Star of stage and screen and legendary drag preformer Varla Jean Merman takes on a very new role portraying Prince Charming in Ryan Landry’s new musical Snow white and the seven bottoms. The hilarous parody of the classic fairytail features an incrediably beautiful set desings, amazing dancing and a few of the most talented drag preformers in the city, including Olive A. Nother as the magic mirror, Liza Lott as a Liza drag queen and Patty York serving the greatest Bette Davis impersonation this reporters ever heard. I was lucky enough to get a few words with Miss Merman or rather her muscular masculin counterpart Jeff Roberson.
“This is your first role as a Varla playing a male. What made you want to take it on.”
“Ryan called me up and told me I was doing it. I’ve been working with Ryan a long time we did Mildred feirce last year, where I played Mildred. Before that we actually did the Golden Girls in Providence where he was Dorthy and I was Blanch.”
“How long have you been doing drag?”
“The first time I did drag was in 1987. In high school. I went to Louisana school of Math science. And a friend and I dressed in drag for a fudraising party. We gave our girlfriends, you know 20 dollars to go to the drugstore and get us make-up to do our face, and we acted like we had to. Like it was an excuse. But we loved it.”
“How do you feel about Varla evolving and growing?”
“Well she’s growing old is the thing. It’s weird. It’s like when I first started out I was 300 pounds and all my jokes were about being fat. Then I lost the weight and I had to completly change my act. Now my acts going to be about Varla getting old.”
“What projects are you working on now?”
“I just did a movie with Mink Stole. Called ‘Hush up sweet Charlotte’ based on ‘Hush…Hush sweet Charlotte’. I play the Olive de Havilland character. Also I am doing a stage parody of ‘Gone witht the wind’ where I play Scarlett.Both very strong roles. Very demanding, you know?”
No doubt Merman can play these roles and play them fantastically. But let the show speak for it’s self. Please do yourself a favor and go see Snow White and the seven Bottoms in it’s last two weeks at Theater 80 now!
