Captain Hook and the scourge of slut-shaming

It may be summertime, with some theaters dark and gearing up for their fall openers, but many are producing. This month, Atlanta Lyric Theatre opens “Peter Pan,” starring out actor Alan Kilpatrick as Captain Hook and co-starring out actor John Markowski.

Weird Sisters Theatre Project is busy as well, opening its new “Hot Pink, or Ready to Blow,” written by out playwright Johnny Drago and directed by Veronika Duerr, with out playwright/actor Topher Payne in its ensemble. We caught up with Kilpatrick and Drago prior to their shows’ openings.

Georgia Voice: Alan, how do you approach Hook?

Kilpatrick: Although “Peter Pan” was not a favorite of mine as a boy, I do remember seeing it. (As an actor) you look with interest at the different variations and adaptations over the years, let your instincts guide you, free-fall into it and let go. I didn’t plan how to play him—it just comes out.

What is your Hook like?

I feel like I have been influenced by Tim Curry, Bette Davis and Jeremy Irons in “Reversal of Fortune.”

What is the gay appeal of Captain Hook?

Villains tend to be over-the-top. Hook is happy to be number one in the world, at the top of his game. These characters crave power, and people like that work the hardest at achieving that power. Hook, besides reveling in being a villain, there is some pathos there—a man struggling with his power. But playing villains is so much fun.

Out actor Alan Kilpatrick says he was influenced by Tim Curry and Bette Davis in his portrayal of Captain Hook. (Courtesy photo) niors in high school, and deals with slutshaming and what it means to be a virgin. We did workshops with women, primarily talking about their experiences—what sexuality was to them as high schoolers, what people knew, what they wished they had known.

Was there an inspiration for the play?

I am not quite sure why that is. That is one of the issues—guys can go out and get laid as much as they want and brag about it and there are no consequences but when a woman does she is labeled some kind of slut.

Why is this a good fit for Weird Sisters?