(back to bio/press)

BLADE MAGAZINE

May 2006
Arts & Entertainment
Theatre Preview Feature Story On Kelly Mantle

Gay Character Has Many Layers In "Last Easter"
By Stan Jenson

"Last Easter," currently playing at Laguna Playhouse, was written by Tony award-nominated Bryony Lavery. A glance at her bio shows that, in addition to writing several dozen significant scripts, she spent several seasons as the artistic director of Gay Sweatshop. Thus, it's no surprise that the gay characters that usually inhabit her plays are rich, multilayered human beings and not comical stereotypes. When director Richard Stein assembled the creative team for this West Coast premiere, he was especially concerned about the character Gash, a flamboyant homosexual. He needed an actor who was convincing as a drag queen, but also capable of vulnerability, humor and who was willing and able to be a team player. As soon as he heard actor Kelly Mantle read for the role, he knew that Gas was going to be a special, much-loved character in this ensemble piece.

"Last Easter" is both comedic and tragic, dealing with life and death. June has a secret. When her showbiz friends, Leah, Joy and Gash unravel the mystery, they embark on a madcap journey from England to France, a pilgrimage filled with laughing, singing, drag acts, a ghostly stagehand and many, many bottles of red wine. Like "Love, Valour, Compassion," the play is about friendship and how far friends will go to display their love for each other, sometimes causing us to laugh with them, sometimes sniffle.

Mantle told the Blade that he was attracted to the script as soon as he read it. The character of Gash is a crazy drag queen, but he goes way beyond any steretype of gays, with lots of layers of human emotions. He is as worldly as he is naive, as witty as he is awkward. Those juxtapositions are the beauty of the character. Gash loves Judy Garland, and Mantle spent a great deal of time watching her DVD's to prepare for the role. In the play, he often refers to impersonating Garland and Bernadette Peters, and actually gets to do a few snippets onstage.

Mantle is an Oklahoma native like his late uncle, baseball's great Mickey Mantle. He graduated from The University of Oklahoma with a bachelor's degree in theatre, and then moved to Chicago to stake his claim on the stage. His plays included "Vampire Lesbians of Sodom." After two years, he relocated to Hollywood, despite his friends' warnings that he would never find an agent. Five years ago, he joined a local production of "Vampire Lesbians," and an agent came backstage after one performance and signed him. He's been working solidly ever since. He is most easily recognized for his recurring guest star role on NYPD Blue as Dan 'Monika' Hofnagle. Other television credits include CSI, Judging Amy, Nip/Tuck, George Lopez, Cold Case, Cuts and Eve.

"Last Easter" treats its gay character with dignity, and Mantle is happy with the script that he gets to perform each night. He believes that there is progress in the positioning of gay characters in entertainment today, with richer, more complex gay roles. When he first arrived in Hollywood, he would take any part that was offered to him. Today, he is tired of silly scripts, and he claims that there are still plenty of them out there. For instance, he was offered a role recently where the character description for a gay man read, "Must talk with a lisp." Hmmm. Is there anyone in the audience who would even smile at such Uncle Tom behavior? Still, he feels that overall the writing is progressing in the right direction.

Mantle loves music, and has just completed his third CD, "Satellite Baby." It's electronic dance music, and he's very proud of it. His first two CD's are available at his Web site, www.kellymantle.com, or in most stores. In July, he travels to London to reprise "Dear Bernard," a stage musical he originated in Los Angeles. He hopes to have a chance to promote his new CD while he's there.

"Last Easter" continues through Sunday, May 21, at Laguna Playhouse, 606 Laguna Canyon Road, Laguna Beach. Tickets range from $20-$59 and are available at (949) 497-ARTS (2787) or online at www.LagunaPlayhouse.com

Join the Laguna Playhouse and the Blade for Gay and Lesbian Wine and Cheese Nite on Thursday, May 4 at 6 p.m. Tickets are $40 when you use the special invite code "BLADE" when booking online or by phone.