Fresh Fruit Getting Better with Age

Ten years ago, gay Boston was a very different place.

We still had Avalon on Sunday, but we didn't have equal marriage. Bay Windows was already hitting the pavement with the latest in LGBT news, but Out at Night hadn't yet arrived to keep your social calendar as packed as your gay agenda. And though "Will & Grace" was blazing trails by bringing gay representation to prime time television, there were none of those gay cable channels to keep your South End condo bursting with LGBT entertainment 24/7.

Scary, isn't it?

But from that void sprung Fresh Fruit Productions, the troupe of politically incorrect drag performers now celebrating their 10th year of gut-busting humor and marvelous musical parodies. If you haven't yet experienced a Fresh Fruit show, now is the time to play catch up: their 2009 production, Fresh Fruit Turns X, collects some of their fans' favorite numbers into one spectacular show. And of course, the group has composed a few new treats to plant the seeds for future greatest hits.

And my, how these fruits have grown!

"In all honesty, not just to toot our own horn, but I think the professionalism of the group has really grown," says Michael Gaucher, one of the four fruits, on how things have changed over the years. Comparatively speaking, Gaucher is actually a relative newcomer to the group: five years ago, when he was working with an AIDS support group in Provincetown, the other fruits discovered Gaucher performing a "song and dance number about STDs called, 'Herpes Tango.'"

What they saw, aside from an informative cabaret piece about itching and redness, was a kindred spirit ready to join their established, merry crew.

"In my mind, it feels like I've been with those hags since the Jews left Egypt," says Pete Gaioni. "In reality, it's been nine years. I joined after the first show." The other two cast members, Rodney Van Derwarker and Walter Hildner - who had previously formed an alternative gay theater troupe in his home country of Germany - have been with Fresh Fruit since its inception.

Over the years, Fresh Fruit has garnered a reputation for no-holds-barred comedy that takes no prisoners, bites no tongue, and firmly believes in the value of equal opportunity offensiveness.

"We're willing to take risks," says Gaucher of how the group has managed to keep its comedy from growing overripe throughout the years. For example, this year's anniversary show will feature timely digs at the Kennedy family's mortality rate and former VP wannabe Sarah Palin, right alongside the standard ethnic, sexual and religious stereotypes that Fresh Fruit are happy to slice and dice into comedy gold.

By keeping some focus on current events and political humor, Fresh Fruit is guaranteed to always have fodder for laughs.

"We take Joan Rivers' advice: we put a little Fresca on our panty shields and we are good to go!" says Van Derwarker, on how they keep the fruit fresh even after a decade together. "Besides, with idiots like George Bush and Mitt Romney in office during most of our stage life, the material has been bountiful."

Luckily, most of Fresh Fruit's audience shares their sense of politically incorrect humor. Of course, every now and then an errant audience member might wander in and not quite know exactly what's in store.

The baby possum had pooped and Rodney put his hand right in it ... and then he pretended it didn't happen, but he's a big fat liar with possum poop paws.

"Once I sang a song about gay marriage, and about how gay married men think they're better than single gay men," recalls Gaucher of one memorable audience reaction. "A guy in the back of the audience started screaming, 'Fuck you! We celebrate our love!' Club Caf? security came for him, he knocked them down and ran out down Columbus Ave. Another year we had a number called 'Caliente.' It wasn't that offensive, but these two Latino men got up started ripping up their programs!"

Audience members should remember, says Gaucher, that every group gets its chance to be roasted with a few laughs.

"The beauty of our shows is that they help people push their own comfort level," he says. "We make them ask, 'Why is it okay to laugh at one thing, but not another?'"

Of course, sometimes the biggest laughs, and most memorable moments, are those that are entirely unscripted.

"It's hard to say which [show] is my favorite," says Gaioni, reflecting on some of the troupe's most hilarious moments. "But the most memorable show was Chix with Dixie! We took it to Provincetown one summer and all kinds of crazy shit happened. Like at one rehearsal, Rodney reached into the pocket of his costume and found that a live baby possum had crawled into it. What's more, the baby possum had pooped and Rodney put his hand right in it ... and then he pretended it didn't happen, but he's a big fat liar with possum poop paws."

It's no secret that the joking rapport between members extends well beyond the stage, but each also has an important role in keeping the fruit fresh.

"We do have our definite roles," says Gaucher, speaking to what each member brings to the group. "Rodney directs the show, schedules rehearsals, takes care of the money. ... He's the super organized one."

"We all come up with concepts together," Gaucher continues. "But Peter oversees all the musical arrangements, he's the most musically adept. ... Walter makes all of our costumes; he's amazing in that regard. ... And I do much of the writing and marketing."

Van Derwarker agrees. "I am a touch of the mother hen, making sure the other fruits are okay," he says. "When it boils right down to it, the other fruits
just consider me plain old bossy."

"Since I am the oldest fruit," opines Hildner, "I am more in the stage of a nicely simmered down preserve."

Though after X years, it's best not to put a lid on this, just yet.

Fresh Fruit Productions will stage Fresh Fruit Turns X Thursdays through Sundays, March 26 through April 11 at Club Caf? (209 Columbus Ave., Boston). Tickets $25, or $32.95 for a special dinner package. For more info or to purchase tickets, visit freshfruitproductions.com or clubcafe.com