Who Knew Readers Theatre Could Be Such Fun?????????????????????

                                           Readers Theater works in only two ways, darlings--doing it seriously, with a classic, like Tennessee Williams' "A Streetcar Named Desire," or all-out camp, like "The Bad Seed," or "Valley Of The Dolls."  The latter gets the best results, but I am reminded, years ago, of a stage version of "What Ever Happened To Baby Jane?" David and I saw, downtown, at the Theatre 80 St. Marks, where the lead, Penny Arcade (in the Bette Davis role), did not know a lot of her lines  (Can you believe it, darlings?????????  I mean, it's 'Baby Jane'.  Gay boys can recite it on cue from the playpen on up!).  So, the audience would call them out to her!  Hilarious!  I should have just gotten up there, and taken over the role of Baby Jane!  I have always wanted to wear that costume, and make-up!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                         So, when we were offered the chance to see "Celebrity Autobiography On Broadway," this past Monday, I wasn't sure what I was in for, as I had never heard of it.  According to David, it is usually done, annually, up at Triad, on West 72nd Street, but when do I ever go there?

                                           And this was being done in the Marquis Theatre, a big musical theater venue.  We saw "Follies," there, back in 2011!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                          It turned out to be an evening of uninterrupted fun.

                                           Alec Baldwin was not there, but my favorite, Rachel Dratch, was there, along with Susan Lucci, Mario Cantone, and creators Eugene Pack and Dayle Reyfel.  The evening consisted of thematically based sketched readings, where one of these actors reads from another celebrity's autobiography.  I am not talking great literature, like Samuel Johnson and Benjamin Franklin, but the likes of Ivana Trump, Kenny Loggins, and, of course, the closest icon the gay community has to a saint, Elizabeth Taylor.

                                               The gimmick is each actor uses his or her vocal skills to make the, at best, mediocre writing, even funnier than it reads on the printed page.  Susan Lucci scored best as both Ivana Trump and Elizabeth Taylor, as did Mario Cantone in the role of Liza Minnelli, and Carol Channing, during the period when BARBRA got the film, and she did not!  And Rachel Dratch nailed it every time she stepped on stage, especially with Ethel Merman, and little Frankie Jonas, the "bonus Jonas" brother!

                                              Staged by the creators, the shows offers 90 intermission free minutes of hilarious fun!  The whole Elizabeth Taylor-Eddie Fisher-Debbie Reynolds debacle, gets a brilliant treatment, capped off by Rachel Dratch's hilarious sudden onstage appearances, as score keeper, calling out the number of husbands Miss Taylor is up to, at the moment.

                                                 It has been famine this first half of the theatrical season, so I did not have any expectations for this. I went because others had seen it, David wanted to, and it was, after all, an evening at the theater.

                                                 The results far exceeded my expectations and made me laugh.  Which is high praise; very little, outside of "Bringing Up Baby," does.

                                                  We even had transportation home.  It was no golden carriage, but it was surely heaven sent!

                                                   As was this unexpected surprise Christmas theater delight!!!!!!!!!!!!!