Set and costume design is by David Boechler. Other cast members include Ed Sahely, Tamara Bernier, Susan Henley, Karen Leblanc, Timothy Murphy, Timothy Howar, Timothy Sell and Sharron Matthews. “It’s always a nightmare at the midway point, but they are a very talented group of people and we’re all working very hard and hoping for the best.” Audiences can now judge the production on its own merit.”įraser looks forward to opening after years of work.

So created a whole opportunity to step away from the shadow of Craig Russell in the movie. And Robin’s always been white - to this point. Still wonderfully energetic, Allison feels he can really bring something fresh to the role - and to the way audiences perceive the production. He’s too good for that.”Īllison became involved with acting at the tender age of 12 - his mom thought him too energetic to be contained by their home’s walls. “It made sense that he would take the lead because we couldn’t keep him in a secondary role. “He was so talented, so clearly a star waiting to be discovered,” says Fraser of the young, former Manitoban. But over the summer, Fraser made a dramatic move and gave Allison the lead. Thom Allison originally played a supportive role in the earlier workshops.

Outrageous has also undergone some unexpected changes in casting. We’re trying to find a way to make the music more theatrical, to make the emotion more real.” “My musical doesn’t give people pat, easy answers, and it doesn’t have a lot of stupid, musical theatre stuff going on. “It was the very wonderful music that brought me back to it,” says Fraser, who also directs the Canadian Stage production. “It was something I picked up thinking it would be a very quick follow-up to Unidentified Human Remains And The True Nature Of Love, and here I am, 10 years later, finally opening it.”įraser tried working with several composers before he found the right fit with Joey Miller (whose credits include That Scatterbrain Booky and The Prince And The Pauper). “I’ve been working on the project since 1991,” says Fraser.

Outrageous is not a young play for Fraser it’s been in the making for several years. Both take what others deem as undesirable or unattractive traits and turn them into strengths. Outrageous: The Musical, with book and lyrics by Fraser, tells the story of the friendship between Liza (played by Loretta Bailey), the schizophrenic heroine, and Robin (Thom Allison), gay hairdresser and aspiring drag queen. But Brad Fraser is bringing a musical to town loosely based on the 1977 film that made Toronto-based female impersonator Craig Russell famous. Story by David Coffey Xtra Magazine Sept 21, 2000 Playwright Brad Fraser has words of high praise for Thom Allison, who plays female impersonator Robin Turner in Outrageous: The Musical.

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