Out of sync? Lypsinka's new show wows fans but underwhelms the uninitiated.Lypsinka! As I Lay Lip-Synching * Soundtrack produced and created by John Epperson * Directed by Kevin Malony * Minetta Lane Theater, New York City New York City: see New York, city. New York City City (pop., 2000: 8,008,278), southeastern New York, at the mouth of the Hudson River. The largest city in the U.S. (open run) Certain gay kids in the 1950s and 60s survived the rigors of growing up "different" by taking refuge in movie magazines, Broadway show albums, and discreet sessions with Mommy's wardrobe. One of those kids is John Eppemon, who created the character Lypsinka and the hermetically her·met·ic also her·met·i·cal adj. 1. Completely sealed, especially against the escape or entry of air. 2. Impervious to outside interference or influence: sealed world in which she lives. For 21 years Epperson has been dolling up his slender frame in stylish frocks, hair, and makeup to perform shows whose scripts consist entirely of sound collages--snippets flora old movies, comedy routines, and albums of nightclub and show music--which he mouths with expert precision. The slim conceit of As I Lay Lip-Synching is that underneath her energetic devotion to fashionable clothes and cosmetics, Lypsinka is a woman on the verge On the Verge (or The Geography of Yearning) is a play written by Eric Overmyer. It makes extensive use of esoteric language and pop culture references from the late nineteenth century to 1955. of a nervous breakdown nervous breakdown n. A severe or incapacitating emotional disorder, especially when occurring suddenly and marked by depression. nervous breakdown . Accessing material way more sophisticated than the standard Judy-Barbra drag queen drag queen Female impersonator, gynemimetic Sexology A ♂ with ♀ affect–often 'overplayed'; a ♂ homosexual and ♀ wannabe, with ♂ genitalia; DQs may take hormones to ↑ breasts, and thus are hormonally, but not surgically repertoire, Lypsinka pays tribute. to more obscure divas such as Mimi Hines, Karen Morrow, Agnes Moorehead, and, especially, Dolores Dolores (or Delores) was a common given name (until the 1960s in the USA); it is cognate with the English word "dolorous" (meaning sorrowful) and equivalent in meaning. Gray. Indeed, the closest Lypsinka gets to sampling mainstream culture is a passage interspersing Faye Dunaway in Mommie Dearest with Dunaway's famous "sister/daughter" lines from Chinatown. Some devotees see everything Lypsinka does as clever and hilarious, even a scathing commentary on societal restriction of women. The night I went, fans in the audience included Patti LuPone, choreographer Jerry Mitchell, and Hairspray's songwriting team, Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman. Those outside the cult--which includes yours truly--may find themselves scratching their heads and wondering what's the big deal about a gay Marcel Marceau who strikes poses, makes faces, and overidentifies with a very narrow stripe of female emotional existence for 75 minutes. Shewey writes on theater for The New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of Times. |
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