Puerto Vallarta Theater Shows Dame Edna at The Palm Cabaret

Puerto Vallarta Theater Shows Dame Edna at The Palm Cabaret. Michael Walters as Dame Edna at The Palm Cabaret. Our lady has made a splashy career performing a loving parody of the fabulous Broadway shows of Dame Edna who is known for her wisteria-colored hair and rhinestone cat eyeglasses. She extended special greetings to the poverty-stricken balcony inhabitants which tonight she renamed Les Misérables. Poor dearies, everyone laughed. For eleven years she has taken the Australian wild woman persona of well-known and beloved Dame Edna created by Barry Humphries whose popularity grew throughout the 1960s. She was the ‘It’ woman in Australia. There is little doubt that this is Dame Edna in front of the eyes of the audience. Making us aware of exactly who we are watching, she launched into Follies’ “Broadway Baby”, that’s who she is.

Along the course of the evening, Dame Edna Everage chats with audience members, asking their name, where they are from, what they do for a living and then the wisecracks start. She jests with the person but never crudely. She wishes for fun, laughter, love, not pain. There is no mercy; no prisoners are taken. She especially likes to pester the shy demure ones who look as if, at a moment’s notice, would head for the door. She offers sage advice but one wonders if they adhered to her directions, troubles could ensue. The laughs never stop when she is in control, start to finish. A new love – Don Juan, being in Mexico. She said the problem was that he was ‘One’ and then ‘Done’. She is an “Ordinary Wonderful Girl”..

Dame Edna [AKA Michael Walters] loves this community and flies in yearly creating a new run since 2013 and her fans were overflowing for this opening night. Groups came together who have obviously witnessed and enjoyed her performances across the United States, Canada, Australian Bush Country and worldwide including the hot musical scene of Provincetown frequented by thousands of gays. Back to Broadway, she sang the title tune “Applause” with many people joining her. She impersonated
Carol Channing, Bette Davis, Eartha Kitt, Luis Armstrong, even Bill Clinton then finishing with a thunderous Ethel Merman. Saluting classic Broadway shows, she pulled from Call Me Madam “The Hostess with the Mostess on the Ball”, exhibiting the fine choice of appropriate songs.

Unbeknownst to most of the viewers, Dame Edna was the feature of many movies and shows as Edna on the Roof and Funny Dame which started Barbra Streisand on her career. She must claim the obvious credit delivering “Don’t Rain On My Parade” with a few lyrical changes. But she was exacerbated after many auditions for a role Cowardly Lion went to Bert Lahr. He even wore a purple wig as seen on the video screens. “If I Were King of the Forest”: “Courage”. She sadly dipped into “I’m Dead Inside”.

She needed to include her customary finale “Gladdies” song while tossing floral stems into the audience, as far back as she could manage. Then the receivers stood and waved them sideways in her honor. “Wave That Flag” The room was a-flutter with flags of red or white stems of gladioli swaying slowly to this stirring song. The feeling of symbolic insistence to live your life as you desire was felt in the words and motions of the gathered.

“You didn’t ask for an encore but you’re gonna get one.” From Inside Daisy Clover “You’re Gonna Hear From Me” describes Dame Edna’s aim in life from an early age. “I’ve got a song that longs to be played. Raise up my flag, begin my parade. My comet’s on fire, I’ve got to go higher.” The Dame of our lives ended the evening with “If you can’t laugh at yourself, you are missing the joke of the century.”