Porn Classic Comes to Life

By Stan Jenson
stan@gayblade.com

By the late 1970s, America was at the height (or perhaps depth) of the sexual revolution. Deep Throat and The Devil and Miss Jones had enjoyed mainstream success in theaters across the country, and gays were staking out a claim as a recognized and legitimate segment of society. The time was ripe for a major, gay adult movie, and Joe Gage was the filmmaker who accepted the challenge.
Gage’s Kansas City Trucking Co (1976) was followed by El Paso Wrecking Corp (1977) and L.A. Tool & Die (1979). His road-trip trilogy was a milestone in gay erotica, symbolizing the growing gay consciousness of the era. The films listed the names of the actors, even if the majority of them were pseudonyms. They featured posters and film processes such as “Surround 88,” much like their mainstream counterparts.
The poster for L.A. Tool & Die used short, suggestive phrases, such as “The creek … the shack … the high school … the van … the gas station,” and the characters included Hank, Jim, Vic, Harry, Wylie, The Stranger, The Backpacker, Coach and Mr. Carson. The mere lists were enough to conjure up lustful fantasies, and the posters featuring a shirtless construction worker and a muscled cowboy were the stuff of dreams.
West Hollywood’s Celebration Theatre artistic director, Michael Shepherd, is no stranger to the appeal of classic, adult movies. Shepherd chatted with his friend Sean Abley, who had created a niche for himself by taking B-movies and bringing them to life on stage, including tasteful titles such as “Santa Claus Conquers the Martians” and “The Corpse Grinders.”
The two men agreed that if they could recreate a porn film on stage — and do it well — they could have a major hit. “L.A. Tool & Die” seemed the most logical choice.
The duo contacted the 66-year-old Gage, who is still writing and directing porn, and Gage OK’d the project. Next, Abley transcribed the film, carefully writing down all the dialogue and action. Lastly, Abley invented a few details to connect some of the scenes in the original film that had no relevance to the main plot.
With a rough draft ready, the show was cast and rehearsals began, and Abley continued to develop the script as he viewed the action on stage.
And, as for sex… “I have a very game cast,” Abley said. “There’s plenty of full-frontal male nudity. In fact, some of the characters spend more time with their clothes off than on.
“The actual sex scenes are staged in ways so that you wouldn’t actually see penetration if it were happening,” he continued. “However, I can’t find any specific regulations against erections, and with this many naked men on stage, we can’t tell what might happen.”
The production is ultimately played for laughs, finding humor in the fact that virtually every encounter between two or more characters leads to sex. The overall look of the production pays homage to 70s fashion and facial hair. The actors are even instructed not to shave their bodies. The subject matter is sure to be hot, and it’s not by accident that the Celebration Theatre has scheduled it for late-night performances only.
“L. A. Tool & Die” plays Fridays and Saturdays at 10:30 p.m., from July 30 – Sept. 11, at the Celebration Theatre, 7051 Santa Monica Blvd., Los Angeles. Tickets are $15 and available online at www.celebrationtheatre.com, or by phone at (323) 957-1884.