Jackie Beat, the larger than life drag and song parody queen, gave her audience just what they came for—a clever skewering of pop icons and plenty of self-deprecating humor. Taking favorite songs from the past few decades, Beat adds her own salacious and coarse lyrics and viola, a very funny evening of crude laughs. Looking like a mix of Cher and Lainie Kazan, the show opened with a parody of Diana Ross' "Love Child" and Cher's "Half Breed" which evolved into a self mocking ode to Beat's cheapness as "Half Price." The lyric of Tina Turner's "Proud Mary,""Rolling on the River" is made into a hilarious request for an organ transplant in "Hoping for a Liver." The precious gems of "Diamonds are a Girls Best Friend" become a glutton's donuts. Kim Carnes popular hit, "Bette Davis Eyes" becomes a scathingly funny rip on "Kirstie Alley's Thighs." You get the point.

The special lyrics are chock full of every type of explicit sexual act, which even had the mostly gay male audience groaning between laughs. The song melodies, of course, remain the same, but the silly new raunchy lyrics are often side-splitting. What elevates Beat's show is her natural charisma with the audience and her surprisingly strong voice, which is displayed in a serious cover of the Scorpion's heavy metal power ballad "Still Loving You." Beat's banter shows off her quick comedic talents and sharp wit and while the show is not for the faint of heart or those easily offended by potty humor, Jackie Beat is a delicious dollop of guilty pleasures.

Steve Murray
Cabaret Scenes
May 29, 2009
www.cabaretscenes.org