photo by Bruce-Michael Gelbert
Ginger Snapt (on her knees) & "Follies" Mistress of Ceremonies Donna Piranha (standing) are "Sisters"
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On August 26, Donna Piranha hosted an all-star breast cancer research benefit, billed as “Follies,” for the Concerned Women of the Grove (CWOG), at the Ice Palace, with Chuck McTague on music, sound, and lights. Donna, swathed in glittery ruffles, opened the fundraiser with “There are worse things I could do,” from “Grease,” and changed into to a no-less-glitzy short, multi-colored dress to invite, “Come on and turn me on.”
Charity’s first number was “Big, Blonde and Beautiful”—and she is—from “Hairspray” and she returned to let us know that she wants “A Big Fine Daddy.” Sue Panzer and Angela Smith, in muscle and fat suits respectively, insisted, “I’m sexy and I know it,” and later, played Tom Cruise and John Travolta to cocktail waiter Andrew’s Katie Holmes, as “Someone I Used to Know,” with Sue’s Tom and Andrew’s Katie fighting for custody over Ariel Sinclair.
Ginger Snapt made a perfect Edie Beale, from “Grey Gardens,” touting “The Revolutionary Costume for Today,” and she and Donna collaborated on a mock-hostile version of “Sisters.” Gusty Winds offered her over-the-top take on Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody.” The M&Ms gave us Alan Cumming and Liza Minnelli’s “Baby,” um, “Liza, It’s Cold Outside.” Joanne Tavis—“a female drag queen,” said Donna—won ovations as Adele, doing “Rolling in the Deep.”
Mario Scarpa was cheered for singing Dean Martin favorite “Ain’t That a Kick in the Head?” Tish, who will be honored as Bartender of the Year at the Bar Person’s Ball in October, was the picture of Susan Boyle, doing “I Dreamed a Dream,” from “Les Misérables.” Porsche, as Judy Garland, sang “That’s Entertainment,” and Doris Day song “Pillow Talk,” as Judy might have.
Renée Flaming proffered an ode to masturbation, or “Making Love Alone.” Donna and Bobbie Green enjoyed a romantic moment in “For Once in My Life” and Donna closed with her traditional breast cancer benefit final number, “Proud.”