Varla Jean Mermant Performs Tonight at 54 Below

Varla Jean Merman is the purported love child of Ethel Merman and Ernest Borgnine. Returning to 54 Below tonight and tomorrow, September 3 & 4 by popular demand, Varla Jean, aka Jeffery Roberson, unveils a show of hilarious songs, videos and fabulous costumes, featuring Tom Judson at the piano. For tickets, visit 54 Below online at http://54below.com/artist/varla-jean-merman/ or call 646 476-3551.

Jeffery Roberson starred in the musical Lucky Guy opposite Leslie Jordan in New York in 2011 at the Little Shubert Theatre, prompting The New York Times to rave, "If Carol Burnett and Harvey Korman had stood in front of the right pair of funhouse mirrors, they might have resembled Ms. Merman and Mr. Jordan in stature as well as comedic talent." This past year, Jeffery completed shooting the sequel to the camp classic film Girls Will Be Girls, and Varla Jean and the Mushroomheads is now available on www.SethTV.com. Off-Broadway audiences embraced Jeffrey when he played the title role in Giancarlo Menotti's opera The Medium, as well as the title role in last season's "Mildred Fierce."

On Broadway, Jeffery played the role of Mary Sunshine in the revival of Chicago on Broadway and in 2010 won Boston's Elliot Norton Award for Best Musical Performance in The Phantom of the OPRAH. He returned to Boston last fall to star as Mother Superior in SpeakEasy Stage's The Divine Sister by Charles Busch. Jeffery as Varla Jean has filled concert halls and cabarets across the world including the Sydney Opera House, Carnegie Hall, the Public Theater, London's Soho Theatre, LA's Renberg Theatre, and San Francisco's Victoria Theatre. He made his network television debut on All My Children, guest starred as Varla Jean in Ugly Betty's final season and on Bravo's Project Runway Season 5 as the winning model for the show's drag challenge.