By Tony Madden
“Gospel Is A Drag!” is an original new “infomusical” blending politics, the tradition of gospel music, and the art of drag by local screenwriter and playwright Jerry Rapp. Performances, put on with help from artistic director Korey Childs, are set for June 12-15 and June 19-22 at the Arts Asylum. Shows on Sundays and Mondays are at 7 p.m., while others are at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $25.
In the play, a choir director who moonlights as a drag performer is let go from her job at a church after her alter ego is exposed. Instead of backing down, Gloria ‘In Excesses’ Deo interrupts a stodgy town hall meeting in her fictional city of Squibbtown, Missouri. Hijinks ensue.
The musical touches on LGBTQ+ issues while incorporating both original and traditional gospel music. Rapp was inspired to write the musical when drag performers became the subject of “absurd” political attacks around 2020, he said.
“It’s not a satire on gospel at all,” Rapp said. “It’s actually a celebration and a reverie toward the craft and the art of gospel.”