Head Over Heels is an important show; because it’s lighthearted fun, this fact may have escaped several people, but not the cheering crowd in the audience yesterday. Rather than pedantically delivering the message of equality and love for all, the casts starts the show with a rousing song and dance routine which declares “We Got the Beat,” and by gosh, they definitely do. It’s no doubt a unique idea to pair the music of 1980’s pop group The Go-Gos with Sir Philip Sidney’s “The Arcadia” from 1590. To be fair, sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. The scenes will be familiar to any fan of Shakespeare: wandering in a bosky wood, mistaken identity, cross-dressing, and low-brow humor. A big draw to the show is Peppermint, who, in the persona of the all-knowing Pythio, Oracle of Delphi, proclaims “Pythio is a non-binal plural.” (It must be understood that personal pronouns can be difficult for the AARP generation, so please be patient with us.) The audience loves Pepperment, the first openly transgender woman to have a leading role on Broadway. She first came to wide acclaim as a contestant on the ninth season of “RuPaul’s Drag Race.” Here, she is nothing short of glorious, done up in a super glam gown of black and silver, and taking center stage in every sense of the word. The byzantine plot revolves around King Basilius (Jeremy Kushnier) being thrown into a panic by a huge snake which descends from the sky with the message “Arcadia is in peril.” He decides that everyone must tromp through the forest to see the Oracle. Meanwhile, his younger daughter Philoclea (Alexandra Socha) has fallen for a simple shepherd boy, Musidorus (Andrew Durand). Running gags include the fact that she is referred to as “Plain Philoclea” when she is clearly adorable, and that his flock consists of guys running around bleating in wooly blankets. Philoclea’s older sister, Pamela (Bonnie Milligan) is considered the knock-out, as she elucidates by singing about her “Beautiful” self. None of her suitors suit her; she finally figures out why when she realizes that her true love is her handmade, Mopsa (the splendidly named Taylor Iman Jones). Musidorus dresses up as an Amazon to be near Philoclea, and in the process, inflames Basilius. When the king’s discontented wife, Gynecia (Rachel York) discovers that the flaxen-wigged imposter is actually a man, she too gets amatory ideas. A word here about the magnificent Rachel York. She has been illuminating the Great White Way for decades, yet still looks as stunning as ever, and brings a level of enthusiasm and skill to her performance which elevates the entire production. She is every inch the regal Queen, yet she can get down with the best of them. We hope for equally illustrious careers for Taylor Iman Jones, who is strong, spunky, and very attractive, and Bonnie Milligan, who is truly funny, and who could out-belt the great Merman. Andrew Durand makes us root for his lovable dweeb, and Alexandra Socha, complete with bluebirds on the front of her dress, is an ingenue with sass and class. All are terrific singers. In fact, all the musical numbers in the show are a joy to experience. Not surprisingly, all’s well that ends well, all of Pythio’s predictions prove true, and peace, love, and acceptance reign in Arcadia.
