It’s time for comedy-lovers to report for jury duty.
Queen’s Players are now in the second week of performances for Law Tuah and Disorder: Dune’n Hard Time (The Ho Ho HOTTOJOE! Erotic Special). With the show running from Nov. 13 to 16, and Nov. 20 to 23 at The Mansion, the title highlights the trendy themes for the club’s knockout 125th-year fall production.
The AMS Club was founded over a century ago on the tradition of comedy, charity, and music, with all proceeds from their shows fundraising for nonprofits and charities in Kingston and Canada. This year’s production poked fun at a familiar court room scene and included an array of sing-along classics paired with many quirky characters. President Liam Vachon O’Hearn, MA ’25 described Players as “Saturday Night Live meets a live rock show meets charity extravaganza,” in an interview with The Journal.
Running into the early morning hours, The Players’ Nov. 20 evening performance featured fewer attendees than the previous week’s opener. However, the energy was higher than ever from the cast and crew.
Describing the show’s premise, Vachon O’Hearn explained it’s a courtroom drama with a twist. “Our director, Henry Freedlander, and the cast that writes the show, have taken this tried-and-true trope and genre and have really spun it on its head and turned it into a comedy. It’s a courtroom dram-edy,” he said.
Queen’s Players isn’t for the faint of heart, especially if you’re a “Players’ Virgin” whose never attended a show before, yet it’s welcoming to outsiders who want to experience the thrill of a live showcase. “It’s very easy to buy in, and when you are bought in, it’s incredible,” said Fundraising Director Meadow Donnelly-Gilman, Health Sci ’25.
The first act kicked off with a choreographed dance number, spotlighting Dolly Parton’s hit tune “9 to 5,” setting the tone for a night of classic songs the audience couldn’t resist singing along to. Set in a courthouse, the 12-scene show follows a fictional trial where Joe Exotic, the celebrity from the 2020 Netflix series Tiger King, accuses Paul Atreides, the protagonist of Dune, of murdering his beloved pet tiger.
The script is clever and comical, nodding at queer culture and 21st-century pop star icons. Judge Chappell Roan, who proudly described her face as “gart”—gay art—and Joan of Arc were standouts, with Joan personally thanking Chappell for bringing the historical figure back into modern-day relevance after the singer’s Joan-inspired outfit at the VMA’s this fall.
The show didn’t shy away from provocative imagery, with props like a double-sided rainbow dildo and empty popper bottles being displayed as incriminating case evidence onstage. Some characters were more well-received than others, and it’s clear that the personified Magnum XL Condom, Tony Soprano, and Paul Atredies were crowd favorites.
In addition to the sexual innuendos, the show’s humor was also grounded in the Queen’s experience, with Hermione Granger comparing the VIA Rail service to The Hogwarts Express, and the reconstruction of the Gryffindor Common Room with the ongoing JDUC project.
With something for everyone on and off-stage, inclusivity is a strong theme for The Players. “If you’re maybe feeling like you can’t find a place to belong, take a gander on down to Queen’s Players because we might need you,” Vachon O’Hearn said.
The second half opened with a conducted acapella piece featuring Gen-Z classics like “Mo Bomba” and “Fein.” Noting a few coughs and raspy voices, it was clear that some of the players were under the weather in the show’s second week, but energy surged during the roast session.
Audience interaction was a big factor of the night, as spectators were encouraged to shout “seamless” when mistakes were made onstage and “sing” when a song title was mentioned. The word of the night was most definitely “sexy,” as it was used by the cast to describe everything from the sensual brass arrangements to the alluring chemistry between characters.
Hilarious nods to the recent American election results, and references ranging from the hit musical A Chorus Line and HBO’s Euphoria closed out the show. The audience was able to vote via drink purchases and donations as to who would be held guilty of the tiger-murdering crime, allowing a choose-your-adventure twist to the show each night.
Like other Players’ shows, it’s easy to get lost or confused by the plotline, but what stands out is the environment and energy you feel when engaged in this semester’s performance. “It’s very much high quality, but it’s not concept-driven art—it’s people-driven art,” said Donnelly-Gilman.
Personal highlights were Fleabag’s spiced-up punchline of “Nobody’s asked me a question in 69 minutes” and the trumpet and saxophone features on Amy Winehouse’s “Back to Black.”
The show wrapped up with the entire cast onstage shirtless performing a singalong to nostalgic classics like “Where’d All the Time Go” by Dr. Dog and “All These Things that I Have Done” by The Killers.
From raunchy jokes of all kinds, and background dancers that can shake it like no other, there’s something for every walk of life at Queen’s Players.
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