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Crossing
34th Street and Broadway the day after Thanksgiving. 1:15
PM. Photo: JH.
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Damp,
occasional rain, lot of clouds, some sunshine, and mild. Last night,
a friend
had about two dozen in for a Sunday night buffet. Among the guests
were Barry Humphries, famous to the world as Dame
Edna Everage,
and his real-life wife Lizzie who are in town
for the duration of Mr. Humphries’ new show, “With
A Vengeance” (in
other words – Dame Edna, Back with a Vengeance) which opened
at the Music Box Theatre last week for an extended run.
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Barry
Humphries as Dame Edna
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I’ve seen Dame Edna on the telly and on stage, and I’ve
seen Barry Humphries dining at Swifty’s (fairly often) with
his tall and statuesque wife Lizzie (the daughter of British poet Stephen
Spender) although I never met him before tonight. I can
tell the two apart because they bear absolutely no physical resemblance
whatsoever to each other. Except, I’d guess they’re
about the same height (not in heels).
This past evening, Mr. Humphries was dressed very smartly in
what looked like a bespoke double breasted, double vented British
racing
green velvet loden jacket with a darker grosgrain border and grey
metal buttons, that he’d picked up in Gstaad, and grey flannels.
He looked every inch the successful international businessman that
he may very well be, thanks to his very glitzy alter ego, Dame
Edna.
He’s a very
friendly fellow, who speaks with a decided Australian accent, although
way more subdued than la Dame. I asked him where Dame Edna came from.
After attending the University of Melbourne — where he studied
law, philosophy and fine arts and also wrote and performed songs
and sketches
in revues – Mr. Humphries joined the newly formed Melbourne
Theatre company. It was there that Dame Edna was born (for a revue
he participated
in) in 1956. Originally she was just a simple Australian housewife “who
yearned for something more – stardom.” After that initial
appearance, Dame Edna “went back into the box” and her
creator went on with his theatrical career.
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Barry
Humphries as Barry Humphries
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During the
1960s, he appeared in numerous West End productions in London including. the Lionel Bart musicals Oliver!
and Maggie May, as well as stage/radio productions by his
friend Spike Milligan, in particular The Bed
Sitting Room. In 1967
he starred as Fagin in the Piccadilly Theatre's revival of Oliver! with a young Phil
Collins as The Artful Dodger. In 1997, Barry
returned to the role of Fagin in Cameron Mackintosh's award winning
revival at the London Palladium.
From time to time, he’d take Dame Edna “out of the
box.” He first gained notoriety when his alter ego first
performed on the British stage at the Fortune Theatre in 1969 for
a one man show, Just A Show. It polarized British critics,
brought Humphries a short-lived TV series The Barry Humphries
Scandals and paved the way for Monty Python.
From the mid-70s onwards, Dame Edna has had an active and successful
theatrical career all over Europe as well as the Far and Middle
East. This brought numerous television appearances and a talk show
for London Weekend Television, which has been repeated all over
North America and Europe. There have been books, and an autobiography,
My Gorgeous Life (Dame Edna’s, that is), that is
being adapted for the screen.
In 1999 Dame Edna made her debut on Broadway and since then has
won a Tony, done all kinds of TV and returned to Broadway whenever
she has time. Meanwhile, Barry Humphries (who in private life spends
his spare time painting – a talent he developed as a child)
when not working, lives like the great success that Dame Edna is,
with his wife and a family of four – two sons and two daughters – in
Los Angeles, London, Sydney, Switzerland and Martha’s Vineyard.
Now he’s in New York where he and Mrs. Humphries are living
on Central Park West in an apartment overlooking the Park and with “easy
access to the theatre, no matter what the weather.” Since
he plans to be working well through the wintertime, he was thinking
of the snow.
Besides seeing la Dame on the stage at the Music Box Theatre, you
can also see her on Wednesday, December 8, at 5:15 pm in Father
Duffy Square where she and Brooke Shields will light a holiday
tree along with Maureen McGovern, the cast members of Avenue
Q and the students from the Professional Performing Arts School.
The ceremony will also include a $5000 gift to a not-for-profit
organization in the theatre district.
To order tickets, visit Dame
Edna’s site.
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