Girls, You Have GOT To See This!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Well, darlings, over the weekend, Monsieur Davide and I made our first theatrical excursion of the 2011 year. With so few options, we settled on the long running Charles Busch comedy "The Divine Sister," at the Soho Playhouse, which I had been wanting to see for a long time. It is a MUST for all my girls!!!!!!!!!!!!

This is basically a send up of all the Catholic oriented films some of my girls out there would know. Within ten minutes, for example, I was keeling over in my seat, because Amy Rutterberg's character was reciting, almost word for word, Gladys Copper's penultimate speech about suffering from "The Song Of Bernadette." I may have been the only one to get it; because, lambs, no one had the reaction I did.

But this show has everything--nuns twirling (a nice homage to Julie Andrews in "The Sound of Music"), some in drag, a "Bells Of St. Mary's" spoof, a quasi lesbian nun with a strong European accent, and a plot of mystery and intrigue that is definitely a send up of Dan Brown's novel and film, "The Da Vinci Code," but which I can assure you is better than anything that incompetent trash was unable to come up with!!!!!!!!! "The Divine Sister" is compelling entertainment; the Brown travesty is NOT!!!!!!!!!!

It also has a quasi famous joke that not everyone will get. In fact, on our way out the door, Monsieur asked me about it, since I had another one of my strong reactions, which the audience did not seem to have. Clearly I got it, and I swear in his final exit, Mr. Busch seemed to wave to me--sitting up front, darlings!--in acknowledgement of my actually "getting" the piece.

The moment in question concerns a series of times when the nuns are calling one another, insultingly, "cunt face." Excuse my language, girls; I KNOW you would not hear this from the lips of Princess Lee Radizwill. Martha Stewart, maybe, but then after all, she IS a...Ooops!!!!!!!!!!!! As we were making our way out of the theater, Monsieur asked me what the use of that phrase in the play meant. I gave him the same answer I am now giving my girls!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It is sort of an Urban Legend, that has grown out of a scene from the film "The Sound of Music." I think it first appeared about 15 years ago, or so; I cannot fathom to whom it was attributed. It was one of those discoveries by accident, similar to the fact that "The Wizard Of Oz" and Pink Floyd's "Dark Of The Moon" could be synchronized. Only, in this care, not so lengthy.

In the scene leading up to the singing of "Climb Ev'ry Mountain," the Mother Abbess (played by Peggy Wood) is conversing with Maria (Julie Andrews) and asks her point blankly, "What is it you can't face?", the answer, being of course, that she (Maria) has fallen in love with Captain Von Trapp, thus prompting the song. Now, my first viewing of this film was back in fifth grade, when such a word was foreign to me. Remember, it was a whole generation ago; I am a Baby Boomer, and I saw this initially on the original 1965 run. And over the years, by the time I knew such things, I had seen the film many times, and never noticed a thing. Suddenly, someone makes, and broadcasts to the world, the discovery that, because of the affected way in which Peggy Wood speaks the question, it comes out sounding like, "What is it, you cunt face?" And thus a legend is born!!!!!!!!!!!! Personally, I think it was born out of some Nasty Bitch Queen who was jealous of Julie, bored, and wanted to strike back at "The Sound Of Music." I swear, girls, before this revelation I never noticed it; now that it is out there, every time this scene comes up, you know what to look for, and it tarnishes the purity of this film masterpiece. Bitch slap that nasty Queen!!!!!!!!!!!

Nevertheless, the onstage bitchery of "The Divine Sister" is simply FABULOUS, darlings!!!!!!!!! I don't know how much longer it will be running, so I am telling you now, get your "Doctor Zhivago" winter wear on now (I don't care if you go as Geraldine Chaplin or Julie Christie; but you know, hons, I go as Julie!!!!), and strut your stuff down to the Soho Playhouse where you will be kept warm and entertained on a cold winter's night.

There are NO frigid bitches onstage, girls!!!!!!!!! I can't speak for the audience!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Love to all my girls!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!