Rooftop Films will present the New York premiere of David McMahon’s 2014 Slamdance hit Skanks on Saturday, June 28. Set in the football-obsessed Bible belt town of Birmingham, Alabama, Skanks follows a motley troupe of amateur drag performers as they stage an original musical, ‘Skanks In A One Horse Town’, all the while coming closer together.
When men playfully model baby bottle nipples taped to their chest (in order to give the appearance of “tiny little titties dried up from drug use”) and dance to a song that goes, “get into the groove…stick it up your duke” you know this isn’t your average behind the scenes film. Skanks, a one-of-a-kind documentary, follows a wildly talented and highly inappropriate band of misfits as they rehearse for a drag musical entitled, “Skanks in a One Horse Town.”
Their venue is “Theatre Downtown,” a small community theater and a haven from football, Christianity, and the town’s conservative beliefs, stuffed inside an old antique store in bible-belt Birmingham, Alabama. Though their city is often unwelcoming, the cast bonds to form a family of sorts and never lose their raucous sense of humor.
The musical itself is about three women, played by men, who accidentally travel from 1978 Studio 54 to 1878 Deep Hole Texas via a disco ball time machine. Along with fellow time travelers Anita Bryant, Conway Twitty, and Meatloaf, the skanks must stop a local baron from demolishing the town to make room for the new railroad before they return to 1978 and New York City.
As uproarious and ribald as the musical is, the onstage histrionics in Skanks might be overshadowed by the real lives of the amateur performers, especially the writer, producer and director of the play Billy Ray Brewton’s seriously concerning addiction to soda. Director David McMahon takes us on an intimate and wildly hilarious journey into the world of Theatre Downtown, inviting us behind the scenes of the show and also into the unique cast and crew’s homes. Ultimately, Skanks is about the redemptive power of theatre. As one of the actors says, “When I’m on stage, and the audience is right there… it’s bliss.”
The Skanks premiere will feature performances by the cast of “Skanks in a One Horse Town”, as well as appearances by some of NYC’s favorite drag artists, Maddelynn Hatter and Pusse Couture! Add in an after party sponsored by New Amsterdam Vodka & Gin, and we could be looking at the wildest, most glitterific film event of the summer!
http://youtu.be/eEiz63GcgmM
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