The opening number of Francis Garner’s highly original and highly entertaining one-man theater piece Over the Hill: Dating Gay After 30 is a song called 7 Inches.  If you proudly share a dirty mind like me, you may think that this show is setting us up for an “Adults Only” romp about the raunchier aspects of the life of a single gay man.  But the song– written by Carley Baer, Tarl Knight, and Kate Vargas– is more humor-ous than horny-ous (if not a bit “stalker-ish” as well!) As Garner broodingly sings the lyrics, “I am not a burglar, I don’t get off on theft; I just wanna move your table 7 inches to the left!”, he actually wove his way around the intimate space of New York City’s Pangea, moving the furniture around and interacting with the audience. (Remember that brooding moment for later…!) It’s at this early point of the show that the attendees at Pangea on Sunday, January 5th realized that Over the Hill: Dating Gay After 30 is NOT your average cabaret show. 

And in Mr. Garner’s case, that’s a great thing.  For the most part, Garner alternates between two personas throughout the show’s sadly too-brief running time: One of those personas is a mysterious, darkly funny, and larger-than-life figure who evokes the MC of the fictional Kit Kat Club in Cabaret, right on down to the esoteric makeup.   The audience knows that some wild moments lie ahead. This persona is perfectly suited for Garner’s delivery of lyrics like, “Don’t knock crazy till ya try it!” from Daphne Wallis’ Freaks Like Me.  Later on, Garner unearths a piece of retro richness with Ruth Wallis’ campy Queer Things, when recalling his very first experience at a gay bar.  Garner dons a Coco Peru-style wig for this one, although by the time he’s done, the innocent flip gets shaken into something more like Goldie Hawn’s signature messy ‘do… (Remember that wig for later…!)

However, we also get to see another side of Garner in this solo piece, and that other personality is someone who may be a bit more familiar: a single gay guy looking for Mr. Right– or at least a reasonable facsimile– in the great city of Boston.  Our protagonist’s efforts, we learn, was reportedly at the insistence of his therapist that he “not be single anymore”… hence the show’s title. A fine raconteur, Garner shares his dry, sarcastic, no-nonsense wit when recalling the days of Craigslist’s “Casual Encounters” and being there when the term “ghosting” entered the lexicon and vowed never to leave.  One particularly hilarious story tells of our hero being at a gay bar on a Monday night in the middle of winter with, shall we say, “slim pickings”; A more vivid scenario couldn’t be better re-created in the audiences’ collective minds. Francis Garner is a gifted storyteller, but this may be a good time to talk about his voice.  His voice is robust, strong, and hard-hitting.  But it’s Stephen Sondheim’s Being Alive, from Company, where Garner REALLY shows off his range and vocal flexibility.  He can really hit that song’s patented signature killer notes.  Likewise, his delivery of Your Heart is as Black as Night, perhaps made most notorious by singer Beth Hart, is a real scorcher, accented perfectly by some awe-inspiring challenging notes and by the hardworking Andy Lantz on piano.  The funny, dynamic Is This Any Way to Fall in Love literally becomes a stand-alone show in itself; It was one of several climaxes of the night.  Garner even sings two songs in Portuguese. (The presumably reason is revealed in the show…)  One of them is a very familiar tune, and possibly one of the lushest songs about Brasil to infiltrate American pop culture ever: Garota De Ipanema, perhaps better known as Girl From Ipanema.  The equally lush Começar de Novo (Translated as “Start Over“) was the second.  The singer did both, as the audience agreed, very well. On a note for all hopeful romantics out there, Garner continued with the eternal classic Someday My Prince Will Come.  

Now, remember that brooding persona and that wig? Garner takes back both of them for the show’s finale, Jill Tracy’s Doomsday Serenade, which has been appropriately described as “a drinking song for the apocalypse.” What a way to send off the crowd!  Oh, but wait… There WAS an encore!  I won’t reveal what it was, except to say that the song is musical catnip for every gay men from 18 to 80, whether they admit it or not.

We may never know– or need to know– how much of Francis Garner’s real-life dating adventures have been dramatized for Over the Hill: Dating Gay After 30. But whether he is being (1) decadently over the top, or, dare I say, (2) “relatable” to anyone who’s donned their combat gear to navigate through the jungles of the modern dating scene, the two parts of Garner’s persona are unified by one thing: talent.  Let’s hope there’s more of this performer’s relatable raunch ahead in the future!

Francis Garner’s next performance of Over the Hill: Dating Gay After 30 will be on Friday, January 24, 2025 at 07:00 PM at The Gallery Bar NB, 20 Kenyon Street, New Bedford, MA.