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The semiregular queer standup showcase Be Gay, Do Crime teases an intriguing premise: comedians airing out the “crimes” of an LGBTQ+ figure (or a queer-coded straight person) via PowerPoint. BGDC takes its name from a phrase in a vintage political cartoon that’s gotten new life since the late 2010s as an anti-assimilation call. The GAY AF ticketing model (that’s “give as you’re able, friend”) makes arts and entertainment accessible to people whose wallets need a break, and while the BGDC held Oct. 26 at Fuse Theatre Ensemble’s Back Door Theater boasted some solid jokes and performances, not everyone brought their A game.
Lindy Tongol started off promising in their examination of Aubrey Plaza’s acting career, taking deserved swipes at Saturday Night Live and the state of Delaware, but the set fizzled out criticizing Plaza’s roles as a reflection of her personal bisexuality. They also let slip a poor taste joke about Plaza’s late husband that was just not worth it.
Zane Thomas trotted out a cleverly self-referential take on Blade, but his main point—that Blade’s vampire hatred is a metaphor for internalized bigotry—is not entirely original. That and many of the ideas Thomas shared about Blade have been reshared online by movie and comic book buffs for over 20 years, but the way he connected the material to himself was fun.
Closing comic Ameerah Sanders saved the evening from being two hours of people reading trivia and TikTok takes. She was prepared, she was passionate and, most importantly, she was consistently funny with no low moments.
Sanders ripped on Grigori Rasputin, the Russian mystic. She said by today’s standards, Rasputin would be a spiritual wellness scammer on Instagram. Sanders hilariously sent up both his real-life reputation and Christopher Lloyd’s portrayal of him in the 1997 Don Bluth film Anastasia as a bitter old queen who wants to kill the new twink on the scene because, in her words, “he’s a G.” She was playing to two dozen people who might not even have paid her, but Sanders still gave the audience more than its money’s worth.
