Theatre review: Fifty Four Forever

[Editor’s note] Never dancing at Studio 54 will go down as is the single biggest disappointment of my lifetime. The missing memories of disco, drugs, and hot boy dancers still haunt me.

But the pain of those disappointments was lessened on Saturday, thanks to Tommy Tune. As reported last week, I was lucky enough to score tickets to see Fifty Four Forever at the University of Miami Ring Theater.

Under the direction of Mr. Tune, Fifty Four Forever tells the story of Steve Rubell’s meteoric rise, style-defining success, and eventual fall. It encapsulates all of magic and the divine decadence of a world created by a boy from Brooklyn. While it doesn’t shy away from the less savory aspects of Rubell’s life, Fifty Four Forever is a fun, funny musical ride through the best sights and sounds of the 70s.

The staging and production value of this show was truly impressive. Mr. Tune’s Fifty Four Forever is entirely staged on a red runway, with red string lights hanging down from the roof. There’s a baby grand piano on one side and a stripper pole on the other; both of which are used expertly. On a personal note: I’d like my future home to look exactly like what was just described. For their part, the entire cast was dressed in red, skin-tight jump suits which left little to my imagination. The suits were altered according to who was playing whom. Among the more notable cameos: Halston, Warhol, Capote, Elizabeth Taylor (in full Cleopatra regalia), and a gaytastic Liza Minnelli. Have no doubt; gay pearls were clutched.

Steve Rubell was played by an exceptional young talent named Kyle Axman (pictured, right). One of the many good take-aways from this show was the innovative approach taken to Rubell's character. In news clippings of the day and with Mike Meyer’s rendition in 54, Rubell always came across as a self-indulgent, pervy creeper. But in Fifty Four Forever, Tune and Axman imbue Rubell’s character with boyish hopes and dreams. They construct a man with ambition and insight; a man who was both eager to please and be pleased. To but it plainly, Axman's Steve Rubell was the tragic hero you rooted for despite the odds against him. He made magic and paid the price for it in a world ripe with no imagination.

Fifty Four Forever hit all the right disco beats. While I can't see how this would ever work on a big Broadway stage, I hope it has a life after it's college run. It's a story that has rarely been told with such precision and exuberance. Fifty Four Forever is essentially a love letter to a transformative time and place that unfortunately lasted all but 33 months. It is a letter everyone should see.