Interview: Expect the Unexpected in Lea DeLaria's A VERY LEA EASTER at Joe's Pub

Lea DeLaria has done a lot over the course of her storied career, including being the first openly gay comic to appear on American television. Her credits include her two-time SAG-award winning role as Big Boo in Orange Is the New Black, and appearances in film and TV shows such as Broad City, One Life to Live, Will and Grace, and Friends. She just closed out a run in the recent revival of Tennessee Williams’ Night of the Iguana.

In the cabaret world, DeLaria is known for her distinctive arrangements of songs, like this swing version of “The Ballad of Sweeney Todd.” On March 31st, she’s turning her attention to Easter with A VERY LEA EASTER at Joe’s Pub, with shows at 6 pm and 8:30 pm. (Tickets are available here.) We spoke a bit about the upcoming Easter show, “a hilarious fun filled Easter Extravaganza chock full of her trademark wild comedy and musical prowess.”

Do you want to tell me a bit about the upcoming Easter show?

I have to say – everybody does a Christmas show, no one does an Easter show. So that’s the first thing. So I thought it would be really fun to do one. I did one at my club in Provincetown last year and it was a humongous success. As soon as I got off stage, I contacted my managers and said, “Go to Joe’s Pub right now,” because I knew we couldn’t always do a Valentine’s show at Joe’s Pub. And because I’m in Night of the Iguana I couldn’t do it, so I said “let’s do the Easter instead.” And New York is so ready for this show, because this show is so fun from beginning to end.

Nobody does do an Easter show.

No! And there’s so much. Without giving too much away, there are two holidays at the time… one is a Jewish holiday, and we celebrate that in the Easter show as much as we do Easter.

Did anything other than that call out to you about Easter?

Oh yeah! We’re going to talk about it in the show, I went to Catholic school, I was very Catholic, I had to go to Mass. So I’m going to talk about that, being a little butch dyke and having to put on an Easter dress.

And then of course just ridiculous… It’s like, I can’t tell you because I don’t want to ruin anything [laughs] You know what I mean? And so I’m trying to find a way to tell you that there will be Easter eggs and stuff like that without ruining what’s going to happen.

There’s also Broadway in it, I do a big chunk of Broadway tunes in the middle of the show that are all kind of Easter related.

If any of these questions feel like they would give too much away, we can just skip it.

That’s what I’ll do. I’ll just say, “I don’t know how to answer that without ruining one of the funniest bits in the show. There’s a really hilarious bit in the show related to the Broadway section, and that’s all I’m gonna say. That’s all I can say.

You’re known for putting unique spins on songs. Is there anything you can hint at in the Easter show… it’s ok if you can’t.

Once again… I will say it has to do with Passover, and the showstopped of the Seder, “Dayenu,” so there you go.

Where do you get inspiration for coming up with the twists that you do?

Oh, I smoke a lot of weed. Now that I’m older and I’m worried about my voice, I eat more than I smoke. But the reality is I don’t really write comedy in the way that others write comedy. I kind of jot down ideas and then I run with them. It’s very improvisational when I’m on stage, and people who’ve seen me a bunch of times know that. I come out and I just start talking and it’s usually pretty funny. Because I tend to go places that other people are afraid to go. Fuck political correctness, that’s all I’m going to say.

Yeah, you’ve been pushing boundaries.

Yeah. And being raised the way that I was, it’s so easy for me to come up with comedy about this.

What do you have coming up the next few months?

I’m going to be doing brunch shows at 54 Below. I’m doing the second Sunday of every month. It starts on Mother’s Day. I’m going to have special guests every month. For example, Tony winner Gabriel Ebert is joining me for Mother’s Day.

Each of these months [has a different theme]. It’s Mother’s Day in May, June is Gay Pride month, and we’re probably going to do some kind of Americana shit in July.

Each show will be different, it’ll be geared towards what the theme of that month is. And I’ll be doing duets and talking to the people who are joining me on stage.

You’ve done so much film and TV. What keeps you coming back to cabaret?

It’s the same thing I love about being in a musical or on stage, I thrive on stage center. I just love it. I soak up the applause… I just love it. I love the immediate gratification of hearing an audience laugh at a joke I just made.

And I’ll be honest, I do that on set too. I love to fuck with the other actors and say things that aren’t in the script and make them laugh on camera. It makes me really happy.

I like to get that outtake reel at the end of the shoot if you know what I mean [laughs]

That’s why I love cabaret so much, and that’s why I try to play Joe’s Pub once a year, just to get that mmm, audience.

Is there anything else that you want to add about the show?

It’s going to be a wild ride. I tend to sell out at Joe’s so get your tickets early, and everybody trust we’re all going to laugh and have a good time.

Yeah. You just can’t reveal what the laughs are. [laughs]

I can’t! Everything that I’m doing is so funny, but as soon as I tell it to you it won’t be, so…

Right. They have to come experience it for themselves.

Come experience, environmentally, Lea in your face IRL just being a f-ing lunatic.

Tickets to A VERY LEA EASTER are available here.

VIsit Lea DeLaria's website for more information including where to follow her.

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