[NEohioPAL]Berko review: VARLA JEAN (CPT)

[Roy Berko]

VARLA JEAN appears once again at CPT


Roy Berko

(Member, American Theatre Critics Association)

--THE TIMES NEWSPAPERS--

Lorain County Times--Westlaker Times--Lakewood News
Times--Olmsted-Fairview Times	


For the fifth time, Varla Jean Merman is back at
Cleveland Public Theatre, playing to her loyal fans. 
Her new show, ‘I’M NOT PAYING FOR THIS!’ centers on
her exploring her moral code.   

Originally, according to Varla Jean, she was going to
use the ten commandments to develop the plot, but
since she is lazy she chose instead, the 7 deadly sins
as it required her to write three less songs.    Along
with the new musical material, there are new videos
and, to the consternation of her regulars, she has
eliminated her famous singing high notes while
inhaling cheese whiz.

Varla Jean Merman, supposedly the love child of Ernest
Borgnine and Ethel Merman,  is the creation of Jeffery
Roberson.   Roberson, a tall 200-pounder, came to New
York from New Orleans in 1994 and immediately became a
fixture in the Big Apple club scene.  In 1995, he
wrote and starred in ‘VARLA AND THE MAN WHO GOT AWAY.’
  This production was her open door to national
success.  Since then she has toured the country, and
has become a fixture in the gay meccas of San
Francisco to Provincetown.

Her new movie, "’GIRLS WILL BE GIRLS,’ is a campy romp
in which all the girls are played by men.  The cast
includes such legendary female impersonators as Jack
Plotnick and Clinton Leupp, as well as Roberson.

In the CPT show, Roberson repeats most of Varla Jean’s
usual shticks.  She taunts the audience, plays up her
“macho” size, sings songs with dirty lyrics and double
entendres, and uses videos which often aren’t very
funny.  Even she admitted that the videos were “stupid
and make no sense.”  Roberson does have an excellent
singing voice.

Her act appeals mainly to gays and lesbians, though
there were straight couples in the audience.    

CAPSULE JUDGEMENT:   If you’ve seen Varla Jean before,
you’ll be seeing much of the same in her new show.  If
you liked her in the past, you’ll like her again.   If
you haven’t seen her and are curious about this type
of entertainment, she’s your ticket to being exposed.

‘I’M NOT PAYING FOR THIS!’ continues at Cleveland
Public Theatre until May 13.  For tickets
call216-631-2727 or visit www.cptonline.org.

CPT’s next show will be  Maria Irene Fornes’s ‘FEFU
AND HER FRIENDS from Jun 1 17.  The Obie award-wining
play about eight women who join together to change the
world will be staged by Raymond Bobgan, the theatre’s
new artistic director.  

In October, 2006 they will be doing ‘M4M,’ an all male
version of Shakespeare’s ‘MEASURE FOR MEASURE.’  




Roy Berko's web page can be found at www.royberko.info.  His theatre and dance reviews appear on NeOHIOpal, an on-line source.   To subscribe to this free service via the World Wide Web, visit http://lists.fredsternfeld.com/mailman/listinfo/neohiopal.

__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Tired of spam?  Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around 
http://mail.yahoo.com