cruise of a lifetime.