PORTLAND, Ore.—Darcelle is ready to go on stage, to entertain as only she can: a mix of humor, wit and wisdom. She look divine, as always: her hair, makeup, jewelry and dress look sparking. Truly, a diva.
But under it all, Walter Cole is nervous.
"Every audience is different; every night is different. I might do the same routine, but the audience is different," said Darcelle, the namesake and owner of Darcelles's XV, the oldest-known female impersonator cabaret on the West Coast.
"I'm still nervous when I'm standing backstage, absolutely, even though I've [performed] most of my life."
Darcelle is now 82. The club has been open for 46 years; she is the emcee, with microphone in hand and a biting sense of humor. Cole worked in local theater before that, often portraying a doctor or lawyer.
Darcelle is a local fixture, a legend, an institution—with decades, not just years, of experience.
"I've learned my craft on stage, sink or swim. But I had enough stage presence, stage work, experience," Darcelle said in her basement dressing room—a small, cramped area, with mirrors, makeup and literally thousands of costumes. She said she's made more than 1,500 costumes, so sequins and glitter here are ever-present.
"I don't really want repeat customers; I prefer newcomers. And my goal every night is to make them forget about their troubles, have a great time, and laugh."
To that, every show ends the same way, as it has for years—Darcelle with microphone in hand, addressing a capacity crowd of 139. Darcelle says, "You have to learn to laugh at yourself, and then you can laugh at everybody else, and until we meet again, take all the time you need to make that special someone very, very happy. Stay safe, stay well, and by all means, stay in love."
Darcelle is in love, and has been for the past 46 years, with Roxy LaRoy, also a performing veteran. LaRoy worked as a male dancer in Las Vegas before relocating to Portland in 1967.
They live together about a five minute drive from the club where each has shined hundreds, if not thousands, of times. There are six shows per week at Darcelle's XV, with performances Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
The Men of Darcelle XV take the stage on Fridays and Saturdays.
"It's been fun, rewarding. I love what I do, and if I wasn't in this business, I probably would have been dead my now because I would have retired from my job and just sat on the couch," Darcelle said. "We've opened the doors to and for so many, from literally around the world. People who have been here and now are elsewhere."
Darcelle said the memories are endless, like the jokes and laughter. It's moments that Darcelle most remembers from the run, not entire shows. Such as the time the audience include a group of deaf attendees. Or, the time Darcelle started talking to a woman about how beautiful her breasts looked.
"She was laughing, yet her friends were near-tears. I thought, 'What have I done, what have I said?'" Darcelle said.
After that show, Darcelle learned it was the woman's first night out after a double mastectomy. "But what I said broke the ice and they said that, what I did, doctors could never do," Darcelle said.
That said, "If I make someone feel bad, or go too far—and it's not truly funny and is awkward—that's a regret."
Darcelle doesn't think about retiring. In fact, Darcelle plans to continue performing "until I die on stage, and hopefully I'll go out with a full house."
Cole produced a one-man show in 2010 about his life, and it sold out nightly. After all, it truly has been a wild ride—from military service, the marriage (to a woman) and two children, to opening a coffeehouse, to an after-hours jazz club, to the nightmare of the HIV/AIDS onslaught in the gay community, to the abundance of charity work to help others, and so much more.
Cole has seen and done it all.
Darcelle was once tagged the best-kept secret in town.
But not anymore. Everyone here knows Darcelle, and across the U.S., too.
"[Cole] is shy, an introvert," Darcelle said. "Years ago I said to myself that I'm going to do something on my own."
And that she certainly has, to roaring crowds.
