The Night Larry Kramer Kissed Me

I'd heard about this performance piece for years, but never had the pleasure of seeing it until it's recent release on DVD. Drake plays a multitude of gay characters through the show, from an innocent child, to lovestruck teenager, to a happy half of a couple in an long term relationship. The dexterity to which he switches roles at a moment's notice is startling and honest. He plays the range of characters, not only to make a statement, but to also include us in the piece as well. Drake is at his finest in this piece, and thankfully, forever captured on this DVD.

The piece itself builds from the development of a gay man around his birthdays, to the end, which paints a lovely, if not fantastical, vision of the future. Steeped in history, honoring those who have fallen before us in the great early-ignored plague of the 80's and 90's, introspective, we see roots, and we see the wings of probably one of the most important times in our history. Such things shall not be forgotten. If anything good will come out of the turmoils we suffered and continue to suffer, it's quite possibly the wonderful quality of art that it has inspired us to produce. This DVD testifies to that.

A must have for any DVD collector, I highly recommend this artsy, gutsy, wonderful piece of writing and acting for your collection. You'll watch it again and again.


Kisses, kudos, and raves   June 28, 2002
Charles S. Houser (Binghamton, NY)
9 out of 11 found this review helpful

This one-person theater piece was nicely reconceived for the screen. David Drake takes big risks playing his emotions supersized and at first this can be off-putting. But if you stick with it, sketch after sketch, you come to accept his perspective. He is speaking about politically and emotionally charged issues. A minimalist tack would have undermined the intensity of what he has created. Drake also comes dangerously close to preaching at his audience, telling us what to believe and how to live out our lives. (In the end, though, his personal attractiveness and charm keep you from getting too annoyed with him. The strident radical is moderated by the petulant child.) There are echoes of Lily Tomlin in his childhood characters, and shades of Sandra Bernhart in his sex-obsessed narcicistic adults. As for the question of whether Drake's material will become quickly dated, it should be noted that the material is already over a dozen years old and seems to be holding up just fine. AIDS is still with us, parents continue to be forced to face their children's homosexuality for the first time as they have for generations, and our society continues to prescribe relatively rigid gender roles for all its citizens. The play concludes with a rather warm-hearted look about a decade into the future. The character's observations put our current angst into a bemused sort of light. Interestingly, there are two older video-taped versions of this sketch among the DVD extras. It's fascinating to see the adjustments Drake made over time to keep his material fresh and amusing...and to see how his skills as a performer have evolved. The DVD comes with a nice commentary from Drake and his director. Good stuff all around. A homo must-have.


Great theatre and a great DVD production.   June 7, 2002
Kevin Casey (Fishers, IN USA)
8 out of 9 found this review helpful

As riviting on film as it was in the theatre. David Drake can, in the blink of an eye take you from a humorous moment deep into thought and retrospect. A great plus of this DVD are the two older endings that suscintly show how our lives have been changed since the beginning of this piece to the 1990's Off Broadway production and to this more current version.This piece was written as a message of hope and it certainly delivers. Thanks, David.