By Michael Barbieri****Oh, m’GAHD! This show was rad! Bitchin’! Totally tubular! Mrs. Kasha Davis and Darienne Lake’s show, 80’s Ladies, at the Laurie Beechman Theatre was more than an average drag act. It was a true drag-stravaganza!
Kasha and Darienne are best known for having competed on “RuPaul’s Drag Race”—Darienne on Season 6, Kasha on Season 7. Darienne Lake (aka Greg Meyer), a former Miss Gay Rochester, has toured extensively throughout the U.S. and has a side-splitting role in the film Hurricane Bianca: From Russia With Hate. Mrs. Kasha Davis (aka Edward Popil) has toured internationally, released several musical singles and performs regularly in theaters, clubs, TV and films. Kasha’s one-woman show There’s Always Time for a Cocktail played to critical acclaim in NYC, San Francisco, Rochester, London and Brighton. She’s also an advocate for Drag Queen Story Hour wherein drag queens read books to children in libraries around the country. These two good friends perform together frequently and their combined years of live performance experience were clearly evident onstage at the Beechman! Part stand-up act, part drag show and 100% fabulous, these ladies tore the place apart, paying tribute to some of the best music of the 1980s, with some big laughs along the way.
At the top of the show, they entered together to the theme of “The Facts of Life,” one of the quintessential 80s sitcoms. They had us laughing right from the start of their opening patter, with comments like “We’re from Rochester, which is kind of Canada,” “the 80s was almost 40 years ago… what the FUCK?!” and Darienne telling us she’d held her tape recorder up to the radio for HOURS to get all the great 80s pre-show music we’d heard. They also showed a slide with childhood pictures of both of them back in the day. Kasha said she looked particularly angry in one of them because she was trying desperately to look straight!
Then came the music! Kasha announced, “This is a lip sync show!”—and swooped off the stage to change. From then on, the show’s format was relatively simple: one lady would entertain us while the other left the stage to prepare for her musical number. Kasha, in a stunning blue gown and signature barrel-curl wig, lip synced to “The Glamorous Life” mashed up with some of Joan Collins’ best rich-bitch lines from the TV show “Dynasty.” Darienne returned in a black kimono and top-knot ponytail wig for “One Night in Bangkok,” followed by Kasha, who gave us Taylor Dane’s “Prove Your Love” in a sparkly black jumpsuit and colorful, flowing robe. Darienne worked the room and lip synced to Pat Benatar’s “Heartbreaker,” looking like a fierce warrior goddess in a bejeweled black minidress, silver cape of gossamer lamé and mohawk-style feathered headdress. As she made her way through the room, she posed lasciviously for photos and even motorboated one of the audience members, shoving his face into her ample bosom!
Between numbers the girls chatted about all manner of 80s trivia. Kasha talked about iconic 80s toys like the Rubik’s Cube and Teddy Ruxpin, the creepy animatronic teddy bear that seemed frighteningly alive! Darienne reminded us of the catch phrases that were popular back then: “Gnarly!” “Grody to the MAX!” “Gag me with a spoon!” “Bag yer face!” God, it brought back memories! They also spoke about how the more things change, the more they stay the same. Case in point: today’s big pop diva is Lady Gaga, but back then it was Madonna. They said that comparing them now is like comparing apples to… much older apples!
Other highlights included Darienne serving us gorgeous, dramatic rock diva realness with Heart’s “Alone” and Kasha getting “Physical” to Olivia Newton John’s smash hit, whilst doing calisthenics and challenging an audience member to a pushup contest—ultimately 
collapsing in a heap onstage! Additionally, Kasha’s physical imitation of Tina Turner doing “What’s Love Got to Do with It” was eerily accurate and a big hit with the crowd. And what tribute to the decade would be complete without an 80s Mega Mix? Their medley contained no less than 10 songs, including Corey Hart’s “Sunglasses at Night,” the Pointer Sisters’ “Jump,” A-Ha’s “Take On Me,” the Bangles’ “Walk Like an Egyptian” and more! It was a joyous walk down 80s memory lane!
Okay, so here’s the “T.” This show moved, Hunny! From start to finish, the pace never dragged once—no pun intended. Kasha and Darienne’s timing was perfect; no sooner had one finished onstage, the other was ready to go with a new costume and wig. And with five wigs and outfits each, that’s an extraordinary feat! In addition, their song choices, comedic patter and rapport with the audience were always entertaining and very, very funny! Their ability to coordinate so many moving parts and still produce such a remarkable, fluid show speaks not only to their talents,but also to their considerable experience on drag stages everywhere. And while I’ve often expressed my appreciation for drag performers who sing live, I will readily admit that lip syncing is an art; one I love and clearly one that Darienne Lake and Mrs. Kasha Davis have mastered!
These 80’s Ladies are timeless… and worth your time!
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