Some people just have that "je ne sais quoi" thing about them. And Dame Edna Everage, the alter ego of actor Barry Humphries, is certainly one of those folks. From the minute that she walks out onto the stage of what she calls the "tucked away Wilbur Theatre," one knows he or she is in for quite a treat. If you're looking for a politically correct show, you've come to the wrong place. If you're looking for what might quite possibly be one of the funniest shows to hit Boston in years, you need go no further.
Besides being an international housewife, megastar, chanteuse, investigative journalist, advisor to British royalty, spin doctor, and icon, the Australian Dame Edna boasts of yet another gift. "I have a special talent for laughing at the misfortunes of others."
At first, Dame Edna is a bit much to take in. A special video montage that gives us a sense of her international fame prepares us for her entrance. We see her chatting with the likes of Lauren Bacall and Gloria Swanson. With her shock of purple hair, glitter-spiked eyeglasses, and hot pink dress, she looks every inch the Dame that she claims to be. She dramatically struts onto the stage, singing a witty number, and dancing with two Rockette-like dancers that she calls her "Ednaettes."
But her singing and dancing are only mere accessories to her real act. This is not a show where the audience is going to be a passive participant. Dame Edna simply does not intend to do a two-hour improv show without getting to know her audience.
The Dame marvels at the "socioeconomic ethno-gender spectrum" of the audience. She makes sure to remember the "paupies" up in the balcony, and she is clearly sympathetic to their plight. "I'll wave up at you every now and then," she says to them.
She names a group of people sitting in the right balcony box as "the mutes" when they don't respond to her jolly hello. For the rest of the show, she addresses them only in American Sign Language. The people in the left balcony box are the "parakeets," as they enthusiastically echo her hello when she talks to them.
Dame Edna proclaims that "One of the advantages of a democracy is that you can have a slave class with a clear conscience." She proceeds to cross-examine a couple in the front row named Tobias and Kristen. She asks them who is taking care of their little child at home.
The couple tells Dame Edna that "Anora," is taking care of their little angel.
"And where is Anora from," asks Dame Edna.
"Guatemala," the couple responds.
"Ooooohhhh," says Dame Edna, clearly concerned. "Are you sure your baby is alright?" she asks them.
Later in the evening, she calls the babysitter at home in front of the entire audience. "Anora, this is Dame Edna," she says to the Caribbean babysitter. "Yeah, I know it's you, Dame," replies the quick babysitter. Dame Edna would have loved to have had a longer chat, but Anora had to get back to the baby. "Your phone call woke her up," she told Dame Edna.
The Dame did talk about herself a bit, but she was interested in getting to know her audience members - intimately. She has a ball with a young girl named Marisol, who has a tattoo of the sun and sea on her lower back area. "Marisol," Dame Edna muses. "That sounds like something you'd get in a drugstore. Can I have some aspirin, some toilet paper, and some Marisol?"
She has absolutely no qualms about asking audience members detailed questions about their lives and homes. Poor Marie, mother of six from Dorchester, gets the third degree. Dame Edna asks her where she lives.
"I live in a two-family house," says Marie.
"Does the other family mind?" asks Dame Edna.
In another classic moment, Dame Edna senses that one of the couples is hungry and orders an entire meal for them from Maggiano's Italian Restaurant. Later in the show, the food arrives and Dame Edna makes the couple come on stage. She remarks on how the waiter even included "a lovely Chardonnay from Edna's valley."
"Do we really have to eat this?" asks the woman.
"Eat, Eat," says Dame Edna. "I'm beginning to sound Jewish," she tells the audience.
What is so refreshing about this show is the sheer genius and comic wit of Dame Edna - she can come up with a clever retort for just about anything. She is able to laugh at herself and especially the plights of others.
Give her a topic and she can talk non-stop for 20 minutes about it. For example, she has a ball making fun of the elderly. She picks out an old man from the audience, calling him "Senior." She then breaks out in a shtick about how all elderly people want to do is go on cruises and then they end up wasting their children's inheritance. The thing to do, she tells the audience, is to sit them down on a bed, put a sun lamp over them, and cover them with sand. "This is the cheap way," Dame Edna proclaims. She clearly revels in giving the audience useful advice.
Many of Dame Edna's jokes are excessively edgy and some of them verge on being cruel. She proclaims to have "diplomatic immunity, " and delivers her droll insults in a fun-loving manner, lessening their sting. She also caters her show to a Boston audience, including references ranging from Jane Swift to Mother Goose - a move that the crowd clearly appreciated.
There was one moment during the show when Dame Edna's dialogue bordered on bad taste. She made fun of a woman named Cybil who was on stage for a costume procession of audience members dressing up as the Queen, Fergie, Prince Charles, and Prince Williams. Dame Edna took a Polaroid picture of the two of them together, and then told Cybil, "You can show this to them at Weight Watchers." Even though the joke was funny, it was a bit cruel considering that body image can be such a sensitive issue.
Everything about Dame Edna was simply over the top. The audience found themselves singing along to a catchy tune called "Friends of Kenny," a homage to her gay son and the gay members of the audience. At the end of the show, Dame Edna and her Ednaettes passed out gladiolas to the audience. Gladiolas, she tells the audience, are her favorite flowers. She asked certain members of the audience holding gladiolas, to shake them and see how long they could vibrate for. One gladiola-holder managed to make his gladiola shake for at least a minute. "I didn't know they could go for that long," Dame Edna remarked.
The whole audience joined Dame Edna for a sing-along to the chorus of a ridiculous number about waving the flowers. "Everyone's holding my favorite flower. Come on possums, swing your gladiolas,'' she sang.
Dame Edna once remarked that intense embarrassment is one of the closest things to pleasure. And she has no qualms about making fun of people, but that's all part of her magic. This show is so absurdly fun and ridiculous that you'll find yourself laughing non-stop.
So, come on, possums. Head on down to the Wilbur and grace the Dame with your presence. We Bostonians should be grateful that we finally stole her away from Broadway.
Dame Edna will be playing at the Wilbur Theatre until March 11.
