STAGE WEST: "TL;DR: Thelma Louise; Dyke Remix" at Diversionary Theatre

In their T-Bird Sophia Araujo Johnson (left) and Sara Porkalob in "TL;DR." Photo by Talon Reed Cooper

            Foremost among the urgent questions posed by a world-premiere musical at Diversionary Theatre is: Whether it’s in film, on television or onstage, why do strong female characters always have to die? Taking it a step further at Diversionary, why do strong gay female characters have to die?
            EllaRose Chary and Brandon James Gwinn’s “TL;DR: Thelma Louise; Dyke Remix” (yeah … cumbersome title to say the least) proclaims that these characters don’t HAVE to die, imagining for Thelma Dickinson and Louise Sawyer a raucous queer afterlife following their memorable T-Bird plunge into the Grand Canyon in the 1991 film.
            Chary and Gwinn told me in an interview prior to my seeing this production that not only are T (Sophia Araujo-Johnson) and L (Sara Porkalob) as they’re called here seeking a “queer happy ending” but so are the members of the onstage, unnamed band (Lyric Boothe, Faith Carrion, MG Green and Steph Lehane) who welcome or try to indoctrinate (take your pick) the new arrivals to this rock ‘n’ roll afterlife.
            Occupying more than half of this show, which is skillfully directed by Sherri Eden Barber, are the dialectics of queer politics and both the misconceptions and expectations inherent in them. Soon after their arrival, T-Bird and all, T and L are given an “Encyclopedia Lesbianica” for reference; they’re also thrust into game-show Q&As (during a three-art “Vagilantes” series), role playing and closeup observation by the omnipresent band members.  
            No doubt Callie Khoury, who wrote the script for “Thelma and Louise,” couldn’t have dreamed that her characters’ kiss at the end of the film would someday spark a show like “TL;DR.”
            What’s promising about this world premiere is not so much what it has to say, but how it sounds – Gwinn’s music and lyrics are alternately audacious and quite affecting, and the actor/musicians onstage are skilled in spite of less than ideal acoustics at Diversionary. Then there’s just how much giddy fun “TL;DR” can be. It’s got puppets. It’s got a giant lobster and a giant unicorn. It turns T and L into cartoon characters.
             It’s not a stretch to say anything goes here.
            It’s also got Sara Porkalob, whose one-person show “Dragon Mama” was a high point of San Diego theater last year. As the wiser, tougher, more skeptical half of the T&L twosome, Porkalob can win laughs with just a facial expression – and she does much more than that over the course of this freewheeling 90-minute one-act. Her solo tune “Stuck” is also one of the show’s best musical moments.
            Sophia Araujo-Johnson as T has the long-legged height of Geena Davis and the requisite chemistry with Porkalob. Her own solo, “Put Up A Fight” near the end of the show, is a crowd-pleaser.
            MG Green on bass is the snarkiest of the band members and Lyric Boothe, the guitarist, renders possibly the musical’s essential message song, “Love, Yourself.”
            The reprising ballad “Powerful Love” hovers over “T;L” and implies the answer to all pressing questions about identity and truth to self.
            But regardless of what this show is trying to say in Chary’s script, its double entendres and f-bombs, and its stage props and physical comedy are what you’ll remember when you walk out of the theater. You might even have one of Gwinn’s songs in your head, and not every new musical can achieve that.
            Could the premise of “TL;DR: Thelma Louise; Dyke Remix” have worked as a 12-minute bit on “The Big Gay Sketch Show”? Sure. But then you wouldn’t have had all the musical numbers that are really responsible for giving this work its life flow.
            One more thing: If you’re one of the few who’s never seen “Thelma and Louise,” that won’t matter a bit. You can enjoy this adventure in the afterlife and the personal journey of its two “sheroes” just fine.
            “TL;DR: Thelma Louise; A Dyke Remix” runs through June 9 at Diversionary Theatre in University Heights.