Nothing Like A Dame

 
It’s either the most daring move in show business or the biggest prank ever pulled on the Great White Way. Out singer Michael Feinstein, the keeper of the Great American Songbook, has joined forces with beloved Australian icon Dame Edna
Everage for an all-new Broadway show, All About Me.
 
Truth is, when we had the rare opportunity to sit down with both Feinstein and Dame Edna (a.k.a Aussie comedian Barry Humphries) at the Redeye Grill in Midtown, we weren’t convinced it wasn’t all just a joke. Why would the world-famous cabaret singer and drag royal ever want to do a show together? And how did they manage to rope in playwright Christopher Durang and director Casey Nicholaw? Either way it looks to be a smash hit. And with commercials for this limited-run show airing during RuPaul’s Drag Race, All About Me could be Broadway’s gayest venture since the last revival of La Cage aux Folles!
 
So you both planned different Broadway shows with almost identical titles at the same time and place. Wasn’t this all just an elaborate PR stunt?
Dame Edna: It was a horrible accident. The management quite simply had us double-booked!
Michael Feinstein: It was a real quandary. Thank goodness [producer] Jeffrey Richards was able to get the Shubert Organization to combine us. He contacted them and suggested that we join forces and create a show together. It was really accidental but fitfully appropriate.
DE: Sometimes something goes wrong but it works for the best. I was very upset to learn, frankly, that we’d had the same theater for the same night with the same title. That’s a bit of a rarity, isn’t it? But seeking out our differences and uniting in the show has been a bit of a spiritual journey for us.
 
Then what is the show? Is it a cabaret?
MF: Oh, no. This is Broadway. This is Broadway with more than all the trimmings. This is a full-scale show with an extraordinary set designed by Anna Louizos. Christopher Durang fashioned a book that gives us much leeway and freedom to do what we do but also has been able to take a real-life incident and put it into a plot we can recount in a way that will be very entertaining. We also have a 12-piece band that is going to be one of the most powerful, swinging sounds on Broadway.
DE: And we have a lovely musical director, Rob Bowman.
MF: That we’ve stolen from Elaine Stritch! And she really wants him back!
DE: And she really wants to scratch my eyes out. Oh, Elaine; I adore her! Of course, our producer, Jeffrey Richards, has a wonderful track record. What are some of his shows?
MF: August: Osage County, Hair, Blithe Spirit. Jeffrey always gets the best of the best. That doesn’t happen very often today.
DE: In fact, he’s agreed to everything except a generous payment to Michael and me. We have a wonderful director who I also must pay tribute to. His name is Casey Nicholaw.
MF: He directed and choreographed Drowsy Chaperone, which is a show I’ve seen multiple times. He also choreographed Spamalot. He’s a rarity because he’s equally talented as a director and choreographer and has a great eye for the stage. He understands drama as well as comedy in a way that gives us pathos underneath the humor.
DE: We’ve even had special music crafted by Glen Kelly.
 
You both distinctly represent your home countries. Has there been any culture clash?
MF: That’s part of the fun!
DE: There is a bit of a culture clash but in a nice way. Above it all we believe there is something missing from theatergoers’ diet and that is joy, music and laughter. And of course, the wonderful fellowship of a packed audience enjoying themselves.
 
An audience full of gay men, you mean.
DE: We do appreciate the patronage of your readers. Because quite frankly we don’t have any prejudice in the show and for gay people there is no extra charge. They pay the same as anybody else and they don’t have to sit in special places!
MF: My friends will be very happy to know that!
 
So who has the bigger gay following?
DE: I don’t know. I appeal to everyone. You can’t really talk about gay followings. I think that the gay community always supports the theater and no matter what happens, whether tragedy or comedy, you will find support from that area more than from any other section of the community.
MF: When I was first starting out as a pianist, the first jobs that I happened to get hired for were gay bars. They allowed me to sing the music that I wanted to sing, classic American popular songs, at a time when I couldn’t [do that] in other places. I think there’s always been a heightened appreciation for certain aspects of the arts among gays. It’s just something that exists. And of course, the sensibility of this show has a lot of irony that some people will get. Other people, it will go right over their heads.
 
The title, All About Me, makes you both seem egotistical when in fact you are both surprisingly down-to-earth.
DE: We’re not only nice and modest, but we’re approachable. [People] can approach me. Of course that doesn’t mean that I will talk to them.
MF: But I will!
 
That’s great to know. I can’t wait to see the show!
DE: Come and wave to us from the audience. We want to see you up front near the stage. Bring your mothers and aunties!
MF: That’s how it’s stacking up. Lots of great classic and original music, wonderful comedy, improvisational sections. A great night at the theater!    N
 
Michael Feinstein and Dame Edna Everage unite on stage in All About Me at Henry Miller’s Theater (124 W 43rd St, 212-239-6200) through July 18. Visit Telecharge.com for more info.