"I play Corny Collins. He's sort of a DJ. He hosts a music show. Sort of like a straight Ryan Seacrest. Ryan's a friend. We've kissed."—John Stamos tells Jimmy Kimmel about the character he just played in the Hollywood Bowl's production of Hairspray. Behind every joke, there's always at least a grain of truth.
I've made it home from Europe ... barely. My luggage, on the other hand, spent an extra few days in Berlin because the Germans are so hospitable. Let's just say that the Von Trapps had an easier time getting away from the Nazis than my bag had of escaping the clutches of Air Berlin! I would think it's for the best that I ditched my original plans to extend my trip to spend time with family in Albania, but I may have been wrong. Eliza Dushku was just there and the government was so excited, they made her a citizen ... and she's only half Albanian! I could have been crowned king!
Luggage or no luggage, I was not missing my annual week in Provincetown with a number of dear friends, including Bob Mackie, Nancy Dussault, Robbie Benson, Peter Marc Jacobson, Mark Sendroff and Marilyn Maye. In addition to eating our way across Cape Cod, our motley crew went to see quite a few performers who you should check out.
Randy Roberts is a veritable institution in P-town—in fact, he probably should be in an institution with the multiple personalities living inside his sexy skin. His voice has never been better. He looks amazing, and the audience loves him. Also, his Cher is simply magical.
Varla Jean Merman never ceases to amaze me. The high level of her writing ability is almost matched by her priceless delivery. All that plus she sings and looks great...and at one point, she's on a swing! As with last year, Varla's pianist is Tom Judson (aka porn superstar Gus Mattox)—and he's a great foil for Merman, in addition to looking quite fetching tickling the ivories. He's also doing his own show, which is somewhat of a departure for him—this one focuses more on his singing and vocal abilities, which are considerable. That said, there were some who may have been dismayed that they didn't get to see an inch of flesh for at least a half hour. I quipped, "You see more skin at a Marilyn Maye show!" Moments later, Judson reappeared in undies—a look that was short-lived, but which he nonetheless pulls off quite well. I think the audience left satisfied, and perhaps knowing a bit more about this extraordinarily talented man.
Leslie Jordan brought his new one-man show to Provincetown. Stories I Can't Tell Mama is a delight. He primarily talks about this past year—doing My Life On The Pink Carpet in London, appearing in the doomed Broadway-bound musical Lucky Guy, and acting in the current box-office hit The Help. It's fresh, it's funny and it's fabulous—just like Leslie himself. Check out his website at www.TheLeslieJordan.com and definitely catch him when he's in a city near you.
Finally, there's Marilyn Maye. After dragging her with us to P-town year after year, someone came up with the bright idea of letting this legendary lady do what she does best (which, contrary to local folklore, is not shopping). Marilyn knocked 'em dead with a powerhouse set of standards, classics and rarities all delivered in her unmistakable clarion tones. More than ably accompanied by the incredible Billy Stritch and two other musicians, Marilyn had the audience eating out of the palm of her hand ... and they would have stayed there all night had it not been for the next show being ready to go on. A rare privilege and one that will not soon be forgotten.
You may recall I bemoaned the premature shuttering of the revival of La Cage aux Folles—particularly given the exquisite performance of bon ami, Christopher Sieber. Well, you're in luck—he's just been added to the cast of the upcoming national tour. However, he won't be playing Georges (which was his role on Broadway). This time around, Chris will play Albin and Georges will be the dashing George Hamilton (who just underwent treatment for skin cancer—quelle surprise). At some point, I wouldn't be surprised if Sieber were playing both parts!
This week's "Ask Billy" question comes "Have you seen recent pictures of Gerard Butler? He's usually hot and beefy, but right now he looks pretty lean and ripped. Is he doing it for a role or just changing his look?" from Joseph in Las Vegas:
Gerard Butler is certainly a ruggedly handsome man who usually looks very hunky (and, occasionally, chunky). So I was quite surprised when researching this question to find photos of him looking very lean, very ripped, and very buff. Oh, and very blond! As it happens, he's transformed his body for a role in "Mavericks" where he will be playing a professional surfer (which explains the hair). Since I'm sure the rest of the fans will enjoy these semi-nude locker room shots, I'm happy to post them on BillyMasters.com .
Lastly, I recently ran into Scott Evans, the sexy brother of Chris Evans. So that got me thinking—how'd ya like to see Chris Evans naked? Well, you'll get the chance when his new movie, What's Your Number, opens in October. Or you could just go to BillyMasters.com to get a sneak peek.
When the Evans brothers are competing for my attention, it's definitely time to end yet another column. Phew—I'm back!! And you know what I need? A vacation! That means I'm gonna lay low in Boston for a week prior to reuniting with my paramour in Fort Lauderdale. So while I'm trying to get the smell of bratwurst out of my lederhosen, I will also be updating www.BillyMasters.com—the site that's multilingual. For your questions, send a note to Billy@BillyMasters.com and I promise to get back to you before Christopher Sieber gets cast in a production of "Victor/Victoria"! Until next time, remember, one man's filth is another man's bible.
