Review: LEOLA'S LADY LAND LOUNGE: PRIDE EDITION at The Green Room 42 A Joy

The Green Room 42’s resident Septuagenarian lesbian with a heart of gold, Leola, was back on the club’s stage this month, after circumstances caused the cancelation of her first show of the season. in April - appropriate since this installment of the popular variety show was the annual PRIDE edition, and Leola should have been proud when the evening’s festivities were over because it was one of Leola’s best shows ever.  I’d like to say it was THE best Leola show ever, but I have (shamefacedly) missed a few shows since stepping down as the cabaret editor two-plus years ago (my schoolwork restricts the number of shows I can see a month).  But what a way to come back - for Leola and for me.  First of all, Leola is still firing on all six cylinders, when it comes to the comedy portion of her act, but also when it comes to spreading the love.  The Will Nolan-created character is, ostensibly, designed for laughs, but she has also always been about bringing a message of positivity.  While cracking jokes about her ex-husband-best friend Gus, their double wide trailer, and their jobs at the local Piggly Wiggly, Leola also preaches loving one’s neighbor, doing the right thing, and always offering an outstretched hand of peace and tolerance, all year round, and not just during Pride.  It is this balance of wackiness and wonderment that keeps her disciples (read: fans) in the seats, both at the club and at their homes, courtesy of livestreams.  On June 11th, the cabaret room at The Green Room 42 was nicely sold with lots of devotees of Leola’s guests, mixed in with those adoring disciples, and did Leola choose her guests wisely, this go-round.

One of the benefits of attending a LEOLA’S LADY LAND LOUNGE show is the variety of talent that she curates for the events.   As a Pride show, Leola dedicated herself to booking in members of the LGBTQIA+ family, even going so far as to discuss with each artist their place in the queer alphabet (creatively), but aside from being different letters in the alphabet, the talented friends of Leola (FOL) were also different in their skillset.  Michael McCorry Rose is a thespian of the Broadway stage known for his musical theater gifts, Jennifer Leigh Houston is a singer-songwriter embarking on a new filmmaking adventure, Tim Murray is a comedian with a microphone and a keyboard, and Ethan Carlson is a singer-songwriter with a new recording coming out this year.  Naturally enough, as with most show business professionals, there is a certain amount of cross-pollination of talents, for each of these guests have a multitude of proficiencies that make them colleagues, in a way, a fact evidenced by Leola’s detailed interview skills.

While discussing their individual careers and current projects, Leola’s love of research shows.  She knows facts about each of her guests, sometimes little-known, sometimes part of the record, and she manages to get her friends’ stories out, either through right proper interview setup, joking asides, photographic slideshows, or games and exercises.  For Mister Rose, she effectively touched upon his theatrical appearances (including an upcoming musical of the film TRADING SPACES), his work on some groovy movies (most notably WICKED), and his seventeen-year-long relationship with songwriter/composer Stephen Schwartz.  Ms. Houston had a chance to talk about her last horror movie eVil Sublet, her upcoming horror movie Highway Gothic, and her nineteen-year relationship with filmmaker Allan Piper, including a Sally Struthers impression (Struthers is in both of Houston’s films).  The Tim Murray segment included conversations about getting important writing gigs through persistence (and a little social media campaigning), his catalogue of comedy shows both solo and full-cast, and his ten year relationship with his husband, with whom he was celebrating a two-year wedding anniversary on that very day.  And bringing it home on the night was a spotlight on Ethan Carlson (the segment is actually called The Lady Land Spotlight Artist), whose time on the stage featured his (incredible) original song “Second Breakfast,” followed by a series of hilarious stories about some of Ethan’s acting gigs over the years, deftly led by a set of delightful photographs of Carlson in action.  Leola is truly a gifted interviewer who does her homework and shows up ready to banter with her guests while telling the audience what makes each of them special. 

And on the subject of special…

Earlier in this review I said this was one of Leola’s best shows, and that is due to her work on the program, from her stand up to her interviews, from her rapport with the audience to her careful curation of her guests, and also to the impeccable quality of those guests and the uniqueness of their talents.  Michael McCorry Rose performed a mash-up of two Schwartz songs named “Beautiful City” and “No Place Like Home” and, in doing so, he left the Green Room 42 audience breathless from the stunning performance.  Stunning.  Just plain old stunning.  Jennifer Leigh Houston rocked the joint with a letter-perfect performance of the Boulet Brothers’ “Ghost Train” that had the audience hootin' and hollerin'.  While Ethan Carlson played his own song, the crowd was (literally!) leaning into him, captivated and craving more (which they will get when his first-ever single “Eleanor” comes out).  And Tim Murray’s comedy set about gay topics, some of which cannot be mentioned here, elicited peals of laughter (and some crowdwork that had even Mr. Murray, himself, a little shocked).  Leola’s Lady Land Lounge is always a fun show and a wild ride, but for the Pride Edition 2026, it was fabulous in all caps, italicized, highlighted, and underlined.  At the end of the day, though, no matter how great the guests, no matter how topical the comedy, no matter how staunch the Kelly Clarkson tributes, what makes Leola and her show special is the heart that she brings to her monology, the love that she brings to the conversation.  With sincere pleas that we all love one another, take care of each other, be there for ourselves and our people, and with special urgings that we support our trans siblings and citizens, Leola sent her audience into the summer night of New York City feeling good, feeling hopeful, and feeling ready to walk the walk.  And that’s what Pride is all about.

Find great shows to see on the Green Room 42 website HERE.

Visit the Leola Instagram HERE.

Visit the Michael McCorry Rose website HERE,

the Jennifer Leigh Houston IG HERE,

the Tim Murray site HERE,

and the Ethan Carlson page HERE.

Photos by Stephen Mosher

Michael McCorry Rose:

Matt Lowy:

Jennifer Leigh Houston:

Tim Murray:

Ethan Carlson:

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