Leslie Jordan & Varla Jean Coming to Hobby Center, 5/10

Two of the funniest and most popular LGBT artists who've successfully crossed over to conquer broader national and international audiences join farcical forces when comic genius Leslie Jordan headlines the Hobby Center's Zilhka Hall with Texas' native daughter (son?) the fabulous, funny and fierce drag impresario Varla Jean Merman opening the show. Jordan and Merman will appear for one night only, May 10, 2014 at 8:00 p.m. Tickets are on sale now and are available at the Hobby Center Box Office, at www.thehobbycenter.org or by calling (713) 315-2525. Tickets range from $42.75 to $62.75.

Leslie Jordan, the delightfully naughty, dishy, diminutive, deep-South dynamo has always had a natural propensity for scene stealing. Jordan's amazingly sustainable 35 year career trajectory includes regional awards for what is likely his best known role, "Brother Boy" in the cult film classic Sordid Lives (both original film and Logo TV series). His creation of the character "Beverly Leslie" for TV's Will & Grace brought him further international acclaim and garnered a 2006 Emmy Award for Best Guest Actor in a Comedy Series.

Jordan's dead giveaway Southern drawl and effete manner have remained an unapologetic hallmark throughout his prolific career. He has appeared in shows as diverse as Murphy Brown (he was one of her early stand in secretary substitutes, which became one of the show's runnings gags), and Hearts Afire as a series regular opposite Billy Bob Thornton and John Ritter, followed by dozens of memorable guest appearances on Boston Legal, Reba, Ally McBeal, and more recently on The Neighbors, Raising Hope, and Disney Channel's Shake It Up.

Jordan's film resume displays his impressive acting range with titles ranging from Ski Patrol to the Oscar winning global sensation The Help. He recently completed filming the role he created on stage in Southern Baptist Sissies. In between TV and film assignments, Jordan self-penned and starred in his own one man stage shows including HYSTERICAL BLINDNESS AND OTHER SOUTHERN MALADIES THAT HAVE AFFECTED MY LIFE THUS FAR, LIKE A DOG ON LINOLEUM, and MY TRIP DOWN THE PINK CARPET which was also a book and filmed as an HBO special, along with annually updated live stage performances.

Jordan traverses the country, playing clubs and theatre engagements. His most recent stage reincarnation FRUIT FLY is a hilarious yet poignant coming-of-age tale about the influence his steel magnolia mother had on his life and career. His current standup routine, SHOW PONY, features a collection of behind-the-scenes ribald tell all tales from some of his most recent stints on American Horror Story: Coven, Ru Paul's Drag Race, and The Help along with his experiences while making international appearances in Canada, Mexico and England. Wherever Jordan travels his innate ability to experience life's everyday foibles and follies and share them uncensored through his unique storytelling abilities makes an evening with Leslie Jordan headlining MORE than worth the price of admission!

Jeffery Roberson aka Varla Jean Merman has refined and redefined the art of drag impersonation to new, exhilarating heights. Roberson aka Varla Jean co- starred in the original musical Lucky Guy opposite Leslie Jordan in NY at the Little Schubert Theatre in spring 2011 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."

Roberson was a lead in the feature film Girls Will Be Girls 2012 and starred as the title character in Varla Jean and the Mushroomheads. He played the title role in Giancarlo Menotti's opera The Medium in New York at the Marjorie S. Deane Little Theatre in October of 2012. Varla Jean had a cameo on Ugly Betty in the final season of the show and was also featured on Bravo's Project Runway Season 5 as the winning model for the show's drag challenge. He played the role of Mary Sunshine in the revival of Chicago on Broadway and also made his network television debut on All My Children in the recurring role of lady of the evening Rosemary Chicken. He shared the Outfest Film Festival "Best Actor" Award and the Aspen HBO Film Festival "Best Actress" Award with his costars Jack Plotnick and Clinton Leupp for his featured performance in the cult classic film Girls Will Be Girls (Sundance 2003) directed by Richard Day.

Other credits include the Long Wharf Theatre in Hartford Stage's production of The Mystery of Irma Vep performing the roles originally made famous by Charles Ludlam. In 2010, Roberson won an Elliot Norton Award for Best Musical Performance in The Phantom of the OPRAH. He returned to Boston in the fall of 2011 to star as Mother Superior in Speak Easy Stage's production of The Divine Sister by Charles Busch.

As Varla Jean, Roberson has filled cabarets and concert halls across the world including the Sydney Opera House, Carnegie Hall, the New York Public Theater, London's Soho Theatre and LA's Renberg Theatre. Roberson wrote and starred in the short Improve Your History with Varla Jean: Stonewall, for the launch of the MTV's television network Logo and was also seen in their One Night Standup: Dragtastic special.