By Michael Barbieri****It’s been said that marriage is a wonderful institution. Yeah, but who wants to be in an institution? Well, clearly BenDeLaCreme does and her hilarious new show, BenDeLaCreme Is…Ready to Be Committed at the Laurie Beechman Theatre, takes us on her journey to find her very own marriage-minded Mr. Right!
BenDeLaCreme (aka Benjamin Putnam) is known for her appearance on Season 6 of “RuPaul’s Drag Race,” where she was crowned Miss Congeniality and named one of the 15 fan-favorites of all time. She also competed on Season 3 of “Drag Race All Stars,” where she racked up more challenge wins than any other queen in the show’s history. She’s created critically acclaimed solo shows, including Terminally Delightful, Cosmos and Inferno A-Go-Go, the last of which garnered her the 2019 MAC Award for “Major Impersonation/Characterization/Drag Artist.” This newest show is no less brilliant and may very well snatch more awards in the future!
DeLa, as she is often called, has always been known for surprising her audiences. From her self-elimination on “All Stars,” to her brilliantly theatrical, multi-media stage shows, you can always expect the unexpected. In this case, she surprised by entering in a priest’s cassock to bless the crowd, but then made a quick change into a bright, frilly party dress for her opening number, the fun, somewhat carnival-tempo “Ready to be Committed.” After a brief welcome, DeLa explained that she felt it was time to settle down. Her quest, she told us, was partially prompted by her fear of dying alone by choking on a Doritos chip and being eaten by her hungry cats! Having already purchased a wedding cake, she began arguing with her cake topper bride, a snotty, entitled millennial type with vocal fry (played on video by Putnam), who told DeLa that she needs the perfect groom —“you know…the guy who stands next to you as you scream at the caterer”—so our terminally delightful gal decided to find herself a man. On Grindr, of all places!
As her journey continued, she learned the meaning of love from Cupid himself, who sang a clever parody of the song “L-O-V-E,” which DeLa then turned into an inspired rap about the science of love. Another conversation with her cake topper convinced her she needed a fabulous wedding ring and she even got advice from one of those ubiquitous plastic penis party glasses seen at bachelorette blowouts!
In a show filled with brilliant moments, there was one clear standout for me. As DeLa fantasized about the perfect wedding ring and what a beautiful symbol it would be, Cupid explained that rings were actually a symbol of ownership back in medieval days. He assured her that medieval women were simply considered currency—chattel. DeLa asked, “All medieval ladies?!” Cupid’s response: “All medieval ladies…” Then that familiar Beyoncé “Single Ladies” beat kicked in and we got one of the funniest, smartest song parodies I’ve ever seen onstage! Pure genius!
The search for the perfect wedding gown brought us an hilarious video parody of TLC’s bridal makeover reality series, here retitled as “Say Yeth to the Dreth,” with five overly swishy queens—well, four swishy queens and one big, dumb-as-a-box-of-rocks muscle ‘mo—pitching different wedding dresses. DeLa’s subsequent live fashion show, in which she modeled each of their fabulously outlandish suggestions, was another highlight of the evening.
DeLa is wonderfully adept at mining comic gold from her own misfortune and naiveté. Her quest for a Grindr Groom takes the form of a painfully funny game show. She goes hysterically full-tilt Bridezilla while waiting for her man to show up for the wedding. She gives in to her Doritos craving and does, indeed choke on a chip, which leads to a wonderfully bizarre dance of death with a life-sized Kitty Grim Reaper! (Don’t ask, just go along for the ride!) And it’s all very, very funny!
As with Inferno A-Go-Go before it, Ready to Be Committed is a phenomenal hybrid of theatre, cabaret, puppet show and performance art. Not only did Putnam conceive and write the show, but he plays every character on stage and video, including various puppets all created, voiced and manipulated by him! Kudos also to the incredible team behind the scenes—particularly the Beechman’s technical director Abby Judd—all of whom have worked tremendously hard to bring DeLa’s screamingly funny and complex production to life.
So…what does DeLa learn? Does she ever get her man? Does she end up tying the knot? Well, you’ll have to see the show to find out. Rest assured, though, BenDeLaCreme is quite a catch and I certainly recommend you catch this show!
BenDeLaCreme Is…Ready to Be Committed will be playing at the Crown & Anchor, in Provincetown, MA, from June 27th – July 21st and August 7th – 31st.
For information, click here.
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