“This is where I met my best friend: on the speaker of a gay disco in Boston! The speaker was bigger, and I wasn’t wearing a shirt. I don’t know why I thought that hundreds of gay men would want to see a half-naked girl dancing–but hey, it was the ’70’s!  When I first heard disco, that was it.  That was the music that beat my heart.  I went right from Donnie Osmond to Donna Summer.  There was no AC/DC in between… 

I was HOME!”

That “best friend” is the titular “David” in the one-woman show David’s Friend, and the setting of the story would soon change from Boston to New York City.  David’s Friend is the creation of writer, performer, host, mother, and self-proclaimed “fag hag” Nora Burns. This provocative, funny, and historically relevant 60-minute show, directed by Adam Pivirotto and featuring actor Ricky Roman, succeeds on many levels.  First, it is a highly personal, bittersweet story about a deep, deep friendship between two high-spirited, wide-eyed young people whose mutual goal was to take a big bite out of the Big Apple.  Secondly, it is a lively portrait of an era of New York City nightlife that’s just aching to be rediscovered– complete with generous portions of sex, drugs, and disco.  And finally, it is Burns’ loving portrait of a highly charismatic person who comes alive again through Nora’s memories: a man whose aura was best described when Nora shared, “There are people who life FINDS, and there are others who have to go out LOOKING for it… But life FOUND David…  He wasn’t just beautiful, but he changed the energy in the room– like a celebrity does, but less awkward and more exciting!”   

One-person shows can be challenging for both the performer and the audience; The artist must be extremely charismatic, and must have a story to tell that’s not only uniquely personal but also relatable and entertaining.  Ms. Burns meets that challenge with gusto.  She’s very captivating to watch.  Nora Burns may a so-called “veteran” of nightlife, but she takes over the stage with the boundless energy of her 18-year-old self: She’s a lean, mean, party machine of a performer.  We see this firsthand when she jumps atop a re-creation of one of those big black boxes which were so omnipresent at the clubs. Via projection, Burns peppers her vivid stories with dozens of photos of herself, David, and the play’s third main character (Manhattan itself) as the duo partied their way through New Yawk’s most hedonistic era.  Burns’ memoir brings the audience back to many venues, both famous and infamous, which sadly have long since closed (Danceteria! Xenon! Studio 54! The Ninth Circle!)  Thankfully, many of the attendees on the show’s opening night knew EXACTLY what Nora was talking about when she mentioned such things phenomena as After Dark Magazine and talks about hitting “Crisco and Mud” (by which, of course, she means Crisco Disco and The Mud Club.).  In between the stories, Nora also did a few costume changes– and wait until you see the site of Ms. Burns dressed in David’s full leather cruising gear..!  Our culture may have traded physical journals for blogs and prints for digital pics, but with one single black-and-white photo, or a reading of Nora’s journal, or Ricky Roman reading David’s handwritten poetry, Nora’s and David’s story comes alive more vividly than a dozen posts on “X” or a whole weekend’s photo dump on Instagram in 2024.  

In addition to the vintage photographs and deliciously timely references (mixtapes, anyone?), David’s Friend is also generously adorned with the music.  Setting the tone of the piece with (You Make Me Feel) Mighty Real by Sylvester, Burns also throws in some “closet classics” just begging to be heard again, such as Give Me Tonight by Shannon.  It’s a great touch, especially considering the power of a specific song to transport us back to a specific era in history.  I would have loved to know how many audience members, for example, knew EXACTLY where they were when they first heard some of those songs.   Nora’s energy starts out high and stays that way throughout, even after a shift in tone takes the piece into a new direction at approximately the 36-minute mark…
That shift takes place with the news of a new disease which was seemingly targeting gay men: Something called “GRID” was threatening to end the party in a big way. That said, David’s Friend NEVER makes the story a tragic one. Burns takes great lengths to talk about her best friend’s brave and hopeful fight against circumstances that could have never been predicted. For the audience, it is truly empowering.

SoHo Playhouse (15 Van Dam St, NYC) presents a special double bill this summer of The Village! A Disco Daydream and David’s Friend, two acclaimed theater pieces by Nora Burns and directed by Adam Pivirotto, returning to the city by popular demand. They will run in rep through Saturday, August 10. Tickets, which are $36 per show or a package of both for $60, are available at www.sohoplayhouse.com