Theater Review: Uptown Players’ The Facts of Life: the Lost Episode at the Rose Room (June 28)

by Catherine Cuellar

OAK LAWN — From the opening homage to Flashdance to the after-school special overtones of the grand finale, Uptown Players' The Facts of Life (The Lost Episode) is a raunchy, riotous hoot. The all-male cast in this original musical inspired by the '80s TV show mocks obese, promiscuous, elderly, minority, African-American, and disabled people in equally poor taste. But that's what the fun-loving crowd at the Rose Room in S4 have come to expect.

The first act is dominated by scene-stealing Chris Robinson as Natalie; hot-rolled curl-tossing Chad Peterson as the omnivorous, insatiable, and vain Blair; and Paul J. Williams as Mrs. Garrett. Jamie Morris' book exploits every euphemism imaginable, and '80s references abound — with director Andi Allen using the Jeopardy! theme song and jingles for Meow Mix and Almond Joy to great effect. But the potty humor, salty language, and exaggerated gestures don't require audience members to know the original show or its time period to enjoy a laugh.

In the second act, the ensemble (including Cameron Leighton Kirkpatrick as Tootie and Kevin Moore as Jo) really comes into its own. Trouble at Eastland Academy requires those schoolgirls to pull together and use their heads, and the solution they devise recalls a classic Broadway show.