Is Liza Minnelli headed for yet another comeback as we head towards 2025?  Well, maybe the iconic singer/actress’ first step should try to make a catchphrase go viral, a la Ms. Spears’ “It’s Britney, BITCH!”  How about a recurrent line from John Mark Lucas’ new comedy Diva Therapy: “I’m LIZA, for Christ’s sake!”

Diva Therapy, now enjoying a run at Manhattan’s Theatre for the New City and directed by Joan Kane, takes place entirely in an unassuming therapist’s office on Christmas Eve.  The walls are adorned with posters bearing such platitudes as “This is the first day of the rest of your life!” and inane stuff such as “What color is your parachute?”.  The first of the titular “divas” we meet is… “Liza”!  (Is a last name really necessary?) Underneath all the patented “Liza” trappings– the red sequined pantsuit, the cropped dark hair, and enough mascara to paint the town black– is “Carloz with a ‘Z'”(Martin Revere), who has been performing as Ms. Minnelli for decades.  Unfortunately, his “Liza”, complete with a Halston therapy doll, has not been in high demand for quite a while.  Whereas he used to open for the likes of Lainie Kazan, the drag artist is now stuck to making appearances at car washes.  Carloz/”Liza” is the newest member of this larger-than-life support group for aging Las Vegas female impersonators. But, of course, a support group of just one wouldn’t be very useful.  So, we soon meet Sheldon/”Barbra” (Kevin Fletcher), Leonard/”Diana” (Terry Lee King), Marty/”Cher” (Jim Fitzpatrick), and Norman/”Bette” (Tony Triano)– all dressed up in the hairstyles and wardrobe which made their divas so eternal in popular culture.  Like Carloz, the other three men can barely break out of their iconic alter egos. (I honestly expected each of them to break into their patron divas’ signature tunes at some point in the play…).  Also like Carloz, all of them bemoan the fact that they are “past their primes” as performers… and, dare we say, irrelevant?  How old are they? Well, to give you an idea, they were all good friends with Liberace.  Their interactions within this brotherhood sisterhood are a blend of support and good-natured yet bitchy one-liners: One of the divas refers to the others as “Mount Rushmore with bad wigs.”  The “straight man” of the play is “The Doctor (Tim Dietrich), who is patiently trying to convince our divas to move on from celebrity impersonation and find a new life in another field.  How “straight” is our straight man?  He doesn’t even know who Judy Garland is! Without giving too much away, let’s just say that he’s not very successful in motivating our girls to find new careers.  As one of the divas declares, “I don’t want a new life.  I want my old life back!”

The actors in Diva Therapy are by no means “dead ringers” for “Liza”, “Barbra”, “Diana”, “Cher”, and “Bette”, but the wildly over-the-top wigs and costumes make them instantly identifiable.  This may be a good time to give a shoutout to Costume Designer Billy Little for his appropriately grand creations.  His Diana Ross-inspired wardrobe, worn by the leggy Terry Lee King, is particularly awe-inspiring.

But wait: There’s yet another diva who appears in this play: Judy Garland, who speaks to the audience from Heaven.  Needless to say, our Judy is seen as something of a saint by the drag stars.  Judy, complete with ruby slippers, is played by Clara Francesca, and the actor is a revelation.  In a refreshing choice of stylization, the actor doesn’t try to mimic Judy’s patented speaking style nor her fragile personality.  Rather, THIS Judy stands up for herself and doesn’t drift into self-pity, such as when she declares, “I was NOT crazy!  I was talented.  TOO God-damn talented.  Nobody coulda handled that kinda fire, it was too HOT!”  It’s also worth stating that seeing an incarnation of a young, lively Judy in any theater piece is always a great thing.  

Each of our divas has a story to tell, with possibly the most provocative one being Carloz’ recollection of watching Judy Garland on TV in 1970, when he was just 13. But, as you may have inferred from the date, it wasn’t Judy on the TV.  It was… Jim Bailey, an unsung pop culture personality who was largely credited for helping bring female impersonation into the mainstream. Remember that for later… 

Diva Therapy is very funny, although the play occasionally drifts into the proverbial theater of the absurd at times– most notably when the Doctor attempts to train the “girls” on some new life skills. The scene where the Doctor tries to train Carloz for a career as a receptionist was likely inspired by the zaniness of the Saturday Night Live sketch “Liza Minnelli Tries to Turn off a Lamp”.  Still, no matter how outrageous the comedy can be, there are some very serious, provocative messages underneath, with a seemingly innumerable amount of insight about being an artist and about the history of drag culture in general.  One of the characters observes, “The whole damn drag world’s changed, that’s for sure.  We got queens now with their own TV shows!”  Another adds, “The true divas like us are being replaced by drag queens who create their own characters.  They’re good, real good, but no one’s doing the legends anymore.  It breaks my heart.  In a couple of years, no one’s gonna even remember us.”  For a while, we think that the quintet of drag stars are going to resign themselves to AARP discounts, Medicare, and Social Security.  But then, it’s Judy to the rescue.  And yes, there’s a (C’mon get ) happy ending, with a special appearance by… Jim Bailey!   

This is one “therapy” session you won’t want to miss!

Ego Actus Theatre Company will produce the new play Diva Therapy by John Mark Lucas. The limited run plays November 7 – 24 at Theater for the New City (TNC). Diva Therapy is directed by Ego Actus Founding Artistic Director Joan Kane. Diva Therapy features Tim Dietrich (Dream Girl/Roundabout Theatre Company), Jim Fitzpatrick (Northern Borders with Bruce Dern), Kevin Fletcher (Paper Mills Playhouse), Clara Francesca (Funny Guy/59E59 & Edinburgh Fringe), Terry Lee King (The Imperial Court of NY), Martin Revere (A Midsummer Night’s Dream/Stag And Lion), and Tony Triano (The Man Who Came to Dinner/The Peccadillo Theater Company).The creative/production team includes set and projection design by Evan Frank, costume design by Billy Little, lighting design by Bruce A! Kraemer, sound design by Roy Chang, make-up design by Izzy Kitch, and stage management by Matthew Seepersad.  Diva Therapy runs November 7 – 24 with performances on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays at 8pm, and matinees on Sundays at 3pm. Running time: 90 minutes.Theater for the New City (Cino Theatre), 155 1st Avenue (Between 9th & 10th Street), New York City, NY 10003. Subways: L to 1st Avenue, 4/6 to Astor Place, F to 2nd Avenue, R/W to 8th Street. Tickets are $18 for general, $12 students/seniors and go on sale the first week of October at wwwtheaterforthenewcity.net.