show queens

Show: Absinthe @ the Spiegeltent
Seen: Aug. 9 with EMC and JP
Synopsis: Vaudeville meets burlesque meets Cirque du Soleil meets ... Splash? I was shocked by the homoeroticism of this bawdy sideshow, which included two comely English Gents doing amazing acts in their skivvies and a bathing beauty in the grand finale who left a lot of us in the audience moist — literally. (There's also a stark naked female magician, for those of you who go for such.) Read my full review here.
Verdict: Run, don't walk to the Spiegeltent. The show runs through October, along with a world of other wonders.


Show: Kiki & Herb: Alive on Broadway
Seen: Aug. 16 with Gayest Neil
Synopsis: The undead cabaret duo just keeps coming back, this time with a meandering
Broadway bid that's preternaturally obsessed with the end of the world and the birth of Christ (don't ask). Though the whiskey-soaked hilarity lags at the halfway point, there's still something intoxicating about watching these two in action. I loved the song choices: Their cover of "First Day of My Life" made me download the original by Bright Eyes, and the Mountain Goats' "No Children" may well be the giddiest song about marital dysfunction ever written. Kudos too to Kiki for the sharp political commentary in the second act, which calls for Dubya to do himself in (or mayhaps go on a huntin' trip with Dick) and also tackles gay marriage and American apathy over the Iraqi War. But how will Ma and Pa Kansas who land in the Helen Hayes after a stop at TKTS take it?
Verdict: I've seen K&H four times this year, so I'm a little over their schtick right now. Still, it's worth seeing. A tip: Smuggle in a flask. Horror of horrors, there's no bar!


Show: Rainy Days and Mondays
Seen: Aug. 19 with Beaver
Synopsis: God bless the Fringe Festival. Where else are you going to catch such strange little plays like this one, an uneven but oddly entertaining drama that follows Brian (hottie Michael Carbonaro of Another Gay Movie) earning his Party Boy merit badge on the gay circuit in the mid-'90s. The action happens in a series of hotel rooms: Black & Blue in Montreal, Gay Disney, White Party, Sydney's Mardi Gras — you know, the usual spots a newbie would naturally hit in a single calendar year.
We watch as Brian goes through all the usual firsts: His first K-hole (awwww), his first bump of coke (precious!), his first time meeting Tina (she's a bitch!). You can guess there's lots of fag drama along the way, including the unwelcome return of the ghost of Brian's lover who died of AIDS (seriously) and a weird love triangle between Brian's messy friends, who reminded me a lot of Sky and Soiree from the Chelsea Boys comic strip. But whatevs.
Verdict: Was that a cum-stained tank top we just saw on stage? Do another line, bitch! Werk.