It’s a Family Affair

Comments (0) By Paul M. Davis Wednesday, Jun 15 2011

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No matter how many times culture warriors rattle their sabers, gay parents and straight parents have to deal with a lot of the same shit (sometimes literally). No matter your sexuality, most of the travails of parenthood are universal. Of course, gay parents also have to contend with a lot more figurative shit than their straight counterparts, thanks to those self-appointed guardians of parenthood as portrayed in 1950s sitcoms. A comedic “screw you” to intolerant folk who are nostalgic for a time that never existed, So Not the Cleavers brings together four parent-comedians, two gay and two straight, to riff on the experiences all parents share. Kevin Meaney, Vickie Show, Maryellen Hooper, and Dan St. Paul are all headliner-level comedians, sharing the stage to form a giant Voltron of gay-straight comedy solidarity. They aren’t just paying lip service, either: Half of the proceeds from the night of laughs go to the efforts of the American Foundation for Equal Rights to repeal Proposition 8, which made same-sex marriage illegal in California. Timed to coincide with Pride Week, the show is a powerful rebuke of those stuck in a 1950s fantasyland — and a hilarious dose of parenthood comedy that’s a long way from Bill Cosby but is every bit as true.
Wed., June 22, 8 p.m., 2011