The Kinsey Sicks

The Kinsey Sicks bill themselves as "America's Favorite Dragapella Beautyshop Quartet."

They perform both original music and lyrics as well as parodies of well-known songs. Their work, while extremely comedic, is often highly politically charged. Their name is a play of words on "Kinsey 6," the end of the Kinsey scale defined as exclusively homosexual.

Origin

The Kinsey Sicks began in 1993 when a group of five friends (largely lawyers and professional activists) went to a Bette Midler concert in San Francisco, dressed as the Andrews Sisters. Assuming they'd be among many drag queens, they found themselves to be the only ones. They were approached that night by a woman who asked them to perform at her upcoming 50th birthday party. Though their initial reply was, "we don't sing," the group was surprised to learn that all of them had previous musical experience. [Citation | last=Ford| first= Dave| publication-date= December 17, 2003| periodical= San Francisco Chronicle | title= Gloriously, proudly bad taste underscores silliness of drag musical quartet| url= http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/chronicle/archive/2003/12/17/DDG813NPQF18.DTL&type=performance | accessdate= 2007-11-27]

In July 1994, The Kinsey Sicks (then consisting of Ben Schatz as "Rachel," Irwin Keller as "Winnie," Maurice Kelly as "Trixie," Jerry Friedman as "Vaselina," and Abatto Avilez as "Begoña") drew a large and enthusiastic crowd at their first public performance on a street corner in San Francisco's Castro District [Citation | last=Ford| first= Dave| publication-date= December 17, 2003| periodical= San Francisco Chronicle | title= Gloriously, proudly bad taste underscores silliness of drag musical quartet| url= http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/chronicle/archive/2003/12/17/DDG813NPQF18.DTL&type=performance | accessdate= 2007-11-27] . A year later, Avilez died, and was never replaced, leaving the Kinsey Sicks as a quartet (a formation that has remained consistent ever since.) Since then, The Kinsey Sicks have produced and performed full-length theatrical productions and concerts around the country. The group eventually became successful enough for its members to leave their former occupations to concentrate on performance.

Members/Roles

Since its initial formation, the lineup of the Kinsey Sicks has undergone several changes and iterations. Schatz and Keller have been the group's only constant through all incarnations. Each member of the group performs a fully-realized character, and as new members have joined, they have been encouraged to personally expand and develop their own "history." The members of the group over the years have been:

*Ben Schatz as "Rachel" (1993-Present)- Schatz, a Harvard- trained civil rights lawyer and former Director of the national Gay and Lesbian Medical Association, created the first national AIDS legal project and authored Bill Clinton's HIV policy during the 1992 presidential campaign. [cite web |url=http://www.thekinseysicks.com/presskit.htm| title="Who Are The Kinsey Sicks?"|accessdate=2007-11-27 |last=The Kinsey Sicks |work=The Kinsey Sicks] He is now a full-time performer as a member of the Sicks. His character, "Rachel," is loudly feminist, angry, and an activist noted both for her dimunitive stature and her refusal to shave her underarms.

*Irwin Keller as "Winnie" (1993-Present)- Keller, also a lawyer, received his law degree from the University of Chicago and was the former director of the AIDS Legal Referral Panel of the San Francisco Bay Area. Keller authored Chicago's gay rights ordinance, passed into law in 1989. By 2002, Keller had ceased practicing law to perform full-time. His character, "Winnie," is Jewish and motherly with an old-fashioned sensibility. [Citation | last=Behrens| first= Web| publication-date= October 30, 2002 | periodical= Chicago Free Press | title= Sweet Sick-cess| url= http://www.kinsey6.com/presskit/reviews/ChicagoFree103002.htm | accessdate= 2007-11-27] .

*Abatto Avilez as "Begoña" (1993)- Though Avilez was present at the Bette Midler concert that led to the formation of the Sicks, and appeared with them at their first performance, he quickly dropped out of the group. In 1995, Avilez died, though the song "Begoña's Song" was written to honor his memory and was frequently performed in concert by the Sicks.

*Jerry Friedman as "Vaselina" (1993-1999)- Friedman, Director of Audiology at the San Francisco Hearing Center, was the son of a piano teacher. [Citation | last=Kuster| first= Ted| publication-date= March, 1997 | periodical= Q San Francisco Magazine| title= Profile of the Kinsey Sicks| url= http://www.kinseysicks.com/presskit/reviews/profile.htm| accessdate= 2007-11-27] . "Vaselina," said to have been born in a trailer, was trampy, sweet, and not particularly bright.

*Maurice Kelly as "Trixie" (1993-2001)- Kelley, a former project manager for Levi Strauss Corp,. [Citation | last=Kuster| first= Ted| publication-date= March, 1997 | periodical= Q San Francisco Magazine| title= Profile of the Kinsey Sicks| url= http://www.kinseysicks.com/presskit/reviews/profile.htm| accessdate= 2007-11-27] created the role of "Trixie," platinum blonde, glamorous, and somewhat conceited.

