Advertisement

Electra-fied divas to shock The Magic Stick again

By Taras Berezowsky

DETROIT – When surfing the tubes of cyberspace, it doesn't take long to find a music video-style parody of Christina Aguilera's hit "Beautiful" by the celebrated drag queen Varla Jean Merman. As we hear her voice singing Aguilera's heartfelt ballad, Merman discovers a hairy mole on her face while sashaying around her neighborhood. Then, to hilarious effect, she performs an impromptu wax job with duct tape in a porta-potty. This potent mix of comedy, pop music and drag is right up Ferndale entertainer Chad Stoffan's alley, and fuels the performances of his stage alter ego, Electra Lites.

"I look up to drag queen singers like Varla Jean and RuPaul, but my favorite artist is Anastacia," Stoffan says. "Every song of hers has a certain something that has touched me – well, not touched me like that."
Let the laughs begin!
Electra Lites and her company, Divine Lites Productions, are poised to present "Divas of the Majestic," a bawdy lollapalooza at Detroit's Magic Stick on March 6. Along with Electra will appear an array of new and familiar entertainers, including the deliciously named Hershae Chocolatae (no relation to the Hershey, PA-based chocolate company, although word is that she's indeed 'sweet'), CeCe Daniels and Maxi Chanel. They'll sing, dance and joke their way through a classic Vegas-style drag show, which generally involves glitzy costumes, production numbers with two or more people, and choreographed routines.
Divine Lites Productions is a collaboration of sorts between Electra Lites and the spirit of her drag mother, Prissy Divine, who passed away last June. Before creating Electra, Stoffan met Prissy after sneaking into a Toledo club during his high school spring break. "Your drag mother is the first person who helps you with all you need to do to become a drag queen, like painting your face and getting your stage presence. I just had my seven-year drag anniversary on Valentine's Day," Stoffan says. Since Prissy played such a major role in his drag life, Stoffan decided keep her spirit alive in his company's name.
In their inaugural show in January 2009, "Divas of the Majestic" delivered the goods by ably bringing guests through the door, even though most of them were rather last minute.
"I think we only had 16 pre-sold tickets the day of the show, but another 200 people came through the doors," Stoffan recalls. "We had a great mixed audience, probably 60 percent gay and 40 percent straight. Right now we're upstairs at the 450-seat Magic Stick, with lots of tables and candles. We're putting together a slideshow of past performances, and we have a Red Bull sponsorship, so hopefully our next show will be twice as big."
All statistics aside, the upcoming extravaganza promises to be a doozy. Electra tapped Tre' Masters for a performance, the talented drag king who won the Male by Female Entertainer of the Millennium at the Performer Awards of Detroit. ("Kind of our mini Grammy Awards," Stoffan describes.) Impersonation of popular singers is a hallmark of the Vegas style, so Natalie Kohl – not to be confused with Natalie Cole – does a dead-on Mary J. Blige. Hershae can sing exactly like Macy Gray and Donna Summer.
As for Electra Lites, she's most at home onstage when inserting comic twists into her Top 40 takeoffs.
"I'm working on a stage version of Beyonce's 'Single Ladies,' where I perform it as an extremely [uncomely] old lady who gets dumped by her husband for a young woman. As soon as she walks into the club, she finds herself surrounded by hot, shirtless men. I'm going to make it funny – without actually being Beyonce!"

PREVIEW:
'The Majestic Divas Presents: A Divine Lites Production'
Friday, March 6 at the Majestic Theatre, 4140 Woodward Ave., Detroit. Doors open at 9:30 p.m.; show time at 10:30 p.m. Tickets: $10 (21 and over), $12 (18-20 years old) in advance through Ticketmaster; $12 and $15 at the door. 313-833-9700 or http://www.majesticdetroit.com

Advertisement
Topics: News
Advertisement

From the Pride Source Marketplace

Go to the Marketplace
Advertisement