Willkommen? NOT. What Won't Be Playing Ric's Kennedy Center

'Hedwig and the Angry Inch'

Where to begin with Hedwig? Put simply, John Cameron Mitchell's iconic trans character is sister to Charlotte. She also survives the Communists and escapes to the United States during the waning days of the Cold War, but at a price. Stranded in Kansas, she becomes the muse of a petulant young rocker, who rockets to stardom at Hedwig's expense. All of this is told by Hedwig in amusing, deadly ironic patter and one of the great pop scores in musical theater history. Her humble stage beginnings were in a Welfare hotel on the West Side of Manhattan in 1998 with the extraordinary Mitchell; and she eventually made her uptown (with Neil Patrick Harris), She even has a history at the Kennedy Center: in 2017 the musical appeared there during the Broadway production's national tour. We have no idea if Ric is a fan.

'Where's Charley?'

In 1892, three years before "The Importance of Being Earnest," another Victorian-era comedy rocked London.Called "Charley's Aunt," it would run for just under 1,500 performances, a record for its time. And while it had no character as imposing as Oscar Wilde's Lady Bracknell, it has one considered far more dangerous, at least by Donald and Ric's standards – a man disguised as his friend's matronly aunt. It was all in good, heterosexual fun, which is how drag pretty much was defined throughout the 20th century either in British pantomime or on American television, thanks to Milton Berle and Flip Wilson. "Charley's Aunt" successfully transferred to the American musical stage as a vehicle for dancer Ray Bolger in 1948 as "Where's Charley?"with a score by Broadway newcomer Frank Loesser, choreography by George Balanchine, and direction by George Abbott. Bolger later filmed the musical. Though it pretty much has been forgotten, a revival could bring attention to its historic place as a musical that showed drag as the harmless fun it is.

'The Drag'

If there's a play that may be worth looking at, if only for historical value, it is Mae West's highly controversial 1927 play "The Drag" that provided proof that drag culture and gay life were alive and thriving during the Gatsby era. It also made West a lot of money during its brief tenure on Broadway and a stint in jail. She famously laughed it off with the quip, "A few days in the pen 'n' a $500 fine ain't too bad a deal". West then donated to the women's prison and established the Mae West Memorial Library. It certainly would have lasted longer than its two week run had The Society for the Prevention of Vice had not threatened to investigate all the shows running on Broadway that year – its biggest ever with 260 shows. That it has never been given a major revival make it a queer curiosity, but one that will have to look elsewhere than the Kennedy Center if it wants a DC home.