Edie with a D takes the Triple Door by Storm

May 4, 2023 | Tony Kay

One of the many joys in Edie with a D, the delightful cabaret-style review/show fronted by the magnetic Edie, came about halfway into her performance at the Triple Door Tuesday night.

The drag diva was singing an earnest and affecting version of that pop chestnut, "Mr. Bojangles," when her mic dropped out for a good minute or two as the backing track continued to play. Moments like that can potentially kill a performance, and as seconds turned into a good minute or two, it was hard not to feel some major empathy pains for the performer onstage.

But damned if she didn't turn that lemon of a moment into a zesty glass of limoncello, playing off of the technical snafu with deadpan comic timing so priceless, you'd swear the audio malfunction was part of the act.

No diva fit. No huffing and storming off the stage. Zero shade thrown at the harried tech who ran up frantically to right things. Just pure professionalism, and a dogged dedication to keep the show going on. Anyone who hadn't already been won over by the preceding 30-odd minutes of funny, charming, full-throttle Entertainment with a capital E would surely have been eating out of the divine Miss Edie with a D's hand at that point.

Given the overall quality of the show Edie delivered, however, it's a safe bet the audience was already with her, 110%. Edie with a D provided one rousing and fun night at the theater, a loving tribute to Liza Minnelli's ground-breaking Liza with a Z TV special that played just as well to Liza neophytes as it did to the Converted. And somehow, it never felt mired in the tar pit of mere pastiche.

Seasoning the sincere tribute with dollops of her own singular personality and vivaciousness turned out to be the key. The title of Edie's show wasn't the only bit of clever homage: The drag legend cannily parodied Kander and Ebb's priceless "Liza with a Z" by co-opting that indelible melody with her own very personal (and equally, wonderfully tangled) wordplay, lamenting her identity as "Edie with a D, not Eddie with two D's."

The other nods to Liza with a Z came fast and furious. Edie gave "Yes" her ever-loving all, purred out a smoldering version of one of that special's highlights, Liza's take on "Son of a Preacher Man," and added her own distinctive lip prints to the special's Cabaret medley. She frequently punctuated the songs with stupendous high kicks that showcased one impressive set of stems.

Between the numbers, Edie interwove stories of her life as a performer, vividly describing being handpicked for a workshop with none other than Liza with a Z director/legend Bob Fosse, her gigs with Cirque de Soleil's Zumanity, and a turn in the Tony-nominated revival of The Threepenny Opera. An alum of Pacific Northwest Ballet, the drag legend even took a few affectionate jabs at two old friends in the audience from that past life—former PNW masterminds Kent and Francia Stowell.

Edie's only other onstage performers were two male backup dancers (who made for an effective contrast behind the star), and a cocktail called an "Edie-tini." Yes, a mixed drink was indeed (in Edie's mind, at least) a legitimate co-star. And as this unflappable pro sipped from said drink with maternal exhortations of "Give me a kiss," Edie the Entertainer drove home her ability to be ridiculous, sublime, and ridiculously sublime in equal, joyous measure.