Most comedians and comic actors hide behind a mask, real or scripted, that allows them to play the character that has made them famous or infamous. Once stripped away, these actors become their real selves and generally the “real’ human is nothing like their stage alter ego. When John Epperson steps onto the stage and seas himself behind a baby grand, we can’t see Lypsinka his stage persona, in which he becomes Joan Crawford or other divas.
Mr. Epperson’s latest show, Show Trash, which he wrote, with additional parody lyrics by Tom Orr and Barry Kleinbort, who directed the show with focus and flair, is a revealing insight into the man behind the big wigs, tight dresses, and over-the-top Hollywood icons of the past. Standing on the near-bare stage with video projections of his life before Lypsinka, Epperson brings us into the warm world of what is a gentle man who found his doppelganger and inhabits his famous divas only when the lights come up on the musical numbers made famous by past greats.
I first saw Lypsinka in the 80s in a Mexican drag club in Los Angeles on a specially promoted night called “Sit and Spin.” Besides Lypsinka, the stage was filled with go-go boys and girls who were able to take a break when Epperson went on; he was a performer who needed no frills or semi-nude dancers to fill the stage. This was Lypsinka, and when she crossed to center stage, the audience was well aware they were seeing something special.
Mr. Epperson’s Show Trash is just himself and his recollections of his past: growing up in Mississippi, and his adventures on the road. Many of these stories are set to music and filled with his adventures as rehearsal pianist for the American Ballet Theater. The tales give blossom to the full range and depth of his experience and his efforts to be on the stage rather than off in the wings.
Epperson’s singing, always on key, reminds me of characters like Merman, whom he admired so. He plays the piano with a hot, light-fingered touch and speaks, in his soft, unexcited voice, of his reflections on home and of luminaries he worked with, all with a mischievous sparkle in his eyes as only fond memories of yesteryear can give. His reflections on Chelsea, in a wonderful musical ditty, make for a then-and-now piece of funny and precise recollections of the past and present.
As wonderful, funny, irreverent, and sassy as his Lypsinka is, Mr. Epperson is a charming, fascinating entertainer, himself. He’s touching, warm and honest, and quite moving as he transforms himself into his star attraction: Lypsinka.
