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Scott McPheeters needs novelty to thrive, with meeting people a captivating component of his curiosity. The 30-year-old is helping to honor a similar seeker of innovation through Sunday, as he and The Bearded Ladies Cabaret are presenting “ANDY: A Popera,” the second stage of their Opera Philadelphia collaboration commemorating Andy Warhol. McPheeters is portraying Candy Darling, one of the artist’s creative colleagues, or superstars, as Warhol dubbed them.
“There’s a great amount of vulnerability to her that I can really relate to,” the resident of the 800 block of South Fifth Street said of his character, a trans woman, born James Lawrence Slattery, who appeared in Warhol’s films “Flesh” and “Women in Revolt.” “Just like with Andy, she’s a great study for discussing how much of our identity is real and how much is fabricated.”
The Queen Village inhabitant and his peers, including many South Philly dwellers, are offering their look at genuine traits and affectations at The Wilma Theater, with McPheeters making his Bearded Ladies debut. The show, whose genesis came through condensed spring and early summer pop-up performances, including a Bella Vista stop, has morphed into an hourlong effort on its way to becoming a full-fledged work sometime next year. Involving the opening of one of Warhol’s time capsules, the piece analyzes the titular figure’s popularity just as much as it addresses one’s search for substance.
“It’s relatively episodic in bringing up all these individuals from Warhol’s life,” McPheeters said of the project, which marks his first time dressing in drag. “I think it’s great at making us ponder the air of mystery that certain people possess.”
Warhol undoubtedly counts as a polarizing personality in that regard, as many deem him a genius while others jeer him as a joke. McPheeters, who played the pop art pioneer in a couple pop-ups, acknowledges the flattery and the disdain equally and noted that presentation of oneself to an immensely critical world can result in the blurring of one’s identity, something with which Darling also struggled.
“Warhol surrounded himself with interesting and cool people,” the likewise social individual said. “Like everybody else, though, they had their issues, and Candy was no exception, as her life definitely had as many downs as ups.”
Her existence did indeed, as she succumbed to lymphoma at 29, penning a letter for Warhol and the other superstars that declared “I am just so bored with everything” and “I wish I could meet you all again.” Short lives always inspire what-might-have-been discussions, especially concerning those with an artistic bent, yet McPheeters, enamored with exploring how the exterior informs the interior, is not looking for patrons to pity Darling, but to grapple with a question that he and his cohorts are contemplating, “Is immortality worth dying for?”
“How much truth do we put out there, and how much are we putting on a show?” he inquired. “Our duty is to discover that.”
Somewhat of a late bloomer, McPheeters fell for his field through Headlong Dance Theater, 1170 S. Broad St., which obtained a residency at Dickinson College during his junior year. Having dabbled in theater and musical theater as a high school student, the Maine native scored a senior year internship with the Newbold-situated spot and commenced his crusade to add to Philadelphia’s arts community.
“I had thought I wouldn’t want to remain anywhere for more than two years, but I fell in love with this city,” McPheeters, initially a biology and Spanish major at his Carlisle-based alma mater, said of courting credits first as a Center City denizen and for the last eight years as a South Philly resident. “It totally sucked me in and exposed me to such an arts boom with enthusiastic young people looking to make great work.”
Having heard from personnel at Headlong, for whom he served as assistant production manager for last decade’s “Hotel Pool,” that he would encounter many committed creators, he soon struck up an alliance with Subcircle and persisted, like his peers, despite limited funding and an influx of entities pining for backing.
“It’s what I love,” McPheeters said of his diligence. “I know the field has a fragile nature and that many people, including some friends, are going through dilemmas, but I love being active and moving, I love performing and training my body, and I value chances to meet new people. I am never, ever bored.”
The profound professional initiated his union with the Bearded Ladies in December and immediately found the members, who have worked with such heavyweights as Eastern State Penitentiary, the Philadelphia Museum of Art and Society Hill Playhouse, to be teeming with tenacious commitment to exploring artistic invention, gender and popular culture. Linking up with the troupe at a time when he had been wanting to do more singing, McPheeters, who did a stint with the Philadelphia Gay Men’s Chorus in 2010, reveled in the opportunity to become a guest artist for a project as provocative as “ANDY.”
“It’s just been great to grow with them and contribute to their mission,” he said. “I’m a free agent, essentially, so I hope they’ll have me back.”
When not enhancing his theatrical craft, McPheeters, also a certified massage therapist, pursues interests in herbal medicine and having just finished a course in the discipline, is looking to concoct remedies with as much care as he is striving to execute notes and steps. No matter how successful his alternative employment becomes, he will continue to seek distinction in his primary profession and is moving on a plan with Subcircle’s overseers to buy a Maine-based farm for conversion into a retreat center.
“We would funnel the Philly community through there, for sure,” McPheeters said. “I love it here so much, though, that making a transition there could be very tough even if I split time. Decisions, decisions.”
For tickets, visit wilmatheater.org.
Contact Managing Editor Joseph Myers at jmyers@southphillyreview.com or ext. 124.
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