TABLE IT FOR LAUGHTER. The Big Uncut Flick Episode 2: Murder On the Gay White Way is equal parts homage and parody of show business in the 1950s. It depicts a husband-and-wife team as they host a movie show.

The Big Uncut Flick Episode 2: Murder On the Gay White Way, which opens April 11 at the Grand Theatre, is equal parts homage and parody of show business in the 1950s. The play depicts a husband-and-wife team as they host a campy afternoon movie show, presenting an even campier 1940s film to the live studio audience (or in this case, the Eau Claire theater-going public). The play uses the classic play-within-a-play format, bouncing between the film, and the husband and wife as they comment on it. The production is complete with commercial breaks for ’50s style products such as TV dinners and “pop cakes” (conveniently sold at the concessions stand in the lobby).

“I’m excited to add more genres to the repertoire of the Eau Claire theater scene. This will appeal to anyone who’s into old movies, show business nostalgia, hilarious drag, camp performance, and plenty of innuendo.” – Todd Michaels, writer of The Big Uncut Flick Episode 2

Audiences can expect all of the maladies associated with live television in the ’50s including sound breaks and other hilarity. The “film” within the play, Murder On the Gay White Way, features a murder mystery, a despised film critic, an eccentric doweress, a spirit medium, and an Abbot & Costello-style vaudevillian policeman duo. The script is meticulously crafted, every word is chosen with purpose, and it’s chock full of innuendo. Expect plenty of cross-gender casting and hilarious drag performances.

The Big Uncut Flick Episode 2 was written by Todd Michaels, the playwright behind the wildly funny, irreverent, and critically acclaimed Asphalt Christmas, which was performed by the Chippewa Valley Theatre Guild in 2015. Todd wrote the play as the second iteration of the husband-and-wife TV show, the first of which debuted in New York. 

“I’m excited to add more genres to the repertoire of the Eau Claire theater scene,” he said. “This will appeal to anyone who’s into old movies, show business nostalgia, hilarious drag, camp performance, and plenty of innuendo.” The play is performed by the newly formed theatrical company, Performance Anxiety Inc., led by David Zwiers. Working together, the two hope to bring a variety of plays to the stage that Eau Claire theater-goers normally have to travel to see. “We really want to start bringing more small, niche, and parody theater to the area,” David explained. “The kind of things you don’t expect here.”

The Big Uncut Flick: Episode 2, written by Todd Michaels and directed by Frank Bartello • Apr. 11-14 • 8-10pm • The Grand Theatre, 102 W Grand Ave, Eau Claire • $25 general admission