Thirsty

This musical dramedy stars Scott Townsend as himself, a real-life Cher impersonator whose stage name is Thirsty Burlington. Serving up a stylish origin story, Thirsty begins on a note of fantasy, introducing Townsend as a little girl with superpowers--delightful snapshot moments that alternate with scenes of a less assertive, young male Scott trying his best to look sexually ambiguous. At different stages of growing up, Townsend (played by multiple actors) struggles with gender identity issues--not so much his own feelings, but rather those of family members and others. Living with his supportive but substance-abusing mother, Townsend has a lot of other conflicts on his plate, contributing to isolation. All of that changes when Townsend finds himself in demand as a full-on drag act doing a pretty good impression of Cher. Late director Margo Pelletier sprinkles her light-operatic take on Townsend’s story with playful, sudden shifts to dance numbers and group singing, at times evoking West Side Story and other musical classics, all in infectious good fun. Recommended. (T. Keogh)