Cameron Whitman / The Keegan Theatre
Ten minutes to show time, and Guns N’ Roses was blaring, welcoming the audience to the jungle—er, Keegan Theatre. Followed by Aerosmith. Toss in Def Leppard, some Mountain, and OK, this was clearly going to be a party.
Then: The lights dimmed. The volume turned up on Quiet Riot’s “Come on Feel the Noise.” And the shredders arrived.
Four competitive air guitarists flew onto stage, literally bouncing off the walls. There were high-kicks; there were power slides and splits (sometimes unintentional—read: painful). There were leather pants and gold sequins for days. Tongues hung out. Faces were melted.
Chelsea Marcantel’s Airness, now playing at Keegan and co-produced with 1st Stage in Tysons, is like going to the best possible combination of a rock concert, comedy show, and theater performance. All this, and not a single instrument appears on stage during the play.
In the opening scenes, Nina (Billie Krishawn), who’s quick to point out that she plays the actual guitar, shows up at a dive bar in New York to compete in a local air guitar competition. She’s a newbie, but how hard can it possibly be? Very, she learns, as she bombs on stage. A quirky group of guys who travel the circuit befriend Nina, introducing her to the ways of their beloved pastime. Her motivations for competing eventually become clear, but in the meantime, her new friends offer coaching—on movement techniques, but also on the importance of community and collaboration.
The long-time air guitarists shine as they take turns performing, progressing from qualifying rounds in various cities to, eventually, nationals. Each has a persona: There’s Cannibal Queen (Dani Stoller), D Vicious (Drew Kopas, who pulls off “obnoxious schmuck” masterfully), Shreddy Eddy (Harrison Smith), Facebender (Chris Stezin), and Golden Thunder (Gary L. Perkins III).
To prepare for the show’s D.C. debut, Keegan took a deep dive into the world of air guitar; director Christina A. Coakley was even invited to join the judging panel at the D.C. regional U.S. Air Guitar Championships.
For those less familiar, know this: Air guitarists take their sport seriously. They’re not in some dive bar doing a mimic routine—during their 60 seconds on stage, they’re rock stars packing Wembley Stadium. While technical skills matter, those who excel demonstrate feeling, charisma, originality, and the inexplicable, know-it-when-you-achieve-it “airness.” Pulling off a great performance is something like “the raw joy of dancing around naked in your bedroom, but in front of screaming fans,” as one cast member puts it.
In the lobby of Keegan, a sign warns “Please do not touch the air guitars,” a black rope cordoning off those invaluable (and invisible) “instruments.” After seeing the show, it’s not a stretch to consider power sliding to the display and worshipping at the shrine of the maybe ridiculous, but totally magnetic, music-makers.
Airness runs at Keegan Theatre through Nov. 30. $41-$51. Runtime approximately 2 hours and 5 minutes, including one intermission. It runs again at 1st Stage Dec. 7-29.
