PAT LAUNER - Emmy Award-winning theater critic.

THEATER REVIEW: “OUT OF THE BLUE – A Miraculous Musical” written and performed by Eli Hans

5/9/22

 

He’s endured loss and death, illness and humiliation. But Eli Hans is a song-and-dance man, and that — coupled with his extreme self-awareness, spiritual sensibility and boundless sense of humor — is what got him through.

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He’s a natural entertainer, and though telling his personal story of heartbreak and healing may bring tears, his relentlessly upbeat outlook will leave you smiling, laughing, refreshed and inspired.

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“Out of the Blue” is a “mostly” solo play. His husband, Joseph Bennett, who serves as stage manager, also appears onstage to help Hans with costumes and clever props, and to join him in a singing, dancing finale duet.

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As Hans recounts his tribulations, trepidations and aspirations, he plays 25 characters, and intersperses his memories and insights with songs, mostly ballads, with a brash musical-theater opening and closing number.

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An alumnus of the Stella Adler Acting Academy, Hans has done it all for this piece. He’s credited with writing the book, music and lyrics for the show, as well as creating the set and lighting design. The recorded music was arranged by Konrad Pluta and the uncomplicated choreography is by Christie Olvera, with skillful direction by New York-based Meridith Grundei.

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Hans’ narrative skills are his strong suit; his roller coaster life-story is the crux of this stirring work.

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He grew up in Mexico City (where often males, including Jewish ones like him, were encouraged to visit a brothel at age 12 — the mark, along with a Bar Mitzvah, of becoming a man). But though young Eli didn’t yet acknowledge that he was gay, he came up with a zillion excuses not to go to the whorehouse.

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When his family moved to San Diego, he had to learn a new language and culture, come out to his parents, go camping with his straight-boy crush, find a bona fide boyfriend. And then, the real horrors began.

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How he found ways to heal and discover love and love himself back to health is nothing short of breathtaking (and how he got ‘married,’ before it was legal, is a spectacular story in itself).

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As a theater critic for 30 years, I’ve seen thousands of shows. I’ve been moved and touched and intellectually stimulated. But never has a piece of theater so affected me personally. I’d call it a transformative experience. Maybe the timing was just right for me. Maybe it will be for you, too.

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Among his amusing characters, Hans has two that keep him from being his best self. Call them his naysaying Jiminy Crickets, the very opposite of Guardian Angels. One is Shame; the other is Fear (or, Fearella).

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It was Fear — the one who constantly holds you back by agonizing over the “What if, what if, what if” — that felt painfully familiar. Hans offers strategies to stop listening to those voices of negativity. I think I may carry some of his insights with me for the rest of my life.

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Maybe there’s a message or lesson here for all, but it’s delivered in a relentlessly charming and delightful way — full of heart, humor and hope.

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Even though perfectly-timed miraculous things happen repeatedly to Hans ‘out of the blue,’ his 90-minute musical is not excessively “woo-woo” or out there. His insistence on having faith and trust in his own ability to make good decisions is downright contagious.

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Hans is hell-bent on spreading his words and thoughts and methods of healing to groups that need to hear them most: gay youth, those struggling with suicidal thoughts, those with HIV, AIDS or cancer. And those who are depressed, or those whose fearful or shaming voices keep them from moving forward.

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This show is for everyone, but if you, or anyone you know, fits into any of those categories, encourage them, push them, bring them or drag them to see “Out of the Blue.”

 

“Out of the Blue” will be performed at the Hollywood Fringe Festival on June 10 (7:30pm) and June 11 (5:30pm) at the Zephyr Theatre in West Hollywood.

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Pat Launer, a long-time member of the San Diego Theatre Critics Circle and the American Theatre Critics Association, is a San Diego arts writer and Emmy Award-winning theater critic. An archive of her features, previews and reviews can be found at www.patlauner.com.