If you can't find something to delight you in this sprightly and wonderfully excessive tour de force—a fabulous solo show by the reigning diva of the drag queen world—no Big Top will help you; you will need a li'l mortician. Varla Jean, portrayed with winsome energy by alter ego Jeffrey Roberson, bills herself as the unholy scion of Ernest Borgnine and Ethel Merman, but she has become a major figure in her own right, and here she proves that she's more than a "drag show at midnight" fringe figure.
Varla Jean uses the general theme of the circus as a launching point for a series of amusingly tasteless songs, gags, and video sequences. Whether we're talking about Varla Jean's yodeling duet with a gigantic talking hot dog ("Shari Lewis has her lamb chop, but Varla Jean has her wiener," she quips), or her signature freak show act of downing a whole spray can of Velveeta while singing, the show is gleefully bizarre and as crisp as lettuce cold from the fridge. While never eschewing its core gay sensibility, the production, snappily directed by Roberson and Michael Schiralli, stakes its Big Top Tentpole right in the mainstream.
The songs and dances (credited to Roberson and Schiralli) are hilarious, with an eye for sauciness that's downright hysterical. The work frequently feels more like a throwback to vaudeville burlesque than anything else. It's well worth seeing.
"Varla Jean Merman's Under a Big Top," presented by the L.A. Gay and Lesbian Center's Lily Tomlin/Jane Wagner Cultural Arts Program in association with Mark Cortale at the Renberg Theatre, L.A. Gay and Lesbian Center's Ed Gould Plaza, 1125 N. McCadden Pl., L.A. Thu.-Sat. 8 p.m., Sun. 7 p.m. Apr. 29-May 16. $25. (323) 860-7300.