Lucas Brooks comes to the Orlando Fringe Festival from New York City.
The play is introduced by showing Lucas filling out a profile for an online dating site in hopes of finding another man. Lucas is, as his show’s title reads, a Very Good-Looking 5’4” Top.
His angst, as he proceeds to tell us, comes from several issues he has encountered after coming out and moving to the Big Apple from Michigan. In NYC he is often pushed to engage in sexual encounters by his college professors and “live a little,” despite being a neophyte to the idea of hookups.
He also feels he doesn’t fully meet everyone’s perception of what a “top” should look and act like. He has a small build, short height and not necessarily overtly masculine mannerisms.
Lucas tells us that he doesn’t fit in to any of the common gay stereotypes some of which are, twink, jock and muscular. He tells us about his physical form and includes details about his body and member. He slowly teases the audience by undressing and never fully revealing. When his pants came down, the chairs in the purple venue creaked as people leaned forward in hopes of getting a better look.
Aside from his vertical short comings, he also admits to being quite shy. His mannerisms are quite witty throughout the play, which leads to many interesting interactions that leaves him slightly cynical towards dating in New York.
Lucas admitted to enjoying…no, loving sex but feeling lonely at times. He started to wonder about love. This is something that I believe many people go through. Can he find love in the big city?
At times Lucas can come across as comically bitter, but the overall message of the play shines. VGL 5’4” Top is truly about acceptance within the LGBT community and trying to keep an open mind when seeking companionship, whether it’s for a few hours or a lifelong commitment.
