[OutVoice] Review: "Estrada Sings a Powerful Lullaby for Ryan"

TheChorusBoy at aol.com TheChorusBoy at aol.com
Fri Feb 5 15:22:17 CST 2010


RICHARD’S RANTS AND  RAVES 
Estrada Sings a Powerful Lullaby for  Ryan 
Review by LEE HURTADO 
February 1, 2010 
Read it online: 
_http://richardskipper.blogspot.com/_ (http://richardskipper.blogspot.com/) 
 
Comedy Central’s Jade  Esteban Estrada sings “Bareback.com” in the solo 
musical comedy “A Lulllaby for  Ryan: The History of HIV/AIDS in America.” 
Photo by JASON  FIENHOLD-HAASIS. 
Since  2007, Jade Esteban Estrada has performed his one-man show A  Lullaby 
for Ryan: The History of HIV/AIDS in America on stages across  North 
America.  The show, created in honor of World AIDS  Day in 2007, is a brilliant 
showcase for his talents, and a powerful document of  the disease's human 
impact. 
Beginning with an expert witness – the Bubonic Plague  (“Boobs” for short) 
– A Lullaby for Ryan traces the spread of HIV/AIDS  through the perspective 
of lives both public (such as actor Rock Hudson) and  private (such as 
Jimmy, a real estate agent who first hears of the disease in  1981).  It's a 
heavy subject, of  course, but Estrada finds both pathos and unexpected humor 
in the stories he  tells. 
The search for treatments is framed as a beauty pageant,  with the winner 
an exuberant “Miss Protease Inhibitor 1996”; in a raucous and  hilarious 
number, cowboy Phil McPhil discovers the benefits [and joys] of safe  sex 
through the Internet; and Boobs, well aware of her reputation, gamely offers  to 
shake hands with the audience.  At the same time, Estrada brings grace and 
dignity to the stories of  LaShonda Johnson, a Chicago housewife guilty only 
of trusting her  man, and Hudson, who responds to the disease with the poise 
of a movie  star. 
Estrada moves seamlessly between characters, his  performance and songs 
making each distinct, nuanced, and memorable.  In his hands, Jimmy and Phil and 
 LaShonda become more than mere statistics; they are  people. 
The San  Antonio premiere of A Lullaby for Ryan at The Rose  Theatre was 
greeted with a well-deserved standing ovation, echoing the acclaim  Estrada 
has earned with each performance.  Its success proves that a human story, well 
told, is truly universal.  
Find out more about Jade Esteban Estrada at _www.getjaded.com_ 
(http://www.getjaded.com/)  
Lee Hurtado is a writer in San Antonio, Texas. He can be reached at 
_lee at primadonnaproductions.com_ (mailto:lee at primadonnaproductions.com) .



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