Hurricane DeLaria hits Provincetown

Show business is full of hyphenated talents (think actor-model-waiter) but few entertainers have gone as far in disparate fields as lesbian icon Lea DeLaria. In the late 80s, DeLaria rode the boom in stand-up comedy to hit national fame, becoming the first openly gay comic to appear on national TV. Her talent doesn’t end with her provocative material and brash stage presence. DeLaria is also an accomplished singer and actor, and these days is more likely to be seen in jazz clubs than comedy clubs. Although she’s played Broadway and filled Carnegie Hall, DeLaria always returns to Provincetown, one of the spots that incubated her career. She’s just begun a month-long run at the Arthouse Theater, and will emcee the Masked Ball that begins Carnival Week. DeLaria chatted with Bay Windows about surviving in the business, Carnival, and nude beach etiquette.

Q: Thanks for making time on a very busy day. It’s National Underwear Day.
A: Yes, I was out counting the men in their underpants in cowboy boots. It seems to be quite the fashion this year. I’m wearing my underwear on my head for Underwear Day. Actually, I’m wearing other girls’ underwear on my head. Lots of panties.

Q: Lots of babes in Provincetown this year?
A: Yes! Man, the lesbians are back. I haven’t seen a season like this in a very long time. Now granted, I haven’t done a whole season in P’town since 95, so this is the first time I’ve been back for a long stretch. But even when I was doing a Broadway show, I tried to get a week off to do a show here. I try to keep my finger in the pie here, so to speak. This season is jam packed. The queers are here, the dykes are here, the Canadians are back. Isn’t it great what a weak dollar can do for this industry?

Q: With your crazy schedule, what brings you back to P’town every year?
A: I love Provincetown, first of all. I just love it. I first started performing here in 1984. I was the first lesbian act in town.

Q: I didn’t know that, I always assumed Kate Clinton was the first.
A: Oh, I was way before. I told her about Provincetown. Kate at that point performed for lesbians, basically. She did women’s musical festivals and things like that. This wasn’t as much of a lesbian Mecca in 1984, 85, as it is now. Lots of gay boys here then, of course. Lesbians started really coming to town in the latter part of the 80s. When I got here there was really nothing for lesbians to do. It was every drag queen you never heard of. Then the Dyketones came the year after, so there was two of us. Then more acts came in, and it kind of exploded in 89. And in the early 90s it exploded for gay comics.

Q: I feel like even in the late 90s there was a bit of a boom for gay comics, but then things started to fizzle. But I’m not as plugged in to the gay comedy scene as I used to be...
A: Well, neither am I! I’m kind of in a different scene now. I know that once comics started coming out, the vast majority of them couldn’t make it as a straight comic so they decided to go after the gay money. A few of them were making it anyway, Judy Gold for example. But whether it’s fizzled out, I don’t know. There’s a lot of shows in town.

Q: Sure. Of course, I think the number of shows stays pretty steady. The quality is another question.
A: Nothing but agreement from me, darling. The cream rises to the top.

Q: So who’s in town this year that you really like?
A: Scott Thompson, from Kids in the Hall, is awesome. I saw his show last night, and it’s a brilliant piece of work. Everyone should see it. I love Dina Martina. He is the oddest person on the planet, and whenever Dina has a show I’m there. The Vau Vau Sisters are hilarious. And the Nellie Olesons. These are all must-sees. There’s plenty to see! Varla Jean Merman is fantastic.

Q: What about your show, what can we expect?
A: Well, this gets back to why I keep coming back. Provincetown is the last place I can be me. I can still be Lea DeLaria standing up on stage doing the sort of comedy that I do. Because everywhere else in the world, I’m a singer. What I’m being paid to do now in my career is go to places like Carnegie Hall and belt out a big number. Or I play fancy jazz clubs and sing my jazz. And I’m funny in between songs, but I don’t really do stand-up any more. This is the last place I can be big dyke Lea DeLaria, and I love it.

Q: Is this the last place you can do that because of changing audiences, or just how your career has evolved?
A: It’s my career, darling. I’m not going to stand up in Carnegie Hall and talk about pussy. It’s not appropriate. But I’m as out as I can be. Everyone knows I’m a dyke. I’ve got butch tattooed on my arm, literally. This is a classic story: Warner Brothers released a Best of Lea DeLaria last fall and I toured it in England. I was at this very posh little town outside London. So it was hot on stage and I took my jacket off. And the review the next day said “Lea DeLaria is not your typical jazz singer. Even from the balcony you could see the word ‘butch’ tattooed on her arm!” So anyway, back to the show, this show is a combination of Cole Porter music — because I’m recording my next record live in New York City in the fall — so it’s a combination of slick hot jazz and pussy jokes. Got a monster trio with me of New York jazz musicians. The music is killer. And people are screaming their heads off and having a great time. And for the comedy, I just talk about what I saw that day. You know me, I’m very improvisational.

Q: This is your 25th year in show business. Your website says you have a celebration in the works, can you tell me more about that?
A: I’m working with Rachel Sheinkin, who won the Tony for Putnam County Spelling Bee, writing a book musical for me. The original music is being done by Michael John LaChiusa who wrote Wild Party. We’ll have the first draft done in the fall and hopefully be in the Public Theater in the spring.

Q: Can you tell me a little about the story?
A: It’s kind of hard to do that. I don’t want to give it away. If I tell you, then it loses the surprise element. But we’re excited about the concept, we think we’ve got a winner here. Everything that I do will be in the show, and there are other characters involved.

Q: You’re emceeing the entertainment at the Fairy Tales Masked Ball that kicks off Carnival. What kind of material are you doing for that?
A: Fast! In and out. I’m doing a big opening number, but there’s a lot of people on the bill. I’ll be standing by with the big meat hook. Any drag queen who goes over time will get hooked by me.

Q: It’s an amazing lineup of talent, with practically every act in town: Bare Naked Lads, Varla Jean Merman, Randy Roberts … if you all were gathered for some purpose other than entertainment, what would you be doing?
A: That’s the oddest question I’ve ever heard. Maybe we’d be in the hills of Afghanistan looking for Osama Bin Laden.

Q: I’m sure you’ve seen and heard lots of oddness over the years in Provincetown. Any memories stick out?
A: So many memories … I remember the ice cream riots back in the 80s, when the police were saying we couldn’t be in the street in front of Spiritus. The next day they called in the National Guard. It was silly. And … you know they call me the Mayor of Provincetown? That’s because once we were sunbathing topless on the beach — lesbians do that — and it used to be that straight men would come with cameras and try to take our pictures. They would hide in the weeds and look at our boobs. It was infuriating. So I would go up to them and get the film. I went up to one guy and I said, “You’re going to have to give me the film out of your camera. You just took a picture of my friend topless, you didn’t ask her permission, it’s completely wrong, now give me the film.” He wouldn’t give me the film. I said, “Give me the film or I’m going to throw your camera in the ocean.” He kept arguing and finally I grabbed his camera and threw it in the ocean. And he screamed, “Who do you think you are, the Mayor of Provincetown?” And people started calling me the Mayor. I’d like to know what that guy said to his wife. “Honey, I lost the camera.”

Q: What are you most looking forward to about Carnival?
A: The parade. I love parades. The theme this year is fairyland and I know that’s going to be insanely fun.

Lea DeLaria helps kick off Carnival Week at the Fairy Tales Masked Ball on Sunday August 12 from 9 p.m.-1 a.m. at The Boatslip, 161 Commercial St. Tickets $15. For more information, visit www.ptown.org or call 508.487.2313. DeLaria performs at The Arthouse Theatre, 214 Commercial St., Thurs.-Sun. at 9 p.m. through Sept. 8. For info visit www.ptownarthouse.com or call 508.487.9222.