Sinisterhood podcast "Full Moon Energy Tour" @ Wiseguys
The world can be a sinister place, but credit the dynamic duo consisting of comedians/best pals Christie Wallace and Heather McKinney with shining some light into its darker expanse, and bringing some laughter to the situation all at the same time. Over the course of a combined 15-year career, they've culled merriment from the macabre, and found comedy in things that are creepy.

And while it may seem strange to find fascination with such unsettling sets of circumstances, they're obviously not the only ones who enjoy delving into weirder realms. Their Sinisterhood podcast has been downloaded more than 30 million times worldwide, bringing them feature pieces in such respected publications as Marie Claire, Vulture, Women's Health and AV Club. A staple on the Top Comedy Podcast Charts across Apple, Stitcher, and Spotify, it was also named "Best Podcast 2020" by their hometown Dallas Observer. These two tend to be fascinated by the blatantly bizarre, but there's no arguing with the devoted following they've accrued since launching this eerie endeavor in 2018. Within three months, in fact, they had already accumulated a million downloads. Apparently, there's a certain bliss that accompanies their banter and their celebration of all things spooky. Credit Wallace and McKinney with the ability to make the weird appear wonderful, even if it sometimes seems scary as hell as well.

Sinisterhood brings their "Full Moon Energy Tour" to Wiseguys Gateway (194 S. 400 West) on Thursday, April 20 at 7 p.m. Tickets are $25 or $65 VIP. Visit wiseguyscomedy.com for tickets and event information. (Lee Zimmerman)

Wasatch Theatre Company: Fun Home
The stuff of great theater can come from anywhere. While many successful, acclaimed musicals have taken their librettos from classic literature, hit movies or significant historical events, the 2015 Tony Award-winner for Best Musical, Fun Home, took its very personal story from life of author Alison Bechdel, originally presented in the form of a graphic novel.

Bechdel's story spans three phases in her life: as a 40-something successful writer, reflecting on her life; as a child, exploring "Small Alison's" relationship with her closeted gay father; and as a college freshman in the 1980s, dealing with her own process of coming out as gay. It's a story of tangled emotions, and the DNA is built into the show's songs by writer/composer Lisa Kron, which bubble over with a sense of uncertainty and thoughts that haven't quite managed to reach a resolution; lines are sometimes repeated compulsively, at other times interrupted in mid-stream. As City Weekly wrote about the local premiere of the show in 2018, "Kron's dialogue and lyrics dig deeply into the unspoken things that leave so many familial relationships and individual lives damaged or unresolved. As haunting as these songs are in what they say, they're even more devastating by emphasizing all the words that people just can't quite get out."

Wasatch Theatre Company's production of Fun Home is scheduled to coonclude its run at the Midvalley Performing Arts Center (2525 Taylorsville Blvd., Taylorsville) April 21-29, with performances 7:30 p.m. Friday – Saturday, and 2 p.m. Sunday. Tickets are $25/$20 student with ID; visit arttix.org for tickets and additional event information. (Scott Renshaw)

Good Co. Theatre: Queer the Stage
According to Good Company Theatre co-director Camille Washington, the idea for their new cabaret-style production Queer the Stage was born out of a simple need to get the company's groove back. "We came back so hard and so fast from being fully closed for the pandemic," Washington says, "and it kind of burned us out. We thought about, 'What do we really love and what do we want to do? Making cheeky comment on things we have issue with."

To that end, Queer the Stage explores the history of gayness in the American musical theater, and how it has always manifested itself, even during eras—like the 1940s – 1960s Broadway "golden age" covered in this show—when gay people themselves generally had to remain closeted. "There's no way to suppress us, no way to suppress queerness in any of these time periods," Washington says. "It seems like such an obvious thing to some of us: 'Duh, we've always been here.'"

Further, she recognizes a value in finding the tricky balance between entertaining an audience and addressing the realities of the era the show covers. "I think there's power in that tension," Washington says. "A lot of it is leaving it open to the performers, allowing them to make decisions for themselves what they want to perform—not overdoing it on my own nerdy, overly politicized stuff."

Queer the Stage runs at the Good Company Theatre (2404 Wall Ave., Ogden) April 21 – 30, with performances Friday – Saturday at 8 p.m., and Sunday at 4 p.m. Tickets are $25; visit goodcotheatre.com to purchase tickets and for additional event information. (SR)