Sky Gilbert’s latest play “A Nice Day In The Park”, showcased for two nights at the very cute and discreet Chez Bonbon near Queen and Sherbourne. Uncomplicatedly, it is the story of a cute trans boy declaring his attraction to the older GWM who runs the charity at which they both work. It couldn’t be better cast, with Sky Gilbert, an older GWM as the older GWM (Peter Lynch was originally cast in this role, but had to withdraw) and Harrison Browne, a cute trans boy playing the cute trans boy. Both played their parts perfectly. Fans of Sky’s work will quickly recognize the witty writing, the exploration of a developing relationship between two people, and the sometimes intermixing of classical music.
It was unofficially billed as Sky’s response to the Buddies In Bad Times Theatre outcry however, it seemed to take a different path. While the characters are indeed in conflict for most of the play and the dialogue explores a variety of topics, the entire thing is quite civil (other than that chair-throwing incident course.) For me, it was a bit hard to believe that a conservative, preppy dressed cute trans boy would so aggressively chase, interrogate, and hold to account his senior boss. However, some topics are interestingly explored, most notably why the GWM would not sleep with someone who in theory he should be all over.
It was an entertaining play, and the small location couldn’t have been better. I imagine playwrights want their plays to show at the largest possible theatre, however, this night there was an ‘underground’ feel to the entire event, of which I’m sure Sky was proud.