BY SCOTT STIFFLER | The lusty month of May has nothing on that sweet spot when summer’s swan song plays footsie with the first falling leaves. There’s something in the air, all right. How else to explain the abundance of provocative offerings on the boards between now and the end of September? We could continue to tease with a long intro, but best to just get down to business while the iron (and everything else) is hot, hot, hot!
With her cavernous cleavage, penchant for rhinestones, and makeup seemingly applied with the help of a putty knife, sweet and self-aware Dolly Parton (“It costs a lot of money to look this cheap”) was her own drag act long before the first dude plucked and tucked his way to an affectionate imitation. While the real thing is still touring, slinging zingers, and lookin’ good at age 70, a gaggle of glitzy gals are about to celebrate the third annual installment of “Dollypalooza.” An epic tribute to longtime LGBT ally and all-around good egg Parton, the event is packed with trivia, an interactive photo booth, and Dolly-themed drag and burlesque performances. Proceeds from ticket sales and a silent auction (items include a trip to Dollywood!) benefit Dolly’s charity, the Imagination Library.
Event producer and “femmecee” Bevin Branlandingham welcomes ribald, riotous, and righteous entertainment from World Famous *BOB*, Sweetie, Lady Quesa’Dilla, Nath Ann Carrera, Sequinette, Darlinda Just Darlinda, Tammy Cannons, and (in keeping with the ethos of excess) many, many more. If you’re still not sold on Dollypalooza or its namesake, consider this, from Branlandingham: “She might be the only performer who can bring together queers, Christians, country-music lovers, and hipster nightclub enthusiasts — and have everyone leave singing the same song.” Sat., Sept. 3, 6–10pm at (Le) Poisson Rouge (158 Bleecker St. btw. Sullivan & Thompson Sts.). For tickets to this 18+ event ($20 in advance, $27 day of show), visit dollypalooza.com. Twitter, Instagram & Snapchat (night of event only): @Dollypalooza. Branlandingham’s blog at queerfatfemme.com, and Parton’s charity at usa.imaginationlibrary.com. The event repeats, with a cast TBA, Oct. 29 in Los Angeles.
AND SPEAKING OF MUST-SEE DRAG: Our favorite profane princess, the legendary Lady Bunny, is bringing her well-received summertime show “Trans-Jester!” back to Christopher Street’s Stonewall Inn. Whether she’s going postal on Caitlyn Jenner, putting a lurid spin on pop songs, or pontificating on “the new pronoun we’re forced to learn every time Will Smith’s son puts on a dress,” Bunny only has one mode: filth — and it’s stuck on “11.”
Don’t bring your mother, unless she’s more open-minded than you are. In fact, Bunny advises, “This show is raunchy. Not politically correct by definition — that’s the whole point. So if that’s not your cup of tea, you should honestly skip it.” Strong words, indeed; but with tickets at $19.99 and the mandatory downing of at least two drinks, it’s a risky behavior you can afford to indulge in. Wed. through Sat., 7pm, through Oct. 1 (no Sept. 8 or 9 performances). Reservations and more info for this 21+ atrocity at ladybunny.net and thestonewallinnnyc.com.
Another New York institution, one-time mayoral candidate and world-renowned drag king Murray Hill (“the hardest working middle-aged man in show business”), shares the bill with equally iconic burlesque entertainers Dirty Martini, Dita Von Teese, and Stormy Leather — when “Flatiron Follies” kicks off its fall season with a return to Chelsea’s swanky W. 22nd St. cabaret space, the Metropolitan Room. This is no low-rent skin show, folks. Curator, host, pin-up model, and burlesque performer Bettina May has the distinction of having been granted the USA’s first-ever burlesque-based “genius” green card (while many of our citizens are threatening to move north on Nov. 9, Canada-born May has staked America as her sex-positive turf!). Thurs., Sept. 8, 9:30pm, two-drink minimum, cover starts at $15. For tickets: metropolitanroom.com & bettina.ca. Twitter & Instagram: @bettina_may.
AND SPEAKING OF MUST-SEE BURLESQUE: Clothes are peeling, eyes are popping, tassels are twirling, and tail feathers are shaking — at The 14th Annual New York Burlesque Festival. This four-day event delivers glitter, glamour, and risqué business from an international roster of over 100 DJs, circus, variety, burlesque, and boylesque performers, as well as a “Burlesque Bazaar” with pasties, custom corsets, lingerie, and “pin-up make-overs” for purchase (Oct. 2, 2–6pm at W. 15th St.’s The Tippler). Hot off the heels, or, more accurately, the wingtips, of his guest spot at the abovementioned Flatiron Follies, Murray Hill brings a little of the old dirty old man leering thing back to 42nd Street, when he hosts the Burlesque Festival’s “Saturday Spectacular” at B.B King Blues Club & Grill (7pm, Oct. 1). The after-party happens 11pm–2am, next door, at Luilles Bar; DJ Bill Coleman spins. Doors open at 6, show at 8, Oct. 2 at Chelsea’s Highline Ballroom — where big-eared, high-heeled, sparkly spandex-clad Scotty The Blue Bunny hosts The Golden Pastie Awards. Sept. 29–Oct. 2. Individual ticket prices vary; VIP 4-day pass, $120. For the full schedule and reservations, visit thenewyorkburlesquefestival.com.
When it comes to naked truth, explicit acts of sober reflection are rivaled only by the skin on display — in the world premiere of “The Jamb.” Working from a place of authenticity that could have easily sent him to an early grave, formerly homeless heroin addict and “Jamb” playwright J. Stephen Brantley co-stars as Roderick, a thoroughly reformed NYC queer punk on the cusp of 40, who sees his past misdeeds reflected when he’s prank called into making an early morning visit to the apartment of his former roommate (and longtime crush?), Tuffer, a fellow member of the pushing-40 club still drowning himself in substance abuse and hot boy toys (specifically, half-his-age college student Brandon).
The trio head to the home of Roderick’s mostly retired folk singer mom, where the rural New Mexico landscape will either inspire a sobering up or a doubling down. Packed with references to gay nightlife destinations that were gentrified out of existence long before NYU’s class of 2020 began to contemplate their SATs (The Lure! Sleazy West Side Highway hotels!), Brantley’s “Jamb” is as much about making the case for recovery as it is about acknowledging the uneasy road traveled by former hedonists who sing of the praises of sobriety while subjecting others to endless tales of their own debauchery — a hard place to live, that doesn’t always rock. This Horse Trade and Hard Sparks co-production plays through Sept. 17, at E. Fourth St.’s The Kraine Theater. For tickets ($25), visit horsetrade.info.
