Hell In A Handbag productions was founded in 2002 with its debut production POSEIDON! An Upside-Down Musical, which had successful consecutive runs before being produced at the 2003 New York International Fringe Festival where it received an Outstanding Ensemble award. David Cerda is the mastermind behind the company. As the co-founder, artistic director, and playwright, he has hemmed more than 15 of the company's productions.
The main location of HIAH productions is in Andersonville, a queer friendly neighborhood in Chicago, Illinois. A well-known joint in this area is Hamburger Mary’s, a drag friendly restaurant, which goes hand in hand with Hamburger Mary’s attic, a performance space a floor above the dining area where most of the magic is known to happen.
David Cerda plays a huge part in producing and managing the company, but he also acts in many of the shows. In an interview by Voyage Chicago, Cerda talks about his personal journey that got him to create the campy and over-the-top parodies which is what makes up a Hell In A Handbag production. “I started my Chicago theater career in my early 30’s. I became involved in theater with a small company, Sweetback Productions, led by Kelly Anchors- and I felt I had found a home. There were other people out there who had an appreciation for the style of theater I love- campy parody and satire. I had found my purpose.”
“Heart is the key to all Handbag shows. You can laugh with the characters and ridiculous situations but never AT them. I like a happy ending, because I know happy endings exist and I want people to know it too.”
David was inducted into The Chicago LGBT Hall of Fame in 2016 for expressing his dedication “to the preservation, exploration, and celebration of the art of camp and parody onstage.” For almost 19 years Cerda has proven himself as an artist honoring a gay theatrical legacy by bringing the essence of camp back to entertainment.
A popular series from Hell In A Handbag is “Golden Girls: The Lose Episodes” a parody off the popular 80’s show, The Golden Girls, which has a large gay cult following. It started in
2017 and so far, there has been 4 volumes that HIAH has put on. Each of the iconic characters Rose, Blanche, Dorothy, and Sophia are played by actors in drag of various ages making the characters a campier version than in the sitcom. Drag plays a large part in many, if not all the productions Hell In A Handbag has produced. Usually when the word drag is heard most think of a drag queen or a drag persona. But to David and HIAH, drag means something different.
I contacted David and asked him what the relationship between drag and each Hell in a Handbag production is, and he said “We use drag as a tool for to our commitment to camp, a queer creation used to entertain and skewer cultural norms. Drag in theater is a double-edged sword as it serves as both to expose the ridiculousness of society and gender definitions and also is just plain silly and fun. Drag has different reactions from various people, so in theater there can be many interpretations to any given piece.”
Due to COVID-19 their recent production “The Golden Girls: The Lost Episodes, Vol. 4 – LOCKDOWN!” was presented as digital production to maintain safety for the cast, crew, and audience, while continuing to make people laugh. Blanche returns from SantaCon with souvenirs and possibly Legionnaires disease. As a precaution, the doctor requires the four gals to stay quarantined for 30 days. Will they make it out before killing each other? In an interview with Outfront Magazine, David Cerda, who wrote the show and plays Dorothy, sits down and talks about what the new episode will entail, the art of camp in the show, and how Hell In A Handbag will continue through the pandemic.
Even while online, David describes the atmosphere as campy saying “A lot of times, camp is a bad word in theatre because they don’t want things to be too campy. We want things to be too campy. We celebrate all the gay cult films like Carrie.” When asked about what he’s looking forward to for their first online production he simply said, “Getting it over with.” He didn’t want to release a show that they did on stage online because he wanted to address what’s going on in the world. There was no zoom in the 80’s so they justified it by using St. Olaf technology that Rose knows about. “As a company, we have to keep up with the times and do what the audience needs. So, I was really up for the challenge. It’s scary, but I am up for it. Hopefully it will succeed.” He was asked what upcoming ideas he had and said Tiger queen, a musical parody of the Netflix docu-series Tiger King.
I asked David a final question: “what is Hell in A Handbag’s goal when it comes to supporting the LGBTQ community?” David responded “After 18 years we have been become a favorite of camp aficionados in Chicago and beyond. We have always been a refuge for many in the LGBTQIA community who may be deemed ‘castable’. This is changing, for the better. We have also raised over $65,000.00 in the past 10 years for various LGBTQIA services in Chicago because we believe it is our duty to give back to the community we serve.”
Visit http://www.handbagproductions.org for more information.
Commentaires