Linus Lerner will end his seven-year run as music director of Reveille Men's Chorus this weekend.
But Lerner will not slip quietly into the night: He's going out with an R-rating, as the chorus performs arguably one of the edgiest and most risqué shows in its 14-year history.
"This is Reveille gone wild," Lerner said earlier this week, describing a brief nude scene, several gay-themed duets and an audience-participation number called "Homomotion."
"We create a 'Macarena' for gays. It's hilarious," he said, then giggled.
"Make 'em Laugh: Comedy in Music" promises to provoke plenty of giggling tonight and Sunday when Reveille takes the Berger Center stage. The chorus, which under Lerner earned an international reputation, always has a considerable mix of humor in its shows. But this time, Lerner said, humor is the central mission.
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Comic magician Tom Potter will emcee the show, which takes a few cues from the popular Broadway musical/puppet-human show "Avenue Q." The show also parodies everything from the "Titanic" theme song "My Heart Will Go On" done as a totally campy drag scene; to Handel's famous "Hallelujah" chorus from "Messiah," which Reveille members perform in nuns' habits. Only they don't sing; they are nuns who took a vow of silence — not celibacy — so they flash giant cards with the text.
Other parodies include "Four Queers in the Room Bitching" from the musical "Falsettos"; "If You Were Gay / If I Were Gay" from "Avenue Q"; "Viagra Song" sung to "West Side Story" theme "Maria"; and "Glitter and Be Gay" from "Candide."
"It's just very, very openly gay," Lerner said of the show's overall theme and message.
During Lerner's tenure with Reveille, the group became the first openly gay chorus to perform in Lerner's native Brazil and in Mexico. A year later, a gay chorus from Los Angeles followed Reveille to Brazil, but Lerner said he believes the Tucson ensemble is still the only one to have performed throughout Mexico.
Lerner, who took on the music-director job with the Southern Arizona Symphony Orchestra last fall, said he is leaving Reveille because he is not able to devote enough time to it with his international travels. Lerner is a frequent guest conductor in South America and abroad.
If you go
Reveille Men's Chorus "Make 'em Laugh: Comedy in Music"
• Featured guests: Tom Potter, Christi Amonson and Dana Melville.
• When: 8 p.m. today, 3 p.m. Sunday.
• Where: Berger Performing Arts Center, 1200 W. Speedway.
• Tickets: $20 at the door, $15 in advance at www.reveillemenschorus.org. It's $10 for students.
• Warning: Not appropriate for younger kids.
• Details: 304-1758.
