By Bart Greenberg***Diva Trudy Carmichael is a force of nature. The Las Vegas lounge performer with a big voice and a bigger wig brought her energy to “Don’t Tell Mama Resort and Casino” with her show with the musical question: Just Who Does She Think She Is? Carmichael not only took over the stage, she took the whole room, engaging in 
argument with tech director extraordinaire Kelly Wohlford (who, to be fair, thought her first name was Judy); dealing with her drummer Steve Whyte’s catatonic state; taking some very inappropriate questions from the audience; and fully embarrassing her husband, Shane, at the back of the house. She did pay tribute to her music director Tracy “she puts the star in Stark” Stark and her director Lennie Watts.
Trudy is the delightful creation of Robin Rothman, a full-blown personality complete with excellent slides of her childhood—her first headshot—and videos she can sing along with: “Wind Beneath My Wings” (Jeff Silber, Larry Henley) with the lyrics slowly altered to reflect her impressive egotism: “I am the wind beneath my wings.” 
But then, many of the familiar tunes in the show were altered. Chicago‘s “Roxie” (John Kander, Fred Ebb) was altered in name to her own. From The Sound of Music, “My Favorite Things” (Richard Rodgers, Oscar Hammerstein II) was adapted to reflect her own childhood favorites, such as frog legs and escargot. And the lengthy opening number allowed her to embody a bit of Evita with the confidence of a Patti LuPone.
Like the abilities of many comic creators, when Carmichael got hold of the torch song “Long Long Time” (Gary White), she had her way with it, melting the hypothetical wallpaper with the best of them. And even if she looks like a combination of Vicki Lawrence wearing a Susan Hayward wig, and every drag queen who’s appeared on on RuPaul’s Drag Race, there is a basic humanity underneath the surface that kept the show hysterical and at the same time often moving. Hopefully, we will soon see the return of Trudy Carmichael.
Photos by Natasha Castillo