*Chris Dilley as "Trampolina"- (1999-2007/ 2008)- Dilley, an actor-musician, joined the Sicks as understudy for Friedman's "Vaselina". Trampolina was originally referred to as Vaselina's illegitimate daughter, [Citation | last=Singer| first= Robert| periodical= San Francisco State Universtity | title= Beautyshop Quartet Sings Dragappela
url= http://www.journalism.sfsu.edu/flux/goldCoast/dragapella.html| accessdate= 2007-11-27] , but those references were phased out after Dilley became Friedman's permanent replacement. Like Vaselina, Trampolina filled the "dumb and slutty" stereotype of the group. After joining the group full-time, Dilley became one of the principal arrangers of the groups music. Though he retired from the group in the summer of 2007, he has come back to play "Trampolina" in summer season of 2008.

*Kevin Smith Kirkwood as "Trixie" (2001-2004)- Kirkwood is a professional actor-singer-dancer who was understudy for Kelly in "Dragapella!" and was then announced as Kelly's replacement for a year while Kelly took time off. After Kelly decided not to return to the group, Kirkwood remained in the role for an additional year. Kirkwood's version of Trixie was introduced as " [Trixie's] long-lost identical twin sister, Trixie" - a joke made funnier by the fact that Kirkwood is African American and Kelly is white. [Citation | last=Behrens| first= Web| publication-date= October 30, 2002 | periodical= Chicago Free Press | title= Sweet Sick-cess| url= http://www.kinsey6.com/presskit/reviews/ChicagoFree103002.htm | accessdate= 2007-11-27] Aside from the racial differences, and the occasional 'Trixie Houston' reference, Kirkwood's persona as "Trixie" was largely faithful to the character's original conception. Kirkwood is currently pursuing a Broadway career.

*Jeff Manabat as "Trixie" (2004-Present)- Manabat, a professional musical theater-performer and graduate of UC-Berkeley, was discovered by the then-current members of the group while performing in a production of "When Pigs Fly" at the New Conservatory Theatre Center in San Francisco. [cite web |url=http://www.oasisjournals.com/2006/12/jeff-manabat-of-the-kinsey-sicks-interview| title="Jeff Manabat of the Kinsey Sicks Interview"|accessdate=2007-11-27 |last=Walsh |first=Jeff |work=Oasis Magazine] The Asian-American Manabat's casting as Trixie means that the character has actually had three ethnicities over the years. Manabat's Trixie retains all of the original elements of the character, but has, at Manabat's insistence, stopped wearing platinum blonde wigs and is more easily identifiable as Asian. [cite web |url=http://www.oasisjournals.com/2006/12/jeff-manabat-of-the-kinsey-sicks-interview| title="Jeff Manabat of the Kinsey Sicks Interview"|accessdate=2007-11-27 |last=Walsh |first=Jeff |work=Oasis Magazine] Since joining the group, Manabat has also contributed costume designs and musical arrangements.

*Charles Romaine as "Trampolina" (2007-Present)- Romaine, a Los Angeles- based performer and graduate of New York University [cite web |url=http://www.outprofessionals.org/newsview/15/The+Kinsey+Sicks,+America's+Favorite+Dragapella+Beautyshop+Quartet+in+| title="The Kinsey Sicks, America's Favorite Dragapella Beutyshop Quartet in"|accessdate=2007-11-27 |work=Out Professionals] , joined the group as Dilley's understudy and, as of Dilley's August 2007 retirement from the group, plays Trampolina.

Performances

In 2001, the Kinsey Sicks produced and starred off-Broadway in the critically acclaimed "DRAGAPELLA! Starring the Kinsey Sicks" at New York's Studio 54. That production received a nomination for a Lucille Lortel award for Best Musical of 2001 and a Drama Desk Award nomination for Best Lyrics.

In 2006, the Kinsey Sicks performed an extended engagement at the Las Vegas Hilton. In addition, their first feature film, "Kinsey Sicks: I Wanna Be a Republican," premiered at the 30th San Francisco International Lesbian and Gay Film Festival. Another documentary following the Kinsey Sicks backstage on tour is due for release in 2007.

The group has also appeared in such venues as the Herbst Theatre in San Francisco, the Nordstrom Recital Hall in Seattle, the Ogden Theatre in Denver, the Colony Theatre in South Beach, and the Wheeler Opera Hall in Aspen. Their stage productions have included "The Balled Sopranos," "Motel Sicks: A Dragapella Summer Vacation," "Everything But the Kitsch 'n'Synch" and "GreatesTits," all of which premiered at San Francisco's New Conservatory Theatre Center. They are also frequently invited to perform at colleges, and those performances are usually followed by a question-and-answer session with the group, out of costume.

Discography

* Dragapella!
* Boyz 2 Girlz
* Sicks in the City
* I Wanna Be a Republican
* Oy Vey in the Manger: Christmas Carols and Other Jewish Music

References

External links

* [http://www.kinseysicks.com The Official Website]
* [http://www.iwannabearepublican.com The Film Website]