Dec 18, 2023

Derique has spanned the globe with his unique clowning, often sharing the stage with the likes of Bobby McFerrin, Tuck and Patti, Lou Rawls and Sammy Davis Jr. When not on stage, Derique (Lance McGee in real life) is a trauma-informed wellness consultant and mindfulness coach providing support to school educators, administrators, staff and students. The new year dawns at the Marsh with Marga Gomez’s latest one-person show “Swimming with Lesbians” Jan. 6-28. Based on a real incident in her life, the “full steam farce” has Gomez playing seven different characters on board a lesbian cruise ship. The incident happened when Gomez was a teen and involved being bullied by a classmate. For years Gomez thought about what she would say to this woman if they ever met again. That opportunity came in 2017 when Gomez performed in Boston. “She showed up at one of my performances and came up afterwards thinking I’d be happy to see her,” said Gomez. “I just stood there trying to remember everything I wanted to say to her, but I couldn’t summon it up. So instead, I just said, ‘Thanks for coming’ and ran away. I was so mad at myself for missing my opportunity for payback. Now I’m doing it in this show but in a funny way.” Part of Gomez’s research involved watching episodes of “The Love Boat,” “The Poseidon Adventure” and “The Titanic.” While the impetus may have been a painful incident from her past, she said the show itself is pure escapism, full of gags, silly characters and even sea shanties. “During the pandemic, there was a trend on YouTube of people doing sea shanties. They’re perfect for a low-budget show because I can just bang my fist on a stool or table or have the audience clap along and sing,” Gomez said. The multi-talented performer brings a wealth of experience to the show including stand-up comedy across the United States and shows at ACT, Off-Broadway and national productions of “The Vagina Monologues” with Rita Moreno and Vicki Lawrence as well as film and television credits. In addition, she has penned 14 solo shows. In this latest solo show, Gomez changes from one character to another, often in the middle of a sentence, with each character having their own physicality, voice and often accent. The three main characters feature Isabel, an accident-prone La Crosse player who narrates the story; Pru Perez, the bingo caller, MC comedian, and more; and Arlene, a passenger on the ship and the bully who terrorized Pru at school. “Isabel has a British accent which I’m not great at, so I gave her foreign language syndrome [a legitimate medical condition], which means her accent is inconsistent and vague, making it doable for me,” Gomez said. The remaining four characters owe more to commedia dell’arte, the Italian theatrical form known for its colorful stock characters, according to Gomez. She also placed the story on a lesbian cruise ship because of her own experience as an entertainer on several such ships. “I always thought things that happen on board could be a fun story, and since people are traveling again, a cruise ship seemed a good location,” Gomez said. “Entertainers on ships are also required to do lots of activities with the passengers. I don’t swim so I always made it clear in my contract that I couldn’t be involved with pool games. Of course, in my show I have Pru getting pushed into the pool.” In an instance of life imitating art, Gomez has been invited to perform the show on a lesbian cruise to Alaska. “I do poke fun at cruise ship passengers so, hopefully, the audience will love it. Otherwise, it’s going to be a very awkward cruise,” said Gomez, who hopes to learn to swim prior to the cruise. “Sort of like being in confinement with people who are mad at me and might just push me into the pool.” Although her play is set on a lesbian cruise chip, Gomez said the 65-minute, no-intermission performance appeals to a broad range of theatergoers and encourages anyone who enjoys comedy to attend. For tickets to “Fool La La: Holiday Gift” and “Swimming with Lesbians,” call 415-282-3055 or go to the marsh.org . Reach Sally Hogarty at sallyhogarty@gmail.com , and read more of her reviews online at eastbaytimes.com/author/sally-hogarty .