No one has ever come out at North Gateway High School, much to the dismay of Soledad (played by pop star Joanna “JoJo” Levesque), who runs the school’s gay-straight alliance (GSA).
Soledad’s involvement with the GSA is more about having a “thing” of her own than actually wanting to create unity between gay and straight students. So when she’s told the school will have to dismantle the GSA unless it finds a gay member, she goes on a hunt for fierceness.
North Gateway High is dominated by three girls who split control like neighbouring third-world war lords.
There’s ’Shley (Desperate Housewives star Andrea Bowen), the Mormon who rules all cross-wearers and goody two-shoes; Caprice (Precious star Xosha Roquemore), the unabashed musical-arts diva; and Fawcett (Pretty Little Liars star Sasha Pieterse), who reigns with the autocracy you’d expect from the girl with perfect hair dating the school’s top jock.
The trio have it all: popularity, clothes and boys. But when one of Fawcett’s minions reads her a magazine’s must-have trends of the season that lists a GBF (gay best friend) right next to distressed leggings, the A is determined to find her gay.
“Lilo” queen Brent (Paul Iacono, whose character worships Lindsay Lohan) and comic-book nerd Tanner (Michael J Willett) know they’re gay but aren’t quite ready to come out yet. When Brent wants to find out if there are any other homos in their hometown, he takes a picture of Tanner’s four-pack and makes him a profile on Guydar, the gay hookup app of the moment. He unwittingly outs his friend when trend-savvy Fawcett, who knows all about Guydar, tips off the GSA, leading Soledad straight to the GBF of her dreams.
What ensues is a modern take on what it is to be gay in high school. Tanner is made over by ’Shley, Caprice and Fawcett, who are all determined to claim him for their own and capitalize on his newfound status of It Gay and, with his endorsement, prom queen.
But there might not be a prom if religious freak McKenzie (Harry Potter star Evanna Lynch) has her way. When she finds out that Tanner wants to bring a boy as his date (“Prom is for promenade, not prom-n-AIDS!”) she teams up with ’Shley’s Mormon boyfriend and a jealous Brent to stop the blasphemy.
Also starring Megan Mullally in all her hilarious glory as Brent’s fabulous mother, GBF is full of one-liners that will leave you offended — and laughing your ass off.
GBF
Wed, Aug 21, 7pm
Vancity Theatre and Atrium
1181 Seymour St
Repeated on Fri, Aug 23, 6:30pm
Rio Theatre
1660 East Broadway St
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