(Photo courtesy Orlando Fringe)
This show contains Adult Language, Audience Interaction, Mature Themes, Nudity, Sexual Content, Sexual Assault Content and Strobe Light
Arthur Davis III’s “Big Gay Jesus: The Third Coming” arrives at the Orlando Fringe Festival exactly as advertised: part cabaret, part therapy session, part fever dream and entirely committed to the bit.
According to the show’s press materials, Davis blends storytelling, psychic readings, live music and spiritual theater into what’s described as a “sparkle-soaked solo spectacle” rooted in queer joy and self-discovery.
And yes, it’s weird. But not the kind of weird that leaves you confused or disconnected. It’s the good Fringe weird — the kind where you surrender to the absurdity and somehow walk away feeling lighter than when you arrived.
Davis has an undeniable charisma that allows him to bounce between humor, vulnerability and uplifting affirmation with ease. Much of the show centers on celebrating the existence and worth of the audience, particularly women, while encouraging people to embrace joy unapologetically. At times, the storytelling feels almost therapeutic, like an interactive motivational seminar filtered through queer performance art.
There is a heavy amount of audience participation, which, if you know me, immediately raises my blood pressure. Thankfully, Davis creates an environment warm enough that even reluctant participants feel safe. By the show’s end, his hopeful message about manifesting dreams and believing in yourself lands with surprising sincerity.
See “Big Gay Jesus: The Third Coming” at the Pink venue in Orlando Shakes May 14 at 7:55 p.m., May 15 at 9:10 p.m., May 17 at 1:50 p.m., May 22 at 10:15 p.m., May 23 at 10:30 p.m.
Read more about Orlando Fringe’s 35th annual festival in our current issue and in the Orlando Fringe program.
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