Trevor McQueen
Agnus Swings the F*** Out of Christmas
The Duplex, NYC, November 30, 2017
Reviewed by Chris Struck for Cabaret Scenes
You really never know who might show up at The Duplex. For example, take this next-level nightmare of an acting instructor named Agnus who charges $27,000 for a day-long acting class where she breaks your will to live and then expects Christmas presents. Trevor McQueen does everything right in creating the ultimate spoof of everyone’s “favorite” first acting class. As an old lady, he utilizes sarcastic wisecracks about the pitfalls and difficulties of professional acting while filming a YouTube Christmas special from her iPhone. Hooray for holiday cheer.
Character-focused from the start, Agnus is aided by her assistant, Adelaide (talented actress Zanny Laird) and pianist Angelo Di Loreto (who changed volume based on how Agnus turned the dials of her old-fashioned radio). Sound effects were killer and included bathroom breaks and window openings during a solid set of Christmas songs. Singing in the voice of Agnus, McQueen, went through a few of the lesser-known Christmas classics, like “Suzy Snowflake” (Sid Tepper/Roy C.
Bennett) and “Christmas, Where Can I Find You?
” (Mariah Carey/James Horner/Will Jennings). Surprisingly for a man playing an old woman, McQueen sounded pretty darn good. Easily the best moment of the night was a shaker duet between McQueen and Laird on “This One’s for the Children” (Maurice Starr) where they matched timing for a solid minute on shifting beats while McQueen yelled out congratulatory “Ahas!” Well done.
Agnus will be back at The Duplex on January 19, 2018, and I hope she’ll have a second Christmas special planned for next year!
