Attendees for Transmasculine Cabaret, the one-person show by performer Vulva Va-Voom, received an “Intersectional Ally” voucher at the end of the performance.  The voucher read, “Bearer of this document sat through a depressing hour-long monologue from an LGBT+ experimental theater artist, and is consequently regarded as a ‘Good Intersectional Ally’ for 14 consecutive days.”  While this creative gimmick was clearly meant to be tongue-in-cheek, the creator of this smart and provocative show was indeed selling themselves more than just a bit short by calling the piece “depressing”. This unambiguously biographical show was indeed challenging and even heartbreaking at times, mainly due to the performer’s candid and straightforward delivery about their true-life experiences… but most of the time, this show was funny as central Florida Hell.  One of the issues explored in the piece raises the age-old question that all of us openly queer performers have faced for decades: “Who is my show going to appeal to?” Granted, we can assume that the show will likely appeal to (1) the LGBTQ+ community ourselves, or (2) allies who want to get to know us better.  But what about (3) the so-called “mainstream” audiences who may not even a single LGBTQ+ person, and who most assuredly wouldn’t even know what “genderfluid” means, much less terms like “TERF” and “dead-naming”?  Would a fiercely unapologetic show like Vulva Va-Voom’s Transmasculine Cabaret appeal to those audiences?  And, most importantly, should it even HAVE to?

The piece show begins with our performer ostensibly getting ready for their one-person show, doing their vocal exercises and checking the final touches of make-up in a large mirror. (It’s worth mentioning that we do get to hear the performer’s singing voice in extended form later on in the show– and it’s a stunner.) As they get ready for their show, the audience gets to “soak in” the setting of a cabaret dressing room: the mirror, the boxes of costume options, a series of pill bottles, a wig stand, etc.  The final touch is a bejeweled flask (one of the more underrated accessories of any cabaret/burlesque performer, FYI…!).   Later on, the performer gets ready for a drag king show, changing from a sequined dress, heels, and heavy eyeliner to a more traditionally masculine appearance, complete with some facial hair by way of… eyeliner!  Eventually, we officially meet the performer: Vulva Va-Voom, who declares early on, “My pronouns are they, them, and their!”... and then follows with “I am so glad that you felt enough liberal guilt to do your duty and come see yet another total fucking bummer of a social justice one-man theater piece!  Give yourself a hand.  You did it!”  A little later, there’s another example of the hilarity that I mentioned earlier when the audience is treated to a musical warning about triggers, set to Billy Joel’s 1989 song We Didn’t Start the Fire.  It’s impressive how many triggers Va-Voom could squeeze in to that song, and even more impressive how they rhyme “jokes about sperm” with “homophobic terms”! 

Of course, the performer gets also gets deeply personal. Mx. Va-Voom raised in a small town in central Florida… which, to restate the obvious, was NOT easy.  I can’t help but compare this performer’s experience with that of transmasculine comedian Jes Tom, who recalled in their one-person show as having had a VERY different experience growing up in San Fransico, CA and having a Gay/Straight Alliance at their high school.  Moving on, Va-Voom recalls having been dismayed at not seeing any representation of multi-gender experience in the media… with the exception of David Bowie and (drumroll please…) “Pat” from the Saturday Night Live skit It’s Pat. And then, of course, there was the issue of dating… which was most definitely NOT as glamorous as an independent 90’s queer rom-com or even a 2020’s Netflix miniseries.  For this performer, dating was seemingly more like the 80’s hit Love Is a Battlefield.  There were no hecklers in the audience at the 14th Street Y on the afternoon I saw the show.  However, to recreate the experience of performing in “some medium-large city in some nightclub with a name that’s trying too hard to seem cool” (in other words, cites that are NOT New York or L.A.), Mx. Va-Voom brought their own pre-recorded heckling.  To non-gender-confirming people and their allies, the heckling sounded all too familiar, with all the usual transphobic retorts, from “I’m sick of all this ‘non-binary’ garbage… There’s no such thing as ‘non-binary’.  You’re all mentally ill and doin’ it for attention!” (Our antagonists REALLY need new material…) 

Transmasculine Cabaret is ultimately about accepting oneself as a person– even if one’s vision of masculinity may be more “Frasier Crane” than “John Wayne”–. and if that said person decides to go in to show business, it’s also about finding your way as a performer. One of the post-show talking points of Transmasculine Cabaret is how audiences have no problem accepting a performer of color or a queer performer if they are playing a “clown”, either literally or figuratively.  But that same audience may have a problem when they start to see that performer in a (Gasp!) realistic light. In case you haven’t figured it out yet, Vulva V-Voom’s Transmasculine Cabaret Packs a wallop into its brief 60-minute running time.  So, again, I ask the question that I asked at the beginning of this review: (1) Would a fiercely unapologetic show like Vulva Va-Voom’s Transmasculine Cabaret appeal to so-called “mainstream” audiences?  And, most importantly, (2) should it even HAVE to?  My answer is, unapologetically, (1) “Who knows?”… and, (2) “Who cares?”  For this “Good Intersectional Ally”, this cabaret is indeed a VIP experience!

Vulva Va-Voom’s Transmasculine Cabaret continues as part of the New York City Fringe Festival on Sat., April 13^th at 9:50pm and Weds., April 17^th at 7:10pm.  Ticket price is $25 + $2 fee (or pay-what-you-can).  See more information and get tickets at  https://www.frigid.nyc/event/6897:629/.  The show takes place at The 14Y Theater,  344 East 14th Street, NYC.  Visit Vulva Va-Voom at https://www.vulvavavoom.com, on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/vulvavavoom, and on Facebook at                  https://www.facebook.com/vulvavavoom.