The Toronto Theatre Review: Soulpepper Theatre’s The Guide to Being Fabulous

By Ross

The energy in the room is infectious, with cabaret-style tables and chairs lining the runway of a stage at Soulpepper Theatre on the opening night of the fabulously delicious romp, The Guide to Being Fabulous. Now I must admit (as is my usual), I didn’t know very much walking into the space, but I intuitively knew that something fabulous was going to be gliding down that runway determined to entice and entertain. But I had no idea about this woman or the vibrant life story she was planning to unfurl before me. Feathers and all. And then, she appears, gloriously draped in silhouetted red, standing posed and proud before a video montage of rock stars, models, and iconic stage icons. Who was this woman who was at the center of this wildly energetic universe? Well sit back and soak it all in, because after what felt like a decade of cheers and applause, Sandra Caldwell, the creator and star, let out a hilarious grunt that got this decadent ball rolling. And what a showcase it is.

Originally from Washington, D.C., Sandra Caldwell (Stratford Festival’s Chicago) has had a journey worth telling, and as she starts to unfold her story, one that would walk, or should I say, float us gracefully forward for the next 90 minutes, it’s clear that there is more to this woman than meets the eye. She gently, with a vast unending well of energy and enthusiasm, ushers us into her initial conflict, one that has kept her afraid and nervous for most, or maybe all of her life. She leads us in, telling us about a message her mother left for her one recent day. “Baby, it should have been you,” is what she said, and we all lean in wondering, curious what that was all about. What kind of existence has this seemingly determined and fabulous performer standing tall before us lived through for all these years, to feel the fear of waiting to be caught, as if she’s always hearing dangerous footsteps close behind her.

Is this going to be a tale of violence or assault, played out over the years, I wondered to myself? Generational trauma or post-traumatic stress and how it has played havoc on her life for all these years? Or is it something else; some type of internalized shame that has been lingering around inside her, playing havoc with her senses? Where the footsteps she is so worried about are more about some sort of revelation than an attack, or maybe both, wrapped up together with fear that has been generated by a suppression decades old. Where are we going in this one-person show? And how will it all play out?

Well, you’re going to have to wait a bit for the full unpacking, even though she basically gives it up casually, talking about all the troubles and problems she has had being a trans woman and how they all might disappear now that Laverne Cox was on the cover of a magazine. But Caldwell, who wrote the book and lyrics of this wonderfully captivating spotlight show, with music by Caldwell and James Dower, additional music and lyrics by John Alcorn, and additional dialogue by Marilyn Jaye Lewis, has a lot on her mind as she takes a look back, and she’s not going to give away all of her secrets until she is good and ready. Just like she did in her real, and utterly fascinating, life journey.

She digs in, laying out the hard-knock life she was handed in the very early years of her life, running away, and basically joining the Dupont Circle circus at a far-too-young age. She doesn’t really dive head-first into the emotional baggage of being a trans woman or even how she was handling herself during that difficult time. That, I guess, is beside the point, at least for the time being. But she does talk with great pride about all the intensely strong and powerful women who have helped guide this “brand new girl in a brand new world” through her days as a panhandler and pickpocket. They were there, holding out a helping had all the way from the Circle to the burlesque stage as both a server, stripper, and ultimately a singer. She’s had a few different names bestowed upon her, some sweeter than others, by these guiding ladies, although the one she seems to hold the tightest and dearest feels, at first like a slap, but was really the warmest of hugs.

We move with her, gladly and joyously, down her strongly designed runway, courtesy of set designer Anahita Dehbonehie (Factory’s Trojan Girls…), with strong lighting by Michelle Ramsay (Tarragon’s Redbone Coonhound), a slightly off-balanced sound design by Thomas Ryder Payne (Stratford’s Much Ado About Nothing), and some killer video and projections by Frank Donato (Tarragon’s Orestes). She proudly makes her way around, by the skin of her teeth, from sissy Oliver Twist chic to glamorous cover model, keeping it moving as if her life depended on it. And maybe it did. She finds her way to Harlem in the days and nights of 4 a.m. drag balls courtesy of the Diva herself, to the ‘realness’ that she embodied on that stage. It seems she has had many Divas holding out their hands for her in offering, drawing us into her story with an ease and a wink, as we watch her arms move like graceful swan wings. She floats around the space, telling us about her No-Plan plan, and the generosity and care she was given by many a-mentor. “Das ist gut“, she enthusiastically exclaims, as she strides forward, camouflaging her fear by being loud and confident. It works, for the most part, doing the tango of lies in hopes of pulling it all together and surviving.

We’ve never seen anything like this before, but the “what ifs” hang in the air, challenging her to come clean about her truth, and it takes a while in this storytelling tale. She glosses over her troubles, while offering up fascinating details of her wild and tumultuous life filled with Moulin Rouge intrigue and deportations. It’s a clever unrolling, albeit a bit slight on some of the more intimate, complicated moments she must have been dealing with over all these years as a trans woman, but those seem less important for her to really dive into. She’d rather stick with a different type of programming, one that is more fabulous and frantic, and as directed with a breezy intune-ness by Soulpepper’s Artistic Director Weyni Mengesha (Soulpepper’s Kim’s Convenience) and backed up by two of the most fabulous singers and performers around; the delicious Tiffany Deriveau (Stratford’s Chicago) and the powerful Miss Niki Nikita (Light Echo Theatre’s Fertility), who never let her, or us down for a second, she, and they ride the energy forward, giving us lessons and instruction as were given to her on so many occasions before by her saviors and (sometimes) saints.

Dressed to the nines by costume designer Ming Wong (Canadian Stage’s Is God Is), she rallies as the show builds and unpacks years of complicated survival tactics and disappearing acts. But the defining moment of Caldwell’s career and life, “thus far”, she tells us, was her portrayal of Darlene Andrews, an outspoken trans advocate in the ground-breaking production of Charm at NYC’s MCC Theater Company. That charmed play pushed Caldwell into a spotlight that she had so far avoided. But she couldn’t any longer, especially if she wanted to play this character who was based on an actual transgender woman, Miss Gloria Allen who volunteered at a Chicago LGBTQ community center teaching etiquette to a mostly homeless LGBT youth group. It was a play that brought more transgender people to the forefront, presenting a fairly honest depiction while letting them shine and act out in all their glory. The appeal of Charm lifted us all up and shook us awake from our privileged lives. This is what I wrote, in essence, after seeing the play back in 2017, but I didn’t know how much this play was having a pretty similar impact on its leading lady. Until now.

Charm forced her hand, in a way, opening her up and giving herself permission to live as authentically as possible. Because for her to play this character, Caldwell, herself had to be as open and unapologetic as the central figure. She had to step into the spotlight like she had never done before, telling the world her truth, just like she is doing here at Soulpepper. Because, as she says in this unapologetic show, “truth brings truth” and backed by a crew of talented musicians and performers, Caldwell brings it to us all. I only wish she might have dug a bit more into the complicated emotional journey that lies somewhere underneath the facade, into the darkness, telling a more internalized tale of struggle and shame, but that might be another kind of story, or maybe another kind of performance. This Guide to Being Fabulous is a musical celebration of life, created and unleashed for all those enthusiastic souls cheering this powerhouse woman forward. She is here to throw a fulfillment party, overflowing with tearful loving hugs and hurrays, with some stripper beveled poses along the way. And what a fun circus party it turned out to be. Her Charm is infectious, and can not be denied.