Q, Bailiwick Repertory, and PATIENCE AND SARAH, Bailiwick Repertory. Of the two new shows in the Bailiwick Pride Series, the one with the least on its mind is the most rewarding while the one with sky-high aspirations is dreary and affected. Despite some missteps that bring it dangerously close to parody, the musical revue Q–a compendium of 16 ballads and ditties by gifted songwriters and life partners Dan Martin and Michael Biello–demonstrates the way to make gay musical theater celebratory without being cheeky, preachy, or crude.
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Staged here as a chamber opera with only piano accompaniment, the show is sorely missing the sparks needed between proper Patience and mild-mannered butch Sarah, played by physically and vocally mismatched Christine Wagner and Julia Turner. Kimper’s music blossoms into memorable passages too late, in the beautiful second act. And director Shifra Werch hammers the dyke-positive message in the overpoliticized libretto so relentlessly it loses any nuance it might have had.
