Anyone heard of Varla Jean Merman?

[jasobres]

Posted: 12/15/05 at 9:07am

Apparently, she is a drag queen who claims to be the daughter of Ethel Merman. "Her" real name is Jeffrey Roberson. Among the songs I've hear "her" sing on Sirius were:

"Enough is Enough" - a disco duet with Kristine Zbornik (of Forbidden Broadway fame) as Ethel Merman
"Talk to the Genitals" - a parody of "Talk to the Animals"
"Schoolhouse Rock" - actually a parody medley of the songs "A Noun is a Person, Place, or Thing," "Conjunction Junction," and "Interjections!"

[Unknown User]

Posted: 12/15/05 at 9:10am

LOVE her! I believe she was in Chicago at one point as Mary Sunshine.

[Hanna from Hamburg]

Posted: 12/15/05 at 9:12am

Varla (actually J. Roberson) did a short stint as Mary Sunshine in Chicago on Broadway, or at least was understudy:

http://www.queenmother.tv/nycgirl/varla/varl.html

[Unknown User]

Posted: 12/15/05 at 9:15am

Thanks!

[JHartnow]

Posted: 12/15/05 at 9:21am

I was so upset when she had to stop doing her squeeze cheese bit, blaming it on high cholesterol. She's replaced it with her pickle act...which is pretty damn hilarious. If you've never seen GIRLS WILL BE GIRLS, go rent it. It's one of the funniest movies I've ever seen...

-John

[Elphaba]

Posted: 12/15/05 at 10:36am

She does a Christmas with the Crawfords show, and many other things...she's hilarious.

You must rent Girls Will Be Grils, a movie she did



Varla

Updated On: 12/15/05 at 10:36 AM

[JerseyGirl2]

Posted: 12/15/05 at 11:50am

Oy, if you EVER watch Logo, you get your history of Stonewall with Varla Jean. It's like a commercial/music video that comes on ALL the time. "At the legendary Stonewall...uh huh...." I am sure she is great, but after seeing that 500 times, that's enough...lol.

[DBillyP]

Posted: 12/15/05 at 12:01pm

Heard of her?!? I worship her!



She is still doing the Easy Cheese. She did it in Palm Springs over the Thanksgiving holiday.

[Elphaba]

Posted: 12/15/05 at 12:33pm

figures, since I was NOT home over Thanksgiving....Grrr.....

I wonder how my parents would have reacted had I said "sorry, we can't come up for Thanksgiving....we MUST watch Varla!"

[Danielm]

Posted: 12/15/05 at 12:41pm

She is FABULOUS. She did the tour of Chicago in Japan and she has hilarious film of her walking through shopping malls and such. She has a great voice and is a brilliant commedienne. If she plays anywhere within a hundred miles of you she is worth the drive. I've seen her several times in LA and every time my body has ached from laughing. "Varla Jean Under A Big Top" is brilliant, as is "Holiday Ham", etc...

[morosco]

Posted: 12/15/05 at 1:15pm

The "Guess My Weight" pages on her website are a hoot!
Guess My Weight!

[iluvtheatertrash]

Posted: 12/15/05 at 1:26pm

Morosco, thanks for the laugh. :)

[DBillyP]

Posted: 12/15/05 at 1:43pm

The funniest song I have ever heard is, unfortunately, one that I cannot reprint even the title of here! For her fans, it is the one to the tune of "If I only had a Brain."

My God, it's funny!

[LuvUrBatBoy]

Posted: 12/15/05 at 1:45pm

I met her after a performance here at a club in Baltimore. I remember her being very sweet, both in and out of drag. That's all I remember though, because I was pretty intoxicated that night and woke up the next morning with a signed CD I dont remember buying, a roll of pictures I dont remember taking and an autograph that reads "To Drew! Happy 22nd! You're my Favorite! Love, Varla."...It definitely wasn't my birthday. Oops.

[The8re phan]

Posted: 12/15/05 at 1:58pm

Varla's a great ole gal, and GIRLS WILL BE GIRLS truly is a great ole film, but Varla will never sparkle as brilliantly as Coco Peru

[robbiej]

Posted: 12/15/05 at 2:09pm

Did anyone see her latest show based on the Seven Deadly Sins? The DARK LADY video w/ Floatilla de Barge is unreal.

[jasobres]

Posted: 1/10/06 at 6:54pm

I just got Girls Will Be Girls on DVD, and it is hil-flippin'-larious! You could hardly tell that every single woman is actually a drag queen. The cheese whiz opera sequence cracked me up.