Love and gender expression come alive in CATCO's musical comedy 'Head Over Heels'

“Head Over Heels,” with songs from The Go-Go's, explores the many forms of love.

CATCO will present the Greater Columbus premiere of the gender-bending musical comedy, which will open March 19 in a cabaret-style thrust-stage production in the Riffe Center’s Studio One Theatre.

“It’s a celebration of love, of being who you are, of both individuality and family,” said director Leda Hoffmann, CATCO artistic director.

“The message of this musical is that if we free ourselves from the rigid confines of what society tells us, then we can live richer and fuller lives,” she said.

Finding one's true identity

During its 2018-2019 Broadway run, the musical sparked attention for its path-breaking representation of nonbinary characters.

“One character doesn’t fit within the definition of what it means to be a man or woman... and their realization of this becomes critical to them building the life they want to live,” Hoffmann said.

Incorporating 1980s pop hits from The Go-Go's catalog such as “Get Up and Go,” “Our Lips are Sealed,” “We Got the Beat” and the title song, Jeff Whitty and James Magruder adapted the story from “The Arcadia,” Philip Sidney’s 1580s pastoral prose romance about a royal family’s flirtations and love affairs in ancient Greece.

“It’s full of people in disguise and mixed-up identities, themes you see in Shakespeare’s plays ‘As You Like It’ and ‘Twelfth Night’,” Hoffmann said.

Hoping to evade cryptic prophecies from the Oracle of Delphi that threaten the loss of their kingdom’s famous “beat,” the royal family and their court leave their palace to go into the woods.

“This group of people lives in a very class-, gender- and power-limited structure that forces them into boxes: If you’re a queen, you can’t have as much power as a king. If you’re a princess, you can’t love a shepherd. If you’re a woman, you can’t love a woman,” Hoffmann said.

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“By spending time in the forest, they discover new things about themselves... and when they return, they’re different people,” she said.

Kendra Lynn Lucas, a Columbus native based in New York, is one of eight performers in the two-act musical.

“As an African American artist, and as the type of singer-actor I am, I feel fortunate to be doing such a big and inclusive musical that fits my personality and voice,” she said.

Lucas plays Gynecia, queen of Arcadia.

“Extremely smart and intuitive, she knows what she’s doing. She’s not the traditional queen who keeps her head down,” Lucas said.

Even as their marriage has grown stagnant, Gynecia and King Basilus (Luke Bovenizer) have raised two daughters and ruled peacefully over the stable kingdom.

“They’ve fallen into a routine as the spark has gone out,” Lucas said.

“Gynecia leads with a stern hand, but she’s warm, which you can see from her relationship with her daughters. She wants them to be happy,” she said.

After spurning eligible suitors for five years, the eldest princess Pamela (Jordan Shafer), is under increasing pressure from her parents to find a husband.

Meanwhile, younger princess Philoclea (Summit J Starr) has fallen in love with Musidorus (Brian C. Gray), a poor shepherd whose lower-class status makes him unsuitable for royal marriage.

An unpredictable attraction

Joining the family on their journey to pursue his beloved in disguise as an Amazon warrior, Musidorus unwittingly sparks desires in the King and Queen, among others.

“It doesn’t start out as a sexual thing. They’re drawn to her as a person, but don’t know why..... She shakes things up, because they’re used to living by the regimented ‘Beat,’” Lucas said.

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Such varieties of unpredictable love drive the story and its comical but serious themes.

“Being drawn to someone for who they are... opens your mind to the fact that you can be attracted to someone beyond their looks or gender,” Lucas said.

Caleb Mikayla Goins-Robinson, a Columbus drag queen, plays the oracle Pythio.

“Pythio is very wise, in tune with who they are, with a lot of joy in breaking barriers,” Robinson said.

As a banished oracle who returns with higher self-awareness and truth, Pythio’s mystical words set the plot in motion and “shake up Arcadia,” Goins-Robinson said.

Goins-Robinson sings three songs, including “Vision of Nowness,” a solo about Pythio’s search for identity and truth.

“How The Go-Go’s music of that 1980s era fits perfectly in this story is so amazing,” Goins-Robinson said.

As a nonbinary person, Goins-Robinson identifies with Pythio.

“I’ve lived in a masculine role, but people see me as female because of my drag persona... This eye-opening musical will help people better understand the nonbinary community,” Goins-Robinson said.

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“Whether you’re binary or nonbinary, you can find self-acceptance and self-assurance. You don’t have to be what other people think.”

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At a glance

CATCO will present “Head Over Heels” at 7:30 p.m. March 17, March 24 and March 31; 8 p.m. March 18-19, March 25-26 and April 1-2; and 2 p.m. March 20, March 27 and April 3 in the Riffe Center’s Studio One, 77 S. High St. Masks and proof of vaccination or negative PCR COVID test are required within 72 hours of attending a production for patrons 12 years of age and older. Tickets, suggested for ages 13 and above because of sexual content, some violence and strong language, cost $45, $20 (student rush) and Pay What You Want for the March 17-18 previews. (614-469-0939, www.cbusarts.com)

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: CATCO's 'Head Over Heels' to make area debut March 19 at Riffe Center