All About Me - Dame Edna and Michael Feinstein will play at Henry Miller's Theatre
Dame Edna Everage and Michael Feinstein's All About Me has announced that the show will now begin performances at the Henry Miller's Theatre, opening on 18 Mar 2010, following previews from 19 Feb. It had been originally nnounced that the show would play at the John Golden Theatre
All About Me is written by playwright Christopher Durang and directed by Jerry Zaks. The design team will be announced at a later date.
The press release desribes Dame Edna Everage as "housewife, megastar, investigative journalist, social anthropologist, children's book illustrator, diseuse, chanteuse, swami, monstre sacré, polymath, adviser to British royalty, grief counsellor, spin doctor and icon is, arguably, the most popular and gifted woman in the world today."
Barry Humphries created 'Dame Edna Everage' in his native Australia in the 50's, where he quickly gained a cult following. He first preformed her character on the British stage at the Fortune Theatre in 1968 in 'Just a Show' which received a mixed reception from the critics, though rave notices from writers such as John Osborne. This led to a short-lived television series on BBC 'The Barry Humphries Scandals.'
Though Austrailian, Barry Humphries has found a special place in the British hearts where his characters Dame Edna Everage' and 'Sir Les Patterson' - Australia's foul-mouthed cultural attaché to Britain - are household names. Humphries is a regular guest on British chat shows, such as 'The Graham Norton Show,' and 'Parkinson,' hosted by Michael Parkinson. Parkinson's chat show ran on British TV from 1971 - 1982 and 1998 - 2007). Parkinson honoured Dame Edna by asking her to be his final guest on his final show, which was watched by 8.3 million viewers.
Barry Humphries was awarded the Commander of the Order of the British Empire for services to Entertainment in 2007, the same year as his native city Melbourne re-named a city street (Dame Edna Place) in his honour.
Dame Edna Everage is a character who refuses to accept her fictional status, in numberous interviews Dame Edna has commented that she finds the idea of a man dessing up as a woman for entertainment purposes "repulsive." According to Dame Edna, Humprhies is merely her manager, and it is reported that the two regularly have disagreements on this issue.
Michael Feinstein last appeared on Broadway in 1990 in 'Michael Feinstein in Concert: Piano and Voice' and performed on Broadway in 1988 in both 'Michael Feinstein in Concert: Isn't It Romantic' and in 'Michael Feinstein in Concert.'
Feinstein released his first album 'Pure Gershwin' in 1986, and has since gone on to release many more albums of American standards, such as 'Remember,' 'Over There,' 'Nice Work if You Can Get It,' 'Michael and George.' Feinstein recently completed a six-part Warner Home Video series for television that depicts the history of the American popular song up to 1960.
All About Me is produced by Jeffrey Richards, Jerry Frankel, Robert G. Bartner and the Ambassador Theater Group.
Dame Edna EverageMichael FeinsteinOriginally published on