A one-man ‘Tale of two Cities’ returns to St. Petersburg

If you saw Mark Chambers perform “A Tale of Two Cities” at American Stage in St. Petersburg two decades ago, you probably still vividly remember the performance and the play.

Chambers is back, reprising his role in Everett Quinton’s funny and touching one-person version of the Dickens classic. It opens Wednesday and runs for four weeks at American Stage.

Quinton was the artistic director of New York City’s famed Ridiculous Theatrical Company when he wrote and first performed his “Tale” in 1989. It’s partly a parody of Dickens, but it’s also includes a touching story of its own.

It starts with an aspiring drag performer who’s getting ready for a show that could prove to be his big break. But he discovers a crying baby, abandoned on his doorstep. As he dresses for his show, he tries to comfort the baby with fairy tales. When the fairy tales don’t work, he tries “A Tale of Two Cities,” and ends up enacting the entire novel, with all its characters, in 90 minutes.

The play’s a huge amount of fun, and Chambers’ performance, if it’s anywhere as good as it was in the 1990s, is a wonder to behold. He transforms into a woman on front of the audience’s eyes as his character bonds with the abandoned baby, at the same time that he performs an effective version of one of the greatest novels ever written.

Details: June 1-26, American Stage, 163 Third St. N., St. Petersburg. 8 p.m. Wednesday-Friday, 3 and 8 p.m. Saturday, 3 p.m. Sunday. $12 and up; June 1 show is “Pay what you can.” 727-893-7529, americanstage.org.

This story was originally published May 25, 2016 at 4:38 PM with the headline "A one-man ‘Tale of two Cities’ returns to St. Petersburg."