Drew Droege – ‘Bright Colors And Bold Patterns’

Actor, producer and king of video parodies, Drew Droege, will be proudly presenting “Bright Colors And Bold Patterns.” He will be performing the hysterically riotous one-man play, both written and performed by him, in an exclusive engagement from November 20 to January 7 at Soho Playhouse, 15 Vandam Street, NYC. The play is directed by Michael Urie (“Ugly Betty,” “Cocktails and Classics”). For more information and ticket sales, visit BrightColorsAndBoldPatterns.com.

The play celebrates the night before the Palm Springs wedding of Josh and Brennan, when their friend Gerry arrives furious about their matrimonial dress code stated on the invitation: “Please refrain from wearing bright colors or bold patterns.” Gerry transforms the evening into a relentlessly funny “night before” drunken, drug-filled riot.

I spoke with the very friendly author Droege about what the audience can look forward to, as well as the topic of marriage equality itself. Droege can also be seen online in his video parodies, featuring his impressions of Chloe Sevigny; on the Logo hit series “Cocktails and Classics,” hosted by Michael Urie with guest appearances by Michael Musto and other stars; and in Paramount Network’s TV remake of “Heathers,” set to air in early spring. Other film and TV credits include “Transparent,” “Drunk History,” “Happy Endings,” “Zombie Apocalypse,” “You’re Killing Me” and “Drama Camp,” to name a few.

Tell me a little bit about the play and what audiences can look forward to.
It’s called “Bright Colors And Bold Patterns,” and it’s based on a real wedding invitation that I got years ago that asked the guests to have a certain dress code. It inspired me to think about gay marriage. The wedding invitation was from a straight wedding. So just as gay marriage became legal, I saw this trend of keeping up with the Joneses. … Obviously this is a wonderful thing – equality – but there is also a trend toward everybody thinking that we needed that personally, to be married. I wanted to write a character who was a bit loud, gay, drunk, a mess, who wanted to question that. In the play I’m playing a character named Gerry who shows up the night before the wedding at the house in Palm Springs, who reeks havoc on the house the night before the wedding. So it’s a lot of fun. It’s mainly a comedy; there are some dark moments, and it’s a blast. It’s a play talking to three other characters who you don’t see on stage. They are just represented by chairs. It’s a four-character play, which I only play one character on stage.

So you never get to really meet the wedding couple?
Well, you don’t meet them, the ones getting married, no. I’m a friend of one of the grooms. I’m not a fan of the other groom that he’s marrying, a twink that he’s going to spend the rest of his life with. It’s a lot to do with the marriage and this couple, but it also has a lot to do with someone who’s maybe like 40 years old, he thinks the rules don’t apply to him, he thinks you can make your own, and then all of a sudden we have this possibility now, and I’m 40, but I’m nowhere near being an adult. It’s about a lot of those things.

I can’t wait to see gay divorce court. The play sounds like it’s a lot of fun.
It is. It’s a lot of fun to do, and it’s totally different every night. It’s 99% the same words, but occasionally I’ll throw something else in. It’s really fun doing a play that I wrote. I get to play around with it. I am in the middle of my run right now in LA, and last night I realized it was really fun to go, “Oh, maybe that needs to be where I put it last night, or maybe it’s better where I had it scripted.” It sort of moves and breathes differently every night, and audiences react to it differently every night. So it’s a lot of fun, and it feels like a party.

Reminds me a little of “Tony and Tina’s Wedding.”
Oh yeah, I loved that show.

Would be cool to do a gay version of it.
Oh, I know. I know there was something called “Joni and Gina’s Lesbian Wedding,” and I think there was a gay one as well, but it’s crazy. It’s part of our culture now. Gays are getting married right and left.

Don’t you think that just because it’s legal, gays are getting married for the principle of it instead of the love?
Absolutely. I think that it’s this pressure that we put on ourselves. I feel like with women, when they’re little girls, they are taught that the most important day of your life is the day you get married.

All that stuff that is so harmful, I think. I’m all about the fight for equality for those who want to be married. Also for hospital benefits, for legal reasons, all of that stuff. There are other reasons why I totally understand, on top of the romance, but I also just think that there is something really awesome about being queer and being “other” and sort of making our own rules. I feel like the option should exist 100%. Marriage should be legal, of course, but we shouldn’t feel pressured to be in this race for “normal,” whatever “normal” means. That’s scary that we feel like everybody should want the same thing. I see a lot of couples in their early 20s getting married, and you don’t even know who you are when you’re 20. I don’t know, it’s a lot. I was at a gay wedding a few weeks ago, and it was beautiful, and I cried, and I was so happy for them, but… I didn’t want to explore a play about how straight people have oppressed us. I just felt that was not interesting. I thought it would be way more appealing to sort of look within our own community and sort of ask what maybe we are losing in the struggle for being like everybody else.

That’s a great point!
Thanks.

Aside from the play, what are you up to?
I’m going to be on “Heathers,” the remake of the film, which is going to be on the Paramount Network. It’s a new network, and it will be next year. I play the drama teacher on that, which is a blast. Then I have a podcast called “Minor Revelations” where I bring guests on and they can talk about something they’ve never talked about before. That’s always really fun. I’m doing that every week. Then just getting ready to do the show in New York. I’m just so excited.

Michael Urie directed the show. That had to be a blast.
He did. Michael saw the show that I did one night, and so he really worked at making it this full-fledged play. He really worked with me on fleshing it out and imagining the other characters. He so incredible on top of that. He’s magical for that.

He always seems like the happiest man in the world. He’s always smiling.
I know. He’s so full of energy. We did a show on Logo together called “Cocktails and Classics.” We would shoot the entire season in a week. We would do eight episodes in a week, and he would be doing a play, on top of these eight episodes in a week, and he was never in a bad mood. I was staying with him, so I saw him at his apartment in the morning. I mean, he was constantly moving and going. He was such a reminder – I thought, if Michael can be in a good mood, then I could be in a good mood too.

Well, I’m looking forward to seeing your play!
I hope you can stay after.