Ghetto Fabulous!

I don’t often rave. My reaction to most things is in measured, balanced terms. I usually see grey where others see absolute black and white.

Tuesday night, I saw a performance that touched my heart, made me laugh and cry, and just thoroughly and completely entertained me. Ghetto Superstar (The Man That I Am) is the new one-man show written and performed by Broadway and recording star Billy Porter, playing at Joe’s Pub at The Public Theater, and while I can’t find one bad thing to say about it, there is a whole lot to love.

Porter is a self described “Black Broadway Bitch,” a playful jab at his diva-like behavior, as well as the title of his rousing opening number. How he came to be that way forms the basis of this autobiographical production.

A Pittsburgh native, who grew up in the Pentecostal Church and was the only male in a house full of women, Porter is openly gay in a profession where many find it preferable to stay in the closet in order to further their careers. He wasn’t always out however, and life was hard from the very beginning. Finding his calling and learning how to stay true to himself has been a lifelong journey.

Through mostly original songs, Porter tells a bittersweet story about a little boy who always knew he was a sissy. Growing up in the church his vocal skills developed quickly and he decided early on he would always sing “higher, louder and longer than anyone else.” “Sissywhippers,” a self-written song, tells about the torment he faced from neighborhood kids who picked on him daily.

When a therapist told his mother he needed the guidance of a man to show him how to be a man, she shortly afterward met and married his stepfather. That didn’t change him, but did subject him to many years of sexual abuse. However when a Tony Awards telecast featured Jennifer Holliday in a scene from “Dreamgirls” it was a life altering moment. A career in the theater would be his goal and his escape.

Porter, who was in the original casts of Miss Saigon, Five Guys Named Moe and Grease, gives equal parts joy and pain in recounting his life; confusing first sexual experiences, bluffing his way into auditions and then winning roles on his talent and charm (he does a dead-on Sarah Vaughn telling how he won a junior high audition), but also the sadness from his mother’s rejection because of his sexual orientation, and the disappointment when his record company let Celine Dion record his song, sung note for note.

To describe Billy Porter as a phenomenal singer would be the world’s greatest understatement. Billy Porter is an engaging personality and an extraordinarily gifted vocal talent who sings from the very depths of his soul, wraps it in Broadway theatrics but never betrays his gospel roots. In a world of Grammy Award winning pretenders, he could blow them all off the stage.

Ghetto Superstar (The Man That I Am) is produced by George C. Wolfe (who was seated right in front of me, furiously taking notes) and directed by Brad Rouse. It runs through March 26. You should run, not walk, to the Public Theater and see it.