Lipsync Diaries of a Gay Boy

I feel like this was the most overlooked show of the Fringe. A solid performance that was engaging and heartfelt. Sadly, the Saturday evening show was seen by fewer than 20 audience members. I can’t figure out why.

Perhaps the fact that the show was only 30 minutes long was part of the reason (it’s billed as a 60 minute show)? It could easily have gone longer as there was a big part of his story that wasn’t told? How did he move from the tween lipsyncing to Defying Gravity to the person performing for us here today?

And I was dying to see him lypsinc to something for us then and there.

That being said, I thoroughly enjoyed the performance and I haven’t seen anyone manage multi-media quite as well.

Touching, endearing, hilarious and fun.

For all the people who've felt othered in their life, and those who found an outlet or a sense of safety through theatre, you’re certain to find connection with Lipsync Diaries of a Gay Boy. Robbie Harrison, the creator and star of the show, has felt that way too, and he’s here to share his story with you. Lipsync Diaries of a Gay Boy is a comedic but heartfelt journey through the childhood of, well, a gay boy. Specifically, Harrison tells us his story by walking us through his many, many videos lipsyncing to musical theatre songs that he filmed throughout a year of middle school. No one ever enjoys looking back on themselves at fourteen, so Harrison’s boldness in his sharing is something to be admired. The performer shares many personal elements of his childhood, from his desire to like Nirvana to the first person he came out to. He tackles the subject material with grace and a lighthearted charm, but an ability to drop quickly into the more emotional reality of the situation. Lipsync Diaries is a coming out story different from any other you may have heard, spiced with just enough comedy and just enough honesty that you know it must all be true.

Gay and defying gravity was all it took to convince me to watch this show. As someone who is very late in the game to appreciate the magic of wicked and the chokehold that defying gravity has on people, I was fully enveloped with the actor's journey. I could relate to his struggles of being a closeted gay boy singing and dancing to his favourite song. This show was wholesome, funny, and heartwarming. The actor did a great job in sharing his vulnerability with the audience. The dissection of his old youtube videos singing defying gravity while sharing the struggles of being a young gay boy may sound like a simple concept. But the way it is delivered and the way he tells the story makes the show very special.

Guys, I absolutely loved this. Part of it is probably because I too was a closeted queer kid in the early aughts who loved musical theatre, especially Wicked, and watched covers and homages and bootlegs religiously on Youtube.

The structure of this script is masterfully-balanced. Lecture-style commentary from an archivist mining his own personal history, analyzing the artistic choices in his own work. A scared boy recalling his formative years in the closet. All of this is layered with metaphor that has a gentle subtlety, pulling all of these disparate pieces together into something that feels both multifaceted and cohesive. Several tears were squeezed out of me by the end.

And it all fits in a trim 35 minutes!!

I hope this show can attract some larger audiences soon. They’ve done some lovely work here, especially in the writing. Quite a showing for this artist’s first Fringe.