Christmas in Bakersfield

Les Kurkendaal's solo performance in Christmas in Bakersfield, which opened the Cincinnati Fringe Festival for me, was at the same time simple and winning. He poses the following loaded question for his audience: What happens when a man brings his male lover home to his family in Bakersfield, Calif., for the holidays?

Oh, but this isn't really the crux of the problem: The family has recently and grudgingly accepted their son Mike's sexual orientation. The real problem begins as Les steps across the threshold of the family's pricey, gated suburban home. Mike "forgot" to tell his family that his lover is an African American (Les, who is telling us the story).

The fun begins in this autobiographical tale as Mike's family tries to hold in their prejudicial reactions to this quite obviously black man. But they are unable to keep from compulsively making racial slurs. At one point, Mike's father Jeff (who talks like a cross between a used car salesman and a vacuum cleaner) asks Les whether he had any work done on his face, because his nose isn't wide enough to be a black nose.

What makes the performance work is that Kurkendaal obviously doesn't have any rancor for the white folks he encounters. He breezes through his social critique and largely allows the audience to come up with the horrified reactions. The way he tells the tale, which he claims is completely true, the entire situation is quite funny and the various family members come to life with well meaning comments that inadvertently expose their limited experience and views.

Kurkendaal's solo orchestration of the tale makes the performance work. We hear from mother and father first, in satirical tones that suggest both outer decorum and inner impulses. Then other family members are allowed to have their say. First there is Jeff Jr., who sounds a lot like Dad. Then comes Linda, a Latina sister-in-law who actually empathizes with Kurkendaal's predicament, having been in the same position some years before.

Eventually we hear from some shocked neighbors, and finally the extended family on Christmas Eve. The dreaded Grandma arrives (every time her name is mentioned an eerie siren goes off, followed by some music that sounds like something from a '50s cop show). Not one to give away an ending, I will refrain from describing the action of the piece further.

While watching the performance, I began to wonder where lover Mike was in all of this family hubbub. I would have liked to see his reaction to his family's crassness. I eventually decided that Kurkendaal probably needed to keep his lover well out of satirical range. In any case, the play was about the reactions of his lover’s family, not about Mike.

Another small suggestion is that the sound effect for Grandma worked so well, why not try this technique a bit more — perhaps a foghorn sound for Jeff Sr.? There were a few obviously bobbled lines that weren't covered, but I assume this problem will smooth itself out as the festival continues.

Christmas in Bakersfield is a performance that explores the borders — the fringes, if you will — of a society still strongly divided across racial lines. It's a report from the front lines, where county-clubbing whites and urban blacks seldom mix, at least not socially.

Although Kurkendaal tosses off his satire of race relations in a congenial and humorous manner, we never quite forget that he is the victim of institutionalized abuse. Grade: B+

— Mark Sterner